Moravian Traditional Music - Main Characteristics

Main Characteristics

The traditional music of Western Moravia is closely related to the music of Bohemia. It was influenced by folk music of Germany and other western regions as well as classical music, especially in the Baroque and Classical eras. The music is mainly written in major keys, and its rhythm and structure are regular and firm.

The music of Southeastern Moravia differs substantially. Its character is closely related to the musical style of Eastern Europe using rather minor keys and melodic elements characteristic of eastern countries such as Ukraine, Slovakia, Romania and Hungary. Here it is also possible to find elements of gypsy scales which contain augmented intervals unusual for the traditional music of Western Europe. One of the most important elements of the traditional music of Southeastern Moravia is emotional variegation and greater rhythmic leeway.

Moravian folk music performances use various traditional and also unusual instruments. "Cimbalom bands" are the typical performers of traditional music today. The "small" cimbalom characteristic of Moravian music in the 19th century, however, has been replaced by the "standard" (or Hungarian) cimbalom, a rather new instrument only gaining wide use in the 20th century. The leader and "conductor" of the cimbalom band is often a violinist, called "primáš" in Czech, who plays the leading melody with ornamentation. A second violinist, "obligát", often plays the plain melody and supports the "primáš". The harmonic variety of the string instruments is often supported also by other violinists or violists. They are called "terc" as they usually play a third lower than the leading melody or "kontry", playing accompaniments. Other important instruments of the Moravian cimbalom band are clarinet, ornamenting the melody, and double bass.

Moravian folk bands often perform in various line-ups as some types of songs require specific instrumental accompaniment. For example, "hudecké" songs only require a string section. The traditional line-up of hudecká muzika (string band) consists of fiddle (prim), viola (kontra) and bass. Bagpipes, gajdy in Moravian dialects, are integral to the fabric of "gajdošská muzika", often accompanied by violin (prim), viola (kontra) and double bass. Removing some typical violin features lead to the origin of an instrument nicknamed the squeaking fiddle in the former Bohemian-German area of the Jihlava region. This type of homemade "folk fiddle" is the leading instrument of skřipkařská muzika ("squeaking fiddle band"). Other songs may require unusual instruments such as simple whistles, pipes, flutes and recorders, hurdy gurdy and jaw harps.

Moravian traditional folk songs are separated into various specific types, of which the most famous is probably the verbuňk, the specific male recruit dance of Moravian Slovakia. Koichiro Matsuura, the General-Director of UNESCO in 2005 proclaimed the Moravian verbuňk as the part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Mankind.