Doină cu noduri
Doină cu noduri, is an archaic genre of the Romanian vocal tradition, distinguished by an intermittent, "stuttering" performance technique. This style creates a tense and expressive effect in which the voice seems to be momentarily caught or paused before re-emerging.
The genre is a variety of the doina – an improvisational solo song performed without metrical accompaniment and in a free tempo. Unlike the regular doina, the doina cu noduri is characterized by a special technique of vocal ornamentation based on short, sharp sounds that occur at the onset of a note through the accented action of the glottis.
One of the folk names for this style – hore în grumaz – emphasizes that the complex vocal articulation is concentrated directly in the larynx, in contrast to more open, chest-based singing.
Songs of this genre have survived only in northwestern Oltenia, as well as in Oaș, Maramureș, and, and are considered one of the most archaic forms of the Romanian doina. Today, the genre is on the verge of extinction.
In 2009, the doina cu noduri, along with other types of doina, was inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists.
The doina as a genre basis
The doina is a traditional Romanian genre of solo singing that expresses deep personal feelings: longing, loneliness, pain, and love. It is distinguished by its free rhythm, individual improvisation, and a wealth of melismas and ornamentation. The musical material is built on short melodic formulas that the performer varies at their discretion.Unlike the common lyric song, the doina is not a collective performance but a confessional, intimate expression of emotions, akin to a lament or an inner monologue. Lyric songs typically have a clear meter and regular rhythm, whereas the doina is performed in a free, flexible tempo. The same text can be performed as either a doina or a song – the difference lies in the musical style and character of the performance.
The distinction between these genres goes back to Constantin Brăiloiu, who introduced the concept of the "doina proper" in contrast to the "song proper".
In Romanian tradition, there are many folk names for the doina, reflecting its musical features, the landscape or situational context of its performance, and the character of the emotion: hore lungă, cântec lung, de lung, doină cu noduri, hore cu noduri, hore din grumaz, ca pe plai, ca pe luncă, ca pe coastă, ca la munte, ca la câmp, de codru, de deal, de ducă, de dragoste, de haiduc, de jale, and others.
The archaic form of the doina with its characteristic intermittent vocal technique has survived in only two regions of Romania: in Gorj County – as the doina cu noduri – and in the regions of Oaș, Maramureș, and Lăpuș – as the hore cu noduri or ''hore în grumaz.''
History of study
The first description of the characteristic "with knots" singing belongs to the Hungarian composer and ethnomusicologist Béla Bartók. In the early 20th century, he characterized the Romanian hore lungă from Maramureș as containing "sobbing tones," which he called Schluchztöne in German. Bartók did not describe the vocal technique but mentioned that he considered these sounds "impossible for outsiders to reproduce". The German term he used was later established in Romanian ethnomusicological literature.During his expedition to Maramureș, Bartók did not encounter men performing hore lungă with knots. This led him to conclude that this technique was exclusively part of the women's repertoire. However, subsequent research by Romanian ethnomusicologists did not confirm this conclusion.
Constantin Brăiloiu recorded samples of doina cu noduri in Oltenia and in Someș County in the 1930s.
In the following decades, the doina cu noduri became the subject of field research and analysis by a number of Romanian ethnomusicologists, including: Tiberiu Brediceanu,, Eugenia Cernea,, Gheorghe Pop, Pamfil Bilțiu, Grigore Leșe, and Constantin Secară.
