Tales of the wind
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With this album I hope to reveal some of the beauty and magic of the Fujara, a huge overtone flute from Slovakia, up to 1,80 m tall, and surely the most impressive flute of our Western culture.
The first time I played the Fujara during one of my travels, I was at once fascinated by its warm, deep, soothing and archaic sound.
I fell immediately in love with it and set off to Slovakia where I bought one and started playing on it every day.
Although deeply respecting the Fujara tradition of that country, I soon found out that the Fujara can be played in many other interesting and innovative non-traditonal, non- Slovakian ways .Tradition is a valuable and necessary thing, but when too rigid,it suffocates our natural creativity.
The Fujara has a definite meditative and lyrical quality and it has also a lot of rythmical possibilities which I appreciate a lot, being also a percussionist.
Undoubtedly, the Fujara is the most majestic and fascinating flute of Europe, and maybe it wouldn't be wrong to say it is somehow, although totally different in shape and playing technique, a spiritual brother of the world-renowned Shakuhachi.
Traditionally, it is made totally by hand from deciduous trees (elder tree, maple tree). It's a typical folk instrument and its native home is a small region in central Slovakia, called Zvolenska country. The Fujara belongs to the solo-instruments. It consists of two main parts; a whistle pipe and an air pipe and there are only three holes for finger playing. In general, it's also beautifully decorated and it can take up to one month to build a good Fujara.
I am very grateful for having discovered this amazing flute which I cherish deeply, and playing it helped me a lot during my life's journey. I also hope that, although far from being a traditional Fujara player, I can contribute a bit to the discovery and appreciation of maybe one of the most interesting flutes from our Western culture.
In 2005, the Fujara was proclaimed by UNESCO as one of the "Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity". In 2008, the Fujara and its music was added by UNESCO to the "Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity".
The first time I played the Fujara during one of my travels, I was at once fascinated by its warm, deep, soothing and archaic sound.
I fell immediately in love with it and set off to Slovakia where I bought one and started playing on it every day.
Although deeply respecting the Fujara tradition of that country, I soon found out that the Fujara can be played in many other interesting and innovative non-traditonal, non- Slovakian ways .Tradition is a valuable and necessary thing, but when too rigid,it suffocates our natural creativity.
The Fujara has a definite meditative and lyrical quality and it has also a lot of rythmical possibilities which I appreciate a lot, being also a percussionist.
Undoubtedly, the Fujara is the most majestic and fascinating flute of Europe, and maybe it wouldn't be wrong to say it is somehow, although totally different in shape and playing technique, a spiritual brother of the world-renowned Shakuhachi.
Traditionally, it is made totally by hand from deciduous trees (elder tree, maple tree). It's a typical folk instrument and its native home is a small region in central Slovakia, called Zvolenska country. The Fujara belongs to the solo-instruments. It consists of two main parts; a whistle pipe and an air pipe and there are only three holes for finger playing. In general, it's also beautifully decorated and it can take up to one month to build a good Fujara.
I am very grateful for having discovered this amazing flute which I cherish deeply, and playing it helped me a lot during my life's journey. I also hope that, although far from being a traditional Fujara player, I can contribute a bit to the discovery and appreciation of maybe one of the most interesting flutes from our Western culture.
In 2005, the Fujara was proclaimed by UNESCO as one of the "Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity". In 2008, the Fujara and its music was added by UNESCO to the "Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity".
CD Samples
CD's: Fujara,Stones,Spirits,Gates and Wastelands no longer available at : http://www.highgatemusic.com/
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