Traditional music education and restitution in Cluj-Napoca
Traditional music education and restitution in Cluj-Napoca is an itinerary that presents a few spaces suitable for musical concerts with traditional music. The proposed itinerary shows three different spaces, following the trail of learning and presenting the music to the public: from the learning place to the general public and to the specific public.
Traditional music education and restitution in Cluj-Napoca is a very attractive itinerary because it follows the reconstruction of traditional music from school to the general and specific public. The first stop is at the heart of this process, The National Academy of Music ″Gheorghe Dima″, the second point of interest is the City Center, where the restored songs are presented to the general public and the third and last stop is at the edge of the city, at The National Ethnographical Park “Romulus Vuia”, where the songs are returned to the original environment, where specific public can attend.
Cluj-Napoca is an old city, founded by Romans in the first century BC (mentioned in writing in 105 BC) over an even older village, dating from the Neolithic period. From the very beginning, the culture dominated the city. Nowadays Cluj-Napoca is well known for being a multicultural city with some of the biggest and greatest universities in the country. Among these, music is very important, as the city has two music schools, one music university, two opera houses, and a philharmonic. It also has many museums, including The History Museum, the Museum of Arts, The Ethnographic Museum and many more.
What to eat
A well-known soup in the area is the Ciorba de Burta (Cow belly soup), which is a soup made from many ingredients one can find in a peasant household. It contains cow belly, sour cream, carrots, eggs, vegetable oil, and sometimes mustard. But if the ingredients are cheap and at hand, the making of the soup is elaborate, and time-consuming, resulting in a well-seasoned soup with full taste.
As the main dish, one can choose from different traditional dishes but in the countryside, sometimes the housekeeper has to improvise from the ingredients at hand, trying to make something appealing. One variant is the turkey breast stuffed with plums, cooked in the oven or on the stove, and served with mashed potatoes and forest fruit sauce.
As a dessert, something tasty and easy to make is the Papanasi, which are dumplings made from wheat flour or semolina, cottage cheese, eggs, and sugar. The ingredients are mixed and dumplings are made, after that, they are briefly cooked in hot oil and served with sour cream and homemade plum, apricot or strawberry jam.
Local customs, tradition and festivities
Many traditions are still held in Cluj-Napoca, but if I were to mention the most beloved ones, there is the Christmas caroling, where all the community participates, the Easter when the housekeepers are still painting eggs for the visitors, and the fairs with traditional products, from clothes to food and drinks.
The National Academy of Music ”Gheorghe Dima”
University Team
Ciprian Mizgan Danciu
CIPRIAN MIZGAN-DANCIU attended the courses of The National Academy of Music ″Gheorghe Dima″, graduating the Theoretical Faculty – Music Pedagogy specialization in 2001 and the Faculty of Music Interpretation – Canto specialization, in 2003. He obtained a master's degree in Management of Cultural Institutions in 2008 at "Valahia" University and, following a post-graduate course, she is certified as a project manager (Support Children Association, 2007). He was awarded the PhD title in 2017, with the thesis entitled Carol with Mythological Theme – the source of inspiration for Transylvanian choral creation, by scientific coordinator Professor Ioan Bocșa.
He has been employed by the Transylvania State Philharmonic as head of the bass section (choir) since 2001. Since 2014 he has been an associate professor at the "Gheorghe Dima" National Academy of Music, where he teaches courses on Musical Folklore, Folk Chant, and Choral singing and since 2022 he has been a scientific researcher within the same institution.
He is currently pursuing postdoctoral studies at Babeș-Bolyai University, Faculty of History and Philosophy, Doctoral School "Population Studies and History of Minorities", under the mentorship of Professor Ioan Bolovan.
Since 1997 he has participated in regular research activities in the field of musical folklore, organized by the TerrArmonia Cultural Foundation both as a member of field collection teams and as a member of the organizing team, the editorial team or responsible for processing audio materials.
Ioan Bocșa
Andra Pătraș