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Zece Prãjini -
Peasant Brass Bands from Moldavia -
Fanfares paysannes de Moldavie: Zece Prãjini 

Various Artists

With 40 pages booklet in English and French, giving a brief history of the Romanian Peasant Brass Band, notes on the performances, repertoire, and traditions of the musicians of Zece Prãjini.


'Once the rehearsal begins, the village folk hold their breath: What pieces are they including in their repertoire? Did Cristinel really buy that new drum he was bragging about? Are they really better than "ours" are? (Indeed, in Zece Prajini there are several fanfares, which compete in engagements, television appearances, recordings on cassettes and CDs, and tours abroad. There is even a fanfare whose German agent taught to play foreign music: Serbian, Mexican, and Spanish!) For the time being, Costica's ensemble preserves the old peasant music of the village: dance melodies (Hora, Sarba, Ciobanasul, Batuta, Rusasca, Taraselul, Geamparaua…), the lyric songs and the ritual wedding songs, for the bride, and for the bridegroom… However, lately Costica has been thinking to globalize his repertoire…'
Speranta Radulescu

USD 15.99

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Zece Prajini -
Peasant Brass Bands from Moldavia

Various Artists

This symbol  indicates an mp3 sound clip for that track. Click on the symbol and wait for the clip to start. For more information click here. Tracks

1. Sarba Basilor - Concert Piece (2'52")

2. Batuta - Dance (1'34")

3. Hora de Strigaturi - Dance (3'37")

4. Rusasca - Lyric Song and Dance (3'02")

5. Sarba, Batuta - Dance Suite (5'02")

6. Hora 'de la re' - Dance (4'28")

7. The Bride's Ritual Song (5'48")

8. Inhorbotatul Miresei - Ritual Dance, Lacing the Bride (1'42")

9. Rusasca - Dance (1'29")

10. Hora 'de la do' - Dance (3'20")

11. Batuta - Dance (1'28")

12. Batuta 'de la do' - Dance (2'41")

13. The Bridegroom's Ritual Song (6'49")

14. Rusasca Lui Costica - Dance (2'35")

15. Hora - Dance (2'53")

16. Batuta - Dance (2'11")

17. Batuta Cu Strigaturi - Dance (3'09")

18. Sarba de Promenada - Promenade Piece (2'18")

Duration (58'02")

Our mp3 samples are approximately 30 seconds long and of low(ish) quality for a fast download (file size app 300KB)

Courtesy of Speranta Radulescu

The Speranta fanfare of Zece Prajini is dominated by the male side of the Pantiru family: father, three sons and one of their fathers-in-law, a number of brothers-in-law, and some primary cousins from the mother's side. The leader of the band is not the father-Jenica-but one of his sons, Costica, a man of 40 odd, energetic and authoritative, who, presently, surpasses his father in mastering the soprano clarinet as well as the other instruments of the fanfare: alto saxophone, trumpet, flighorne, tuba, and helicon.

For the Pantirus, nothing is easier than organizing a band rehearsal: Costica steps out on the porch, turns toward the front yard and calls to his father and brothers, after which, he directs a second call over the fence, toward his cousins and father-in-law. While the men get together and warm up by way of conversation, the women bake pies and set the wooden-legged garden table with food and drink.

Once the rehearsal begins, the village folk hold their breath: What pieces are they including in their repertoire? Did Cristinel really buy that new drum he was bragging about? Are they really better than "ours" are? (Indeed, in Zece Prajini there are several fanfares, which compete in engagements, television appearances, recordings on cassettes and CDs, and tours abroad. There is even a fanfare whose German agent taught to play foreign music: Serbian, Mexican, and Spanish!) For the time being, Costica's ensemble preserves the old peasant music of the village: dance melodies (Hora, Sarba, Ciobanasul, Batuta, Rusasca, Taraselul, Geamparaua…), the lyric songs and the ritual wedding songs, for the bride, and for the bridegroom… However, lately Costica has been thinking to globalize his repertoire…

Pantirus' fanfare members are proud of their accomplishments: during the last ten years, they played not only throughout Moldova, but also in France, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium, Greece, and Germany (at the "Expo Hanovra 2000"). Every single performance has been a great success. Foreigners keep wondering at the extraordinary speed of their executions. Some of them even wonder when they find out that the musicians are ignorant of the music notation. The Pantirus have their little secret though, and they do not give it out easily: they did not learn to read music, because they never needed it. The music they perform belongs to … the oral tradition!

Speranta Radulescu