Fiddlers and their music in Romanian Principalities, from the beginnings until the nineteenth century. Part II: Social Status

Fiddlers and their music were a very important element in the music of Moldavia, Wallachia, but also of Transylvania. Mentioned in documents since the sixteenth century, fiddlers were indispensable at the princely court, where they participated with their music in almost all ceremonies that had the ruler in the center. Also, the fiddlers, those of the boyars and monasteries, participated in other events, in different places, where they were “rented” for the profit they brought to their master, taking into account the fact that they were slaves. The fiddle music varied depending on the music of the people in the middle of which they were established, as well as due to various foreign influences, especially those in the Ottoman classical music, exercised by the music specific to the areas bordering the two Romanian Principalities. Thus, it gradually became possible for the fiddle music to crystallize and individualize, resulting in an identity music of this social category, to which we owe the perpetuation of the Romanian “folk music”, as the fiddlers were the ones who took it further, contributing to its transmission to future generations. The present contribution aims to bring to the attention also aspects less known until now, regarding the fiddlers and their music. These are related to their social status, to the differentiation according to the master, to the difference given by the instrument where they performed their music, but also by the place where they sang, all these being very important elements for a good knowledge of this musical and social category.