Gorj Musicians

In Gorj, professional musicians are traditionally not only men, but also women. Men play the violin, viola (brac), guitar, accordion, bass, and more recently the electronic organ; the older ones are also singers, according to the "fashion" of earlier times. Women, always vocal soloists, may also play the guitar or accordion. They go to parties only with a close family member: father, brother, husband, father-in-law or son-in-law.

Musicians group together in small ensembles (tarafs) with variable geometry, meaning that the composition can change depending on the circumstances. The criteria for association are diverse: first of all, kinship, then neighborhood, personal affinities and specific requests from employers. In parties, the ensembles play what is generally requested in the region, what is explicitly requested by a particular client (accompanying the request with a "tip"), what the ritual demands and what they consider to be suitable for the guests, occasion, moment and specific circumstances of the musical performance.

The lăutari (traditional Romanian musicians) extend a traditional musical culture that the Gorj people have entrusted to them, while at the same time leaving them with the responsibility to preserve it, but also the freedom to carry it in the directions they believe is appropriate. As everywhere in Romania, the lăutari from relatively large communities - Romanian or Gypsy musicians' villages or neighborhoods - are the most solid professionals: competition with those in the immediate vicinity obliges them to continuous self-improvement. On the other hand, here they are also excellent keepers of old music and at the same time agents of some renewals that sometimes lead to the dissolution of local specificity.

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