Amazon.com Review by
Erika Borsos:
This CD was produced in Szentendre, Hungary at a concert in the churchyard of St. John the Baptist Church in Jan. 1997. It reveals the complex musical heritage and diversity of ethnic groups that exists in Hungary today. It is my absolute favorite Vujicsics CD to date. Whenever I listen to the music of the Balkans, I become nostalgic for my dancing days, when I did the Serbian kolos and the complex intricate dance steps of Macedonia. The musicians on this CD started playing together and collecting this wonderful music in the mid- to late 1970s. They have honored their teacher and mentor, Tihamer Vujicsics, an ethnomusicologist and former pupil of Kodaly, who passed away at a relatively early age …
Track #1, is one of the best, "Adano Oro". It is filled with great Balkan brass and percussion which increases in speed, rhythm, and intensity, to a terrific tapan beat. #2, "Dvi Dvojka" has a great rhtyh, nice tambouritza sound, very pleasant and authentic. Track #3, is a wonderful kolo which in addition ot the various types of tambouras, includes a surprise, ocarina accompaniment. "Udvarsko Kolo" #4, is just about the finest example of kolo music on this CD. Difficult to describe but easy to dance to … I love #6, "Oro Gajde", because this is authentic bagpipe music, as played by shepherds, and includes the beat of a tapan and later a zurna, both of which crescendo and decrescendo along labrynthine pathways, making one's hair stand on end, it has such a strong emotional impact. Track #7 includes shepherd's pipes in a pleasant enjoyable melody which could leave the listener eventually jumping and dancing to the tunes played. The melody of #8 is very familiar, tambouritza music extraordinaire, along with male vocals. In my mind's eye, I can easily picture the fancy footwork of the dancers. #9, is a great piece sounds very Meditarranean, from the Dalmatian coast, lovely music strummed, like the waves splashing onto the shore. Very relaxing and serene … #15 "Rastanak" is of Turkish origin, an introspective zurna solo winds and curves musical pathways in a mesmerizing, hypnotizing manner. What a finale. I wish it kept going on and on and on … And it will on their *next* CD. This is one highly pleasurabel musical journey to the Southern Slavic regions of Hungary … former territories, honored in music, *never* to be forgotten. Erika Borsos (erikab93)
Original Review: http://www.amazon.com/Samo-Sviraj-Vujicsics-Ensemble/product-reviews/B00000JASP