Technical and musical features
Vocal technique
The performance technique of the doina cu noduri is based on a special method of sound production in which the sound originates in the throat with the active involvement of the glottis. Before each musical tone, a short, sharp "strike" of the glottis is formed – the so-called "knot" – which interrupts the airflow and creates a guttural, constricted sound. This effect is not only audible but is also felt physiologically as a tension of the muscles around the vocal apparatus. The knot occurs not on the note itself but at the moment of its attack, forming a kind of "stutter" – an ornamental element before the sound. In experienced singers, each knot includes a subtle preparation: an imperceptible touch on a lower note, followed by a rapid upward transition and a sharp fixation on the target pitch. This technique requires considerable vocal control and is considered a sign of performance mastery.and Emilia Comișel learned from village performers that "some sing gâltuit, others sing from the throat," while some specified: "not deep, not from the throat, but din gâltan". The folk tradition distinguishes two fundamentally different methods of sound production here. Singing "from the throat" implies a deep, open, and drawn-out style based on chest resonance and the free passage of sound, reminiscent of some Eastern vocal techniques. In contrast, singing din gâltan is a special vocal technique in which the sound is formed in the upper part of the throat, in the area of the larynx. The "knots" themselves, which give the singing its characteristic intermittent texture, are the result of virtuosic work of the glottis – its sharp and rapid closing and opening. Thus, if singing din gât is based on continuous resonance, the gâltuit technique is based on virtuosic articulation and interruption of sound to create a unique ornament.'
Usually, the knots are performed on the vowels u, î, or i, preceded by an "h" sound that enhances the glottal strike. When the ornament occurs outside the verse text, it is performed on refrain interjections.'
The performance of "knots" is a display of virtuosity. Some less gifted performers are only able to render the melodic line of the corresponding formulas without performing the knots themselves. "Not everyone can do it – only those who can sing with knots are chosen," said a performer from Maramureș.
Eugenia Cernea notes that the folk expression cu noduri is a more accurate and figurative designation for the vocal technique characteristic of doinas from Maramureș and Oaș. It is much closer to reality than the terms sometimes used by folklorists, such as "hiccup-like sounds" or "gurgling sounds", in an attempt to describe the features of the local performance.''''
Regional features
Although the technique of knots is similar in the Maramureș and Oaș regions, there are important regional differences. In Maramureș, the "knot formulas" have a more complex, syncopated rhythm, whereas in Oaș, the rhythm of such phrases is generally regular and straightforward. These differences highlight the richness and local specificity of the archaic forms of the doina.In Oltenia, in Gorj County, the knots are expressed more softly. Here, doina cu noduri can be accompanied by hăulit, another archaic singing technique similar to the Alpine yodel.
A characteristic feature of the hore lungă from Maramureș is that it contains no other types of ornamentation besides the knots. In the Oltenian doinas, the knots are only one of several types of ornamentation.
In addition to the main distribution areas isolated cases of the performance of doina cu noduri have been documented outside these regions, for example, in the village of Vădăstrița, which neighbors Gorj County. This local tradition has its own characteristics: the melody is based on a Dorian mode with a mobile fourth degree, but with even greater pitch instability. The "knots" themselves are performed lightly, as in Gorj, but the ornamentation differs: the glottal stop here is accompanied by an appoggiatura that starts from the lower semitone of the main note.
Modern status
The gradual disappearance of the archaic vocal manner of performance characteristic of the doina cu noduri has been accompanied by a change in attitude towards it within the village communities themselves. As early as the beginning of the 20th century, such melodies were perceived by the younger generation as outdated and even comical. An illustrative example is provided by Constantin Brăiloiu, who in August 1930 in the village of Runcu recorded the story of a 9-year-old schoolgirl, Maria Arbagic. The girl spoke mockingly of the guttural sounds characteristic of the old melodies her mother performed. She compared them to a "donkey's bray" and declared that these songs were "so ugly you want to run away".A similar attitude was noted by Speranța Rădulescu during her field research in 1985. In the city of Zalău, 25-year-old Lenuța Petruș stated:
With these "knots," we don't even consider it a song. We say that these women don't know how to sing. I didn't like how she sang with knots.
Modern performers
Nicolae Pițiș was a Romanian folk singer and shepherd from Țara Lăpușului. He gained fame after performing doinas and playing the trâmbiță and the double fluier in 's film , dedicated to the haiduk Pintea the Brave from Maramureș. As a bearer of the archaic style of throat-singing doina, Pițiș was recognized as a "Living Human Treasure" in 2012 and was awarded a number of honors for his contribution to the preservation of intangible cultural heritage.Mărioara Mureșan is a contemporary singer from Maramureș whose repertoire includes traditional throat-singing doinas. She began collecting them in her childhood while traveling through villages and performs them in an authentic manner inherited from older generations.