Behold the sorrowful quality of old Romanian music, an unique musical genre that was the mainstream music of pre-1900s Romania.

I am sure there are some melancholic dudensteins around that appreciate the authentic beauty of some of our traditional songs.Folks looking for 1 or 2 instrument-songs evoking soft melancholy, longing, love, love for nature, prayer to divinity for pain relief, really considered a spiritual mirror or our collective soul as Romanians, look no more. 

Not sure if you are familiar with our "doina", which is a specific genre, or better said, approach to music. Grigore Leșe (a legendary singer of the genre) believes that although the scholars describe in detail the technical aspects of Doina, they fail to understand the psychological aspects of it. They can even take form of "drafting songs", which were composed and sang by wives and mothers of the Romanians drafted to war.

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Known by various names throughout Romania, the doina is a lyrical, solemn chant that is improvised and spontaneous. As the essence of Romanian folklore, until 1900 it was the only musical genre in many regions of the country. Technically, the doina can be sung in any context (outdoors, at home, at work or during wakes), and is always performed solo, with or without instrumental accompaniment (which might include the traditional straight flute, bagpipes and even improvised instruments). There are several regional variants. The doina has a wide-ranging expressive and thematic palette that spans joy, sadness, solitude, social conflicts, brigand attacks, love and so on. Expressing as it does the personal qualities, emotions and virtuosity of the creator-performer, the doina also plays an important social role by providing a cathartic outlet that strengthens solidarity. It has also given rise to other artistic genres (dances). Today, the doina is under threat locally because of a break in the line of transmission from parent to child. Although some fifteen people have been identified as representatives of the various types of doina, an environment conducive to performance and transmission must be restored in order to ensure that this important feature of Romania’s intangible cultural heritage continues to flourish.

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Link from UNESCO:

https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/doina-00192

Below you can find four particular favorites, (first two are vocal based, last two are instrumentals) which I personally cannot listen more than a few times per month, since they act like a emotional laxative for me. I am wiping my tears right now writing this post.
 

Scottish bagpipe enjoyers, I am curious of your opinion about this usage of the instrument:
 

no 303? i dont care 

I like it a lot, u should post in the world music thread more often...

  On 10/26/2024 at 7:06 PM, Ski Nell said:

no 303? i dont care 

Sheesh! Thank you for the sublime feedback, music maker, dreamer of dreams! 

  On 10/26/2024 at 7:06 PM, Ski Nell said:

no 303? i dont care 

I guess it's THAT hard to impress you, Sir!
Here's a lullaby sang by a kid. If not even this can relax your buttcheecks even a bit, its a YOU problem. 

Always had a soft spot for this track. 

They're from the other side of the Black Sea - Georgia rather than Romania (and usually perform more uplifting songs) but the wonderful Trio Mandili can certainly pull the heart strings -

Sometimes they perform in the middle of Skyrim-

  On 10/28/2024 at 1:45 PM, huzur said:

Sheesh! Thank you for the sublime feedback, music maker, dreamer of dreams! 

don't fret bruv... caring or not, that was a funny coment...

  On 10/28/2024 at 2:21 PM, mcbpete said:

They're from the other side of the Black Sea - Georgia rather than Romania (and usually perform more uplifting songs) but the wonderful Trio Mandili can certainly pull the heart strings -

Sometimes they perform in the middle of Skyrim-

 

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I love them! Been following them, they also came to Romania and sung this byzantine era classic. Thanks!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkoqwE14oD0

This guy is not your average singer, as I consider his falsetto the best ever to walk the planet. Correct me if I am wrong.