As mentioned in the previous post:
The ‘tulnic’ or ‘trâmbiță’ is the name of an instrument shaped as a long tube with an increasing cross-section away from the mouth, similar to the Australian Aboriginal didjeridu (but completely unrelated). This instrument is found in many mountainous areas of Europe, under various names such as ‘bucium’ in English (similar to ‘bugle’), ‘trombatta’ in Piedmontese, or ‘trembita’ in slavic languages.
The instrument is often made of wood (but not always) and is played in a manner similar to a trombone, that is to say by buzzing the lips, producing the sound.
This particular song played on the Tulnic is not a solo one – it can be played by 2 or more players, which traditionally are women. In the sheet music, it is notated with two voices, though one can double or triple each voice as the interpreter chooses.
As the name suggests, this song originates from the Munții Apușeni region of Romania, which lies on the western edge of Transylvania and overall in the west of the country. This region is at the crossroads between several of Romania’s regions, namely Mureș, Ardeal/Transylvania, Banat, and Crișana, which allows for influences from each of these regions to penetrate into the music in the mountainous region.
In terms of the music, the two tulnics often will play the same note, or a fifth apart. In certain musical phrases, the secondary tulnic holds the root note while the other plays an oscillating melody along the notes of the chord, in this case C7 ( C E G B♭).
To see the sheet music for this piece, click here.
Thank you!
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