Steva Nikolič - Arnautka
March 16, 2008
Sometimes I catch myself being overly swayed by certain music because of its rawness, or because it seems on its surface completely alien to me, as I close my eyes and ignore that I live in 21st century California. This is not a terrible thing to be swayed by (and perhaps is what keeps me alert), but I am often flung out of that narrow listening mode by music that I might have otherwise passed over that isn’t ostensibly “raw.” Today’s post is one of those recordings.
I had found this record years ago and played it once, quickly forgetting about it. Recently, I spun it again and was captivated. Recorded in December of 1927 in Belgrade, Serbia (then Yugoslavia), Steva Nikolič’s brilliant violin playing and the murky, sonorous backup accompaniment are haunting in a way that other “gypsy orchestra” records are not, in my listening experience. ”Gypsy” music - music of the persecuted Roma people - is varied. This piece sounds similar to Hungarian Roma/gypsy music from the same period, but is a far cry from the music of the Roma in Spain, flamenco.
The title “Arnautka” is, according to the label, an “Arnaut National Dance.” Arnaut is the Turkish word for Albanian, so this may have roots there as well. Perhaps someone can help us out. Also of interest, this track was recorded in Belgrade by HMV engineer George Dillnutt, who, 25 years before he recorded this track, accompanied Fred Gaisberg on the very first recording expedition to the Near and Far East.
March 17, 2008 at 5:47 am
Wow, what a gorgeous bit of music! I’m such a sucker for violins.
March 17, 2008 at 6:46 am
As a historian, I love the little tidbits from the past that you sprinkle into your posts. As a listener, I enjoy the vast sonic diversity you bring us. Please keep it up!
March 17, 2008 at 11:56 am
Jonathan you continue to do marvellous work!
A small contribution to info on this post: the technique of tuning two fiddle strings in octaves and running them in the same groove of the nut to be able to play continuously i parallel octaves is called çifteteli (dhiplohordho in Greek)(double/paired strings) which has subsequently given its name to the common term for ‘belly dance’. So this is one more example of the continuity of Ottoman traditions in the Balkans.
March 17, 2008 at 3:24 pm
Thank you for all the comments, I very much appreciate it.
Tony: so glad you brought this up, thank you! Indeed, the fiddle string tuning is something that I wanted to mention, but was hoping someone with musician’s knowledge could jump in. Of course, I instantly recognized the tunings as being so familiar from my Turkish çifteteli 78s by people such as Kemani Recep and others. A beautiful sound!
March 17, 2008 at 6:57 pm
this is such an interesting post, with great history, cheers
March 17, 2008 at 11:13 pm
just discovered the site. wonderful! my ears thank you! well curated and incredible music. keep it up! best-nye
March 18, 2008 at 9:21 am
[...] Steva Nikolič - Arnautka « Excavated Shellac Hot gypsy music at Excavated Shellac: ‘Recorded in 1927 in Belgrade, Steva Nikolič’s brilliant violin playing and the murky, sonorous backup accompaniment are haunting in a way that other “gypsy orchestra” records are not, in my listening experienc (tags: gypsy Serbia 1920s music) [...]
March 21, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Oh yes!! thanks for this wonderful piece of music. I’m new here too, and hope to be burning up some more time here soon.
April 2, 2008 at 12:32 pm
wonderful track, thanks a lot for sharing this music here
April 17, 2008 at 12:01 am
Wow, bloody great!