Music from Europe and the Mediterranean: Musical Europe - 4th EP

 

Many countries and cultures coexist in Europe. Due to the proximity between countries, there are some common traits between the music of Europe. For example, similar harmonies and scales are used in their melodies. 

The geographical area influences the development of different music. Therefore, we are going to briefly describe the music of the different areas of Europe:

- Countries bathed by the Atlantic Ocean: Celtic music is the term used to describe a broad group of musical genres that are based on the popular musical tradition of the peoples considered to have a Celtic tradition in Western Europe. 

Among its instruments, the following stand out: Bagpipe, bombard, violin, bobhrán and whistle.

- Countries bathed by the Mediterranean Sea: As we saw in the entry dedicated to Mediterranean music, Mediterranean music is very rich and varied. It is usually associated with work in the fields, agriculture and livestock, and rituals oriented to different religious celebrations as well as the course of the calendar that marks the seasons.

- Central Europe: Traditional music in Central Europe includes as many varieties and nuances as there are countries and regions. In their music, diatonic melodies with touches of chromaticism and free rhythms are used for traditional songs, and some more regular rhythms for traditional Bulgarian music, as in the case of the Bulgarian rhythms known as “aksak”. Musical instruments of all kinds are used, such as the viola, the lute, the zither, sometimes gathered in fours, forming small orchestras, very popular thanks to the gypsies. We can highlight gypsy manouché jazz, yodeling, and polka.

In manouché jazz, instruments such as the gypsy guitar, the electric guitar, the violin and the double bass stand out.

In yodeling, the alphorn, clarinet, accordion and Swiss accordion stand out.

- Eastern Europe: Traditional songs and acrobatic dances predominate in this area of ​​Europe. Highlighting the Gypsy or Romani music that the gypsy people adapted new musical genres, rhythms and expressive forms. 

We can highlight in its instrumentation the accordion, the cello, the Hungarian cymbal and the violin.