Doina

The Doina (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈdojna]) is a Romanian musical tune style, possibly with Middle Eastern roots, customary in Romanian peasant music, as well as in Lăutărească. It was also adopted into Klezmer music.

Similar tunes are found throughout Eastern Europe and the Balkans. In some parts of the Balkans this kind of music is referred to as scaros or scaru.

Origins and characteristics

Béla Bartók discovered the doina in Northern Transylvania in 1912 and he believed it to be uniquely Romanian. After he found similar genres in Ukraine, Albania, Algeria, Middle East and Northern India, he came to the belief that these are part of a family of related genres of Arabo-Persian origin. He particularly linked the Romanian doina to the Turkish/Arabic Makam system. Bartók's conclusions were rejected by some Romanian ethnomusicologists, who accused Bartók of anti-Romanian bias. Nevertheless, the similarities between the Romanian doina and various musical forms from the Middle East have been subsequently documented by both non-Romanian and Romanian scholars. Until the first half of the 20th century, both lăutari and klezmer musicians were recorded using a taksim as an introduction to a tune. The taksim would be later replaced by the doina, which has been described as being similar, though not totally identical to the taksim. Romanian ethnomusicologist and musician Grigore Leşe, after performing with a group of Iranian musicians, noticed that the doinas of Maramureş have "great affinities" with the Arabo-Persian music.

Doina (film)

Doina is a 2010 Romanian short musical drama film written & directed by Italian filmmaker Nikolas Grasso, starring Mariana Preda, Maria Dinulescu, Mircea Galis and Carmen Ungureanu.Doina has been awarded by 8 International Film Festivals.

Plot

A talented teenager named Doina is training for an important international piano selection, but the piano is not her real passion and soon she has to choose whether to follow the path everyone else has planned for her or seek her own.

Release

The film had its World Premiere at the Monaco International Film Festival on December 2, 2010, and subsequently screened at multiple film festivals around the world, including the Gasparilla Film Festival, one of Tampa Bay's largest independent film festivals, and the Phoenix Film Festival, the largest attended festival in Arizona.

Recognition

Critical reception

The selection of Doina by the GIFF was covered by the Tampa Tribune. Film critic Walt Belcher stated "Among the international films is Doina, an award-winning effort by 23-year-old Italian filmmaker Nikolas Grasso. It's about a 16-year-old girl training for a piano competition." James Stanford of The Coast stated, "As an international short, the music is the theme and primary subject for a film that begs you to open your shell and follow the rhythm of your own tune. Rest assured, this had audiences cheering."

Doina (disambiguation)

Doina is a Romanian name. It can also refer to: