PIECE
The most magnificent monuments of Romanian plastic art are wall paintings covering the facades of 16th-century Orthodox churches in northern Moldova and in Wallachia. It is also worth mentioning the icons painted on wood and glass, to this day emerging in Transylvania.
Recognized as the founder of the Romanian painting school, Nicolae Grigourescu (1838-1907), fascinated by French impressionism, he operated with colored spots, and he resigned from accurately depicting shapes. His canvases, characterized by mild colors, depict Romanian peasants. Grigourescu's works can be seen in galleries in Bucharest, Jassach, Konstanty and Sibiu.
Creator of abstract sculptures, Constantin Brincusi (1876-1957), after 1904 r. he stayed mainly in France, but in a year 1937 he gave his hometown Tirgu Jiu some of his best works. He revolutionized sculpture, with an emphasis on the simplicity of forms and the beauty of the material itself. In addition to the outdoor sculpture ensemble in Tirgu Jiu, Brancusi's works were exhibited in Budapest and Craiova.
LITERATURE AND FILM
Mihai Eminescu (1850-1889), the greatest Romanian poet of the last century, in his works he tried to express the essence of Romanian spirituality. The satirist Ion Luca Caragiale (1852-1912) in dramatic plays he showed the image of cities, which progress has invaded too quickly; the writer conveyed the comic and irony of social and political transformations. The most famous Romanian contemporary writer is Eugene Ionesco (1912-1994), the main representative of the theater of the absurd, from 1938 r. living in France. The most famous living novelist is Paul Goma (ur. 1935). My childhood at the gate of anxiety has been translated into Polish.
After the revolution, Romanian cinematography flourished. At the Cannes festival, critics noticed Lucian Pintilie's painting O Vaia de Newfat (An unforgettable summer). Other standout movies include Senatorul Melcirol (Snail senator) directed by Mircea Daneliuc and Rosenemil, the Tragic Lubire (The tragic love story of Rosenemil) Radu Gabrea. W 1995 r. Fox Studios has paid 1,5 million dollars for the right to film Almost Adam, novels by Petru Popescu, writer from Romania.
MUSIC
Traditional Romanian folk instruments include the bucium (trumpet, long trunk made of fir wood), bagpipe (bagpipe), cobzi (kobza), nai (built from approx 20 reed pipes flute), dulcimer, cytra. Pipe pipes are popular, and also ocarina (okaryna) and tilinca (a type of pipe without side holes). Relatively young, but today the most common folk instrument is the violin. The most famous Romanian composer, George Enescu (1881-1955), he was a violin virtuoso, and in his works there are folk motifs. Another famous composer, Ciprian Porumbescu (actually: Cyprian Gołębiowski), creating in the era of romanticism, also made use of the folk musical tradition.
Doina is an improvised solo love song, "Romanian longing” on a romantic or social theme.
Balada is also an emotional singing, but performed collectively.
In dance, pairs form circles, semicircle or ranks. Sirba is a fast dance in a circle enclosed by intertwined arms. Hora has a similar character, and in briu the dancers form a circle, holding the seat belts to the right and left.
Contemporary gypsy music has already absorbed many foreign elements and professional gypsy musicians play everything, what customers want. fiddler (musicians) they roam the villages, inviting neighbors to weddings, baptisms, birthday, funerals and harvest festivities. Improvised songs (song) are directed to a specific person with the intention of provoking their positive reaction (of course it is about payment, not a smile). Traditional ballads especially appeal to the elders (ballad) and epic songs in verse, singing the deeds of the local Janosik who administered justice.
Authentic Gypsies organize themselves into groups called tarafs, like for example. the famous Taraf de Haiducs of Clejani, a village southwest of Bucharest, and they play the violin, accordions, gitarach, double basses, hammer cymbals (table), flutes (whistle) and other instruments.
To strengthen Romanian national identity, in the communist state, the urban variety of folk music was promoted. This genre is popularized primarily by nai and tabal mara masters (concert percussion or cymbals). They often support such musicians, rather unheard of in villages, large orchestras, which of course may be controversial. Gheorghe Zamfir, who gave himself the title of "Master of the Flute”, he has both fanatical admirers, as well as die-hard opponents.
RELIGION
Romania is the only Romanesque country without Catholic roots. 86% of the population professes the Orthodox religion, 5% they are Catholics (mainly Hungarians and Germans in Transylvania), 3,5% Protestants (also Germans and Hungarians), 1% Greek Catholicism (unique, union of the Orthodox Church with the Catholic Church with 1697 r., population concentrated in the areas formerly belonging to Hungary), 0,3% Muslims, a 0,2% the Jews.