tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3407624264627208128.post7328187975321467861..comments2024-01-26T21:38:25.924-08:00Comments on Duane's PoeTree: chester giles writesDuanesPoeTreehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17053093400086634552noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3407624264627208128.post-59340696290520267342016-03-20T23:18:26.636-07:002016-03-20T23:18:26.636-07:00"Gypsy music" is the style of East Europ..."Gypsy music" is the style of East European music played elsewhere in Europe. It is usually of Hungarian, Romanian, or Russian (including Cossack) origin, but melodies from Czech, Bulgarian, and other sources may also be used. However, the original folk music is enriched by its ornamentation; sometimes it is so embellished that the original melody hardly can be recognized. The transformation is apparent even when playing one tone: A long note is not simply played but is either approached by an elaborate ornament, or it "slides" towards the tone, or it is reached by a number of short notes in a bouncing effect. The music is mainly instrumental and usually performed by strings, especially violins, except in the Romanian variant where the naï (panflute) is the main instrument. The accompaniment is usually a double bass and a cimbalom, which has a playing surface strung with steel strings which are hammered with two beaters. A kontras is a 2nd violin, which plays two-string harmonies which are then embellished by a bratsche (viola); in fast movements, the bratische enhances the rhythm by playing the after-beat, creating the typical gypsy-style rhythm called "estam." Like jazz, it is not the combination of instruments that determines "gypsy style," but its characteristic performance, especially in its use of rhythmic variations in the melody: just too early, or just too late. In faster rhythms this produces a bouncing effect and adds to the impression of improvisation.DuanesPoeTreehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17053093400086634552noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3407624264627208128.post-5064056395570382632016-03-20T22:42:03.790-07:002016-03-20T22:42:03.790-07:00Portimão is an important city in the Faro district...Portimão is an important city in the Faro district of Barlavento Algarvio (the western Algarve) in southern Portugal. For centuries the area was the homeland of the<br />Cynetes, who seem to have been closely tied to the Celts and Tartessos. Around 550 BCE the Carthaginians founded Portis Hanibalis, which became a Roman port until the 5th century CE. Then it was occupied by the Visigoths, followed by the Moors. During the reign of Afonso III the area was conquered by the Knights of the Order of Santiago and forcibly integrated into the new kingdom of Portugal.DuanesPoeTreehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17053093400086634552noreply@blogger.com