One of my favorite and a very popular Macedonian tune that my Balkan band, Kermes, performs called Jovano, Jovanke–this one for cello duet on one cello. Thanks to The Neophyte Cellist for posting this video she found via Emily Anne Peterson’s blog.
Lyrics to the song may be found at the dunav site.
Iva Casian Lakos and Eric Tinkerhess play a traditional Macedonian love song, Jovano, Jovanke, adapted from an arrangement by Giovanni Sollima and Monika Leskovar
Now I’m really interested in the arrangers listed on the youtube link!
Just got back from my show–two hour drives after a three hour show didn’t used to wear me out so much. Must be getting old *sighs*
a vid of my Balkan band playing this in Bloomington, IN–I’m playing drums here, not cello obviously!
Mae Mai 
These two are fabulous. And I thank you for not using a tag Gypsy Music for Macedonian Music.
I’m half Italian half Macedonian. I will never forget war breaking out when my Italian Grandma was in reality joking by saying to me when very little, Macedonians are Gypsy’s. Like a dummy, or like a little kid that didn’t no any better I told my Mom what she said. OH MARRON’
She ran downstairs ( we lived in the flat upstairs ) and started yelling at the top of her lungs. My Grandma laughed, in fact the more angrier my mother got the more she laughed. I’m telling you nobody spoke to anybody for what seemed to be a year. My Grandma was only joking, she really didn’t think Macedonians were Gypsy’s.
I have always favored the Italian side in looks, dialect, actions and my Mother ostracized me all my life for it. Hey I’m just being me.
Anyway my Macedonian Baba was born in Lerin, Macedonia in 1906. Gone since 1992.
I see other posts in this Macedonian Music category with Gypsy Music tags and it irritated me. But in a way I sort of laughed, like in a real BLAST from the past.
Macedonian Music is Macedonian Music, Period.
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You are very welcome! Fortunately, I know the difference between Gypsy music and the folk music from the Eastern European countries. I know there’s a band in Australia called Bizerka that plays a lot of folk tunes from Macedonia, Serbia, Bulgaria–but they call themselves a “Gypsy band”–kinda sad, but most people think that it doesn’t matter much which is too bad.
Glad you enjoyed the video–I thought it was a beautiful arrangement of a beautiful Macedonian song! 😀
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Most of the Macedonian Music I knew came from the band who played at the Vecherinka’s at my Grandmother’s & Mothers church in Detroit then Dearborn, Mi.
Joe Tricoof & Orchestra
I posted a Blog in Macedonian Saturday because March 5th was my Baba’s Birthday. She would of been 105. She died in 92 at the age of 86. All I know is you can write something very specific out and translate it into another language, but translate it back and it say’s things completely different. That’s why I re-edited some parts in English. I posted an Italian one on my Dad’s B-Day in July. Translated that one also came out a little different than English stated.
In reality I wouldn’t know one title from the next. There were songs I liked and songs I didn’t. There was only one dance I knew the steps to, the Misirlou and that was an old Greek Folk dance but the Macedonians danced to as well. When the movie pulp fiction came out and I heard the title track, I told my friends that song is actually a Greek song. I absolutely loved that song when little.
But after hearing it done the RIGHT WAY all my life, I said that movie version butchered the hell out of it. LOL
Have enjoyed the conversing. Thanks
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Oh! Do you remember the name of the band? Are they still active? I’m sorry to hear about your Baba!
My Balkan band does a number of Macedonian tunes, so maybe we could help you to remember some of the tune titles. Misirlou is so well known by all the countries around the Mediterranean as well as Eastern Europe. One of my other bands plays an instrumental version of it since it’s also a very standard bellydance tune. Here’s a video of us:
The movie version was the one taken from Dick Dale’s “Surf Rock” version–I don’t particularly like it either, but yeah, everyone knows that version. Interesting thing is Dick Dale’s family is from Lebanon so it was something he grew up listening to all his life as well!
I’ve enjoyed it too–hope to hear from you again soon!
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Joe Tricoof & Orchestra
They were the Church’s Band who played at the dances. Joe Tricoff still plays clarinet with a younger group called the ??? Beats now who plays the church dances.
The original majority of the band are unfortunately long gone. Joe Tricoff has to be in his early 80s. And In reality I don’t go to my Mother’s church. I went to the summer picnic they had in 2007, forgot about it last year. So it is that church band from a very young age that I knew any Macedonian Music. It’s too bad nobody has ever thought to post anything on You Tube from them. Maybe I will pass them on a note. It would be nice to hear them play and to watch the people dance.
My Mom is 80 and really can’t get around like when younger. It’s depressing because my Baba’s generation has left us, but sadly more and more of my Mom’s as well. This is the worst part of aging for us as well, watching people leave us.
Hey, but the Music will always live on and through them so will the memories. Opa!
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I just found an album they released!
http://recordoobscura.blogspot.com/2009/05/macedonian-horos-ii.html
Wow!
Aging and death can be sad parts of our lives–but yes, the music will always live on and through them the memories too! 🙂
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OMG Unbelievable. I put in the name the OFF BEATS and what came up you guessed it.
I remember when I was about 4 or 5 we went to one of these conventions when a particular year it was in Detroit at the Cadillac Hotel. Wow
This is the band that now plays at my Mother’s Church. And Joe Tricoof still plays.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3gRD0ZgStI&feature=related ( I don’t remember anybody doing flips back then though, lol )
Joe Tricoff is playing the clarinet Solo on the next.
LOL Wild…. The next one in 1933. My Mother was born in 1931. Baba probably had her and siblings there!
You know if it hadn’t of been for your blog I wouldn’t have even went digging for these. My Mother doesn’t own nor wants a computer, but she’d love this.
But there is one thing, The church broke in two parts after they left Mich. & 25th Street in 1965 or 66. My Mother always said the MPO were Communists. LOL
Her church St. Clements was the NON Communist one. So a new St. Clements was built on Ford Rd. The St. Paul ne was built on Beech Daily and they are called MPO.
Frankly I don’t know what the confusion was all about and honestly don’t care. I do know that they put their differences aside for these Conventions. Both Churches people are there.
Well I was putting wrong thing into You Tube Search Bar. ” OFF ” BEATS.
I have to laugh because I’d always tell my Mother there’s a reason why all the Macedonians last name ended in ” OFF “. The fury….. LOL
I got beat up a lot! LOL
Ahhhhh Viva Italia & Macedonia!
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Part two of the first video didn’t come up as a video. Link is good though.
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Haha–awesome! Thanks for the links–looks like a lively crowd–and boy are thos lines in the line dances long!!
The split–sounds familiar–especially the Communist thing, seems like a lot of ethnic groups had similar splits like that all over the country during the McCarthy era.
Not that communism is the only reason–one of the Greek congregations in Indianapolis split after they decided to move the Greek Orthodox Church up to Carmel just north of the city. A Smaller group stayed in Indy and is now moving around to different churches for their services. Sad, but it happens!
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Rob Kondoff here– from The “Off” Beats in Detroit. Just came across this site. Some good old videos for sure. Joe Tricoff is alive and well and we are still playing here in the Great Lakes area. Joe will sit in once in a while too! I’ll sign off just by saying, “Hydeh!”
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