Week 7: Latcho Drom 2

Many of the instruments used in one scene later reappear in a later scene. But as the scenes go on, the instruments change more. For instance, the instruments used in Romania were nothing like the original instruments used by the nomadic groups in Northern India. As the Romas moved into Europe, they also seemed to have a more difficult time assimilating with the rest of society. Even though the Roma pick up many of the instruments and music styles of the Europeans, they were not very much accepted into the society.

The first scene during the second part of the film opens with a young boy approaching 2 elderly men playing the violin and santour. Later these same musicians appear in the village scene where all the musicians of the village gathered. Each musician exited from their homes and met in the center. Villagers gathered around for the performance. There were flutes, violins, accordions, bass, and santours. This village gathering gave the same sort of community feeling as many previous scenes, such as the one in northern India and Egypt. The leader starts while the rest of the group follows, improvising their own parts to harmonize with the overall melody. I thought it was especially interesting when one of the santour players flipped his instrument upside down and tapped on the body of the santour to create a percussive beat for the song.

In the train scene, the young girl sang a sad song, but the group waiting at the train station were in a completely different mode. Even though the Roma people were rejected by the main society, the scene implied that as long as they had each other and their music, life was fine. At the train station, the richer, white woman and her son were sitting alone waiting for the train and were very cold. The group of Roma people appeared less well-off but were warm and in a happier mode. The musician refused the young white boy's money and played music for their own enjoyment. Aside from the violin, the group used random objects to create the musical sound. For example, one person blew into a jub, another clapped spoons together, and the rest of the group snapped their fingers and sang along. This shows the Romas's ability to turn everyday objects into musical instrument and to adapt their surroundings to their lifestyle.