Customer Reviews

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

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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!!

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)

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.

I bought this to use at a wedding reception. If you're looking for some Csardas music, this is great!

I bought this as a gift for my mother who grew up listening to csardas music. My grandparents would play it at home and she remembers them dancing to it. Some of the songs she remembers from childhood and others were not as familiar to her. The recordings are a little scratchy sounding but it is what it is. You cannot expect great sound quality from such an old recording of live music by non-professional musicians! It is though a wonderful gem of a lost style of music that was enjoyed by many Slovaks. I think listening to this CD brought back a lot of memories for my mom.