Sounds From A Bygone Age Vol.2 - Romica Puceanu

From 1864 and the abolition of slavery, many homeless gypsies settled on the outskirts of southern towns of Romania, these areas were called "mahalas" and it was where the songs "cantece de mahala" (songs of the suburbs) originated. People met in the local cafe or "carciuma" and a group of local musicians the "taraf" which usually consisted of violinist, double bass player, cobza, accordian and tambal and vocalist would entertain everyone else. This music was/is known as "Lautari". Romica Punceanu was born in 1926 in Bucharest and started singing in cafes by the age of 14 but it wasn't until 1964 that she ...  Read the complete review