Slovakia

Slovakia is a landlocked republic in Central Europe. It borders the Czech Republic and Austria in the west, Poland in the north, Ukraine in the east and Hungary in the south. Slovakia is a member of the European Union and has a population of more than five million. The capital is Bratislava.

The Slovaks are a Slavic people, closely related to the Czechs. Slovak folk music has been playing an important role in the rural culture. Its richness of forms can be attributed to geographic profile of Slovakia with mountain ridges separating smaller regions. Despite its diversity it exhibits forms of distinctively Slavic and Carpathian character (especially the extensive use of modality). Slovak folk motifs have made their way to classical works of several central European composers, namely Béla Bartók, Leoš Janáček. Due to long-term political ties, Hungarian music has also been influential in Slovakia.

Folk instruments include the fujara (a huge shepherd's flute), bagpipes, both played usually solo. Folk groups typicaly consist of violins, double bass and cymbalum, performing various genres of usually dance music, like Verbung, or Czardas in southern, Hungarian influenced regions. Such dance folk music was frequently performed by travelling gypsy groups. Lyrics often concern a local hero named Jánošík, a legendary highwayman who brought justice for the oppressed and poor.

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Horehronsky Cárdás

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Tota Hel'pa, tota Hel'pa
to je pekné mesto.
Av tej Hel'pe, av tej Hel'pe
Svarnych chlapcov je sto.

Koho je sto, toho je sto
ne po mojej vôli.
Len za jednym, len za jednym
srdiecko ma boli.

Za Janickom, za Pavlickom,
krok by nespravila.
Za Durickom, za Misickom,
Dunaj preskocila.

Dunaj, Dunaj, Dunaj, Dunaj,
aj to siro pole,
len za jednym, len za jednym,
potesenie moje.

This Hel'pa, this Hel'pa
is a nice town.
And in Hel'pe there are
a hundred handsome boys.

This hundred, that hundred
are not to my liking.
Only for one, only for one,
my heart aches.

For John, for Paul,
she wouldn't take a single step.
For George, for Mike,
she'd jump over the Danube.

Danube, Danube, Danube, Danube,
and a wide field,
only for one, only for one,
my darling.

To live is to dance, to dance is to live.
~Charles Schulz (Snoopy speaking)