ICTM 2011 (World conference). In panel "Speak, shout, weep, sing. The voice and the boundaries of music", convened by Victor A. Stoichiţă.

Abstract

In Romania, Gypsies are famous for their mastery of specific voice skills. These range from complex melismatic singing to rhythmic patterns of onomatopea. The overall characteristic of these distinctive features is an instrumentalisation of the voice. Between two words or even two syllables, the singer may use these techniques to embark his audience for a complex musical journey, well beyond the semantic and melodic frames of the song. Drawing on my work with both professional and amateur Gypsy singers, I will examine these practices in light of their relations with other instruments used during the performance. I will focus on the creative uses of the microphone and sound effects by modern Gypsy singers, to enhance these vocal older techniques.