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Aleksandar Petrović will perhaps forgive that we borrowed the first verse of a song from his world famous film, but now we enter a world in which this statement is entirely true. Nowadays many words – mainly aiming at getting more votes – but much less heart and even less sense is working to improve the fate of the Gypsies, although there are a number of success stories to be imitated, including an obvious field: music.We have already written about the multi-ethnic singing in the pubs of Lwów (and we hope that we would be able to illustrate this later), but the music which at the same time, in the 1920s was written on gramophone records in the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croatians and Slovenes, is simply breathtaking. The following gramophone recordings witness such a wonderful virtuosity and such a high level of instrumental and vocal music, which is in a perfect contrast to our modern stereotypes about Balkan music. These melodies carry us to the smoky pubs of Belgrade, to the noise of the Sarajevo bazaar, into a beautiful, sunny world in mid-winter. Let us listen, then, to Mijat Mijatović and the Gypsy band of Dušan Popaz. If your heart starts to beat more intensely, it is no accident.
Our photos commemorate some well known and less known old Hungarian Gypsy bands.
Mijat Mijatović 1887-1937
Mijat Mijatović in BelgradeJedren grade
Dušan Popaz and his bandŠorom ide mlad momak
Imre Magyari (1899-1940) and his bandVino piju, nane, age Sarajlije
Pali Pertis (1906-47) and his band, 1937. His grandson was the world famous Hungarian violin virtuoso Barnabás Kelemen.
The great actor Pál Jávor in the pubZorule
Pista Dombi (1895-1944) and his band, 1935Sto si Leno na golemo
Kálmán Oláh Jr. (1910-?) and his band, 1940Imam Jednu Želju
Unknown Gypsy band around 1910. Source: fortepan.huKupi mi majko top
Unknown Gypsy band playing at 5 o’clock, on 15 July 1934. in Pócsmegyer, at the double weddingof my grandparents’ cousins. Notice their proud and self-confident look. The negatives
suffered various injuries during the vicissitudes of the 20th century
Eto tako živim ja
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