1.4: European Folk Music
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France
Much of European folk music is largely built around song forms that are tied together by the lyrics of the songs. In the following example of folk music from
France you may notice that the scales and instruments sound a little like those of our modern American folk music (except for the language). The development and use of major and minor scales is what gives our Western European music its distinctive sound.
French Folk Song - M’en Suis Allé Aux Noces 1980s
Celtic (Ancient Scotland, Ireland, and a small portion of France)
The Celts refers to a diverse group of people who lived during the Iron Ages in what is now Great Britain and Western Europe. In addition to speaking Celtic languages, these people shared a common musical heritage, one that is still used by their descendants. Celtic music is often recognized by its instrumentation, which combines bagpipes, various stringed instruments, and drums. Celtic music also has a distinctive melodic style, with wide leaps that outline the harmonies of the song, creating a feeling of jubilance. This Celtic example is a modern version of a traditional dance song. However, once you get past 0:50 on the counter, it becomes much more traditional with flute and bodhrans (stretched skin drums.)
Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Rapalje (CC BY-SA 2.0;Sander van der Wel via Wikimedia Commons)
Celtic folk music - Cry of the Celts
Many modern performance groups focus on music from the Celtic tradition, as can be heard in the example below.
Modern Celtic Ensemble (Celtic Woman) - Téir Abhaile Riú
Norway
Norway has a centuries-long history of vocal and instrumental music. Indeed, many of their folk ballads and songs date back to the Middle Ages; often, they describe the dramatic tales of historical figures from that period. The Norwegian folk music linked below is one such Norwegian ballad of the Middle Ages era. It uses European sounding scales as well as several wind instruments.
Norwegian folk music - Kalenda Maya - Heming og Gygri
Russia
Russian folk music uses what we would call the modern minor scale. Listen to how distinctive this Russian folk music sounds as its slow introduction gradually gives way to faster and faster verses, until it reaches a very fast and exciting dance-like conclusion.
Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Russian Boy with Balalaika . (Public Domain; Wilhelm Amandus Beer via Wikimedia Commons)
Russian folk music - Hej sokoly - Krzysztof
Balkan Peninsula (Southeastern Europe)
The region of Southeastern Europe that includes Hungary, Romania, Macedonia, Turkey, and several other countries, is called the Balkans. This region has a rich musical heritage with many fast, exciting, dance-like songs using accordion and clarinet. Balkan music is unique in that it incorporates complex rhythms that we do not often hear in Western music.
Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Gadulka Bulkarian knee-violin with bow. (CC BY-SA 3.0; User “Arent” via Wikimedia Commons)
Balkan Traditional Music - Mirjan Hasi, Clarinet