Slovak Csardas: Dance Tunes From The Pennsylvania Coal Mines 1928-1930

Slovak Csardas | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 22, 1997)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Heritage Music
• ASIN: B0000039Y4
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #268,149 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #25 in Music > World Music > Europe > Eastern Europe > Czech Republic

Track Listings

1. Ritki Zito - Michael Tokarick

2. Horska - Michael Tokarick

3. Michal Aj Stefan V Kafehauze Pt 2 - Michael Tokarick

4. Hraj Abo Zadatok Daj - Michael Tokarick

5. Sanok - Michael Tokarick

6. A Pod Lesom Zimna Voda - Pachac A Juskanic

7. Za Vodov Salata - Pachac A Juskanic

8. Maloruska Kolomejka - Pachac A Juskanic

9. Dievky Na Valale - Pachac A Juskanic

10. Vojensky Cardas - Pachac A Juskanic

11. Jak Som Isol Prez Les - Michail Lapcak

12. Pod Buckom Zelena Trava - Michail Lapcak

13. Sedliacky Zabavny Cardas - Michail Lapcak

14. Stefanova Solo Magyar - Michail Lapcak

15. Ked Ten Vala Horal - Michail Lapcak

16. Skoci Krak - Michael Stiber

17. A Ti Cigan Dobre Hraj - Michael Stiber

18. Gadowski - Michael Stiber

19. Kacaca - Michael Stiber

20. Ritka Buza - Michael Stiber

See all 26 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You feel as if you are in a Slovak Club in Pennsylvania, November 9, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (West Palm Beach,Fl.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Slovak Csardas: Dance Tunes From The Pennsylvania Coal Mines 1928-1930 (Audio CD)

Very Good, contains alot of archival material that would be very hard to collect. Is based on the 78 rpm records. If Eastern European Music is your passion this CD is very good!! Would like to see more of this type of music!!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Music of the Past: Honoring Traditions, June 12, 2003

By 

Erika Borsos "pepper flower" (Gulf Coast of FL, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: Slovak Csardas: Dance Tunes From The Pennsylvania Coal Mines 1928-1930 (Audio CD)

This archival recording of "csardas" music from Slovakia, as played in the Pennsylvania coal-mining regions, in the late 1920s and early 1930s, is valuable and tremendously enjoyable. Authentic music that is 100 years old is difficult or impossible to find, yet this CD most likely meets *exactly* this criteria. The music was recorded 75 - 80 years ago, therefore it was learned from musicians who would have lived in the late 1890s to early 1900s. There are few instruments, but they blend beautifully to create the fast-slow contrasting rhythms that characterize the "csardas". It is the alternating rhythms which captured one's imagination about peasant life and made the dance a sensation, even among the aristocracy in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Twirling couples, with passion and intensity, released the cares of the work week, meeting in dance halls to forget the harsh circumstances and daily risks of the coal-miner's life. There is a first violinist, who plays the tune and melody with haromonies that we are accustomed to hearing ... the second violinist, however, deliberatly tunes his instrument to a different key, for a contrasting sound, which is a bit dissonant to modern ears, yet sounds very appealing the longer one listens. The only music similar to this is from the Mezoseg and Kalotaszeg regions of Transylvania (now called Romania). It too has the contrasting sounds which are a bit "off-key", having been handed down from generation to generation, with few changes in the past 100 - 150 years. [Refer to CDs by Sandor Fodor Neti & Okros, Meta, Tukros, Hegedos, and the Teka bands.] This is "Old Country" music: raw, intense, and earthy, just as life was lived then, compared to the orchestral smoothness and refinement of today's instrument, the violin. Besides the most important instrument, the violin, one hears the cimbalom, clarinet, and bowed bass. Some bands also included, the coronet, and used a piano accompaniment instead of the cimbalom. At times, even the accordion was included. Although, the CD is primarily 'csardas' music, there are six polka tunes from Poland and a kolomyjka from the Lemko-Ukrainian region. This CD is highly recommended for anyone searching for truly authentic traditional music, which their grandparents and great-grandparents might have listened to. Without a doubt, the music on this CD will connect you to the roots of your ancestors.
Erika B. (erikab93)

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Esoteric Treasure, September 6, 2002

By 

Ken Whiteash (Ridgeway, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Slovak Csardas: Dance Tunes From The Pennsylvania Coal Mines 1928-1930 (Audio CD)

I was delighted to come across such a disk. Some of my family roots include anthracite miners from PA of Slovak/Russian/Polish
ethnicity (no, "Whiteash" is not Native American). To clean up and go to a weekend dance or listen to an impromptu "jam" in the mining towns must have been a cathartic delight. I can clearly feel the energy of the musicians in their playing - rightly referred to in the liner notes as rambunctious. I hear a similar quality in the Stanley Brothers' early recordings - commonly referred to as "hillbilly."

Fair warning to the uninitiated: The first 5 cuts (Michael Tokarick's band) have two violinists. I'm guessing that one is highly skilled and the other is less skilled, suffering mic-fright, surviving a hangover - whichever - and it can be hard to take. I'm also guessing that the bands, for the most part, got one shot at making a suitable recording due to cost of studio time. But these are only guesses. I, for one, enjoy and treasure this disk nonetheless.