LL-L 'History' 2006.08.20 (01) [E]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 20 August 2006 * Volume 01
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From: Pat Reynolds [pat at caerlas.demon.co.uk]
Subject: LL-L 'History' 2006.08.19 (01) [E]

In message <200608192020.k7JKKqc4020133 at listserv.linguistlist.org>,
Lowlands-L <lowlands-l at lowlands-l.net> writes
>I must add that if The Great William McGonagall's tortured verses are correct
>Her
>Majesty Queen Victoria treated Gypsies very charitably.
>In his 'poem' "The Attempted Assassination of the Queen" he tells us how....
>'And she also gives the Gypsies money at Balmoral or so I have been told,
>And mind you seldom silver but very often gold.'

Her diary and sketch book attest to the same. When she was staying at
her uncle's house (Claremont) in Surrey, she met a group of Gypsies,
drew them, and commented very positively on their physical beauty and
family values.

My attention was drawn to this by one of their kin, Harry Brazil, and I
passed it on to a historian/playright (Rib, second name escapes me), so
the incident was incorporated into a wonderful production which happened
at Claremont Fancourt School this summer.

Cheers,

Pat
-- 
Pat Reynolds
pat at caerlas.demon.co.uk
"It might look a bit messy now,
but just you come back in 500 years time"
(T. Pratchett)

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From: 'Roger Hondshoven' [roger.hondshoven at pandora.be]
Subject: LL-L 'Names' 2006.08.17 (05) [E]

Hi Ron,

Just a note in connection with Django Reinhardt. He was born in a caravan
in the village of Liberchies (Belgium), where he was also baptized. I cannot
say what his real nationality was. Most of his life he spent in France. But
I cannot see any relationship with Germany.

Regards,

Roger Hondshoven

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From: R. F. Hahn [sassisch at yahoo.com]
Subject: History

Hi, Roger!

I may have been swayed either by the last name Reinhardt (which is very common
among German Roma) and people having told me Django Reinhardt was from Germany. 
Evidently he was not, though his ancestors probably were, which should not be
surprising given that he was born into a nomadic family and had that surname.  At
any rate, most sources say he was Belgian, although he lived in France for most
of his time and also in the UK and US for periods of varying lengths.  He is by
many considered the father of "Gypsy jazz," besides having been perhaps *the*
jazz guitarist (and also banjo player), and he has influenced the work of many
later composers and musicians.  Note that he was illiterate, also could not read
music.

Having been (Manouche/Manush) Roma *and* jazz musicians, Reinhardt, his family,
clan and friends had two important strikes against them under Nazi occupation. 
Django was in the UK on tour when World War II began, and he could have saved
himself that way.  But he rushed back to Paris, though he left his wife back in
relatively safe London.  It is said that he and his family survived by virtue of
protection from "Doctor Jazz," a German airforce official by the name of Dietrich
Schulz-Köhn, an ardent Jazz lover and admirer of Reinhardt.

Reinhardt's most lauded compositions:

Minor Swing:
http://www.djangology.net/virtualgypsyjazz/MinorSwing.mp3

Nuages ("Clouds"):
http://joedeninzon.com/Nuages.mp3

Tears:
http://www.univ-lemans.fr/~druella/musique/mp3pers/london05/05_tears.mp3

Belleville:
http://www.cordalswing.com.ar/belleville.MP3
http://jazz.ring.net/bpclub/sounds/bpcd015-3.wav

Talking about Roma musicians (and we all probably know that this is an important
and vast area, especially in countries like Spain, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania,
the Balkans, Greece and Turkey), it is a relatively little known and rarely
advertised fact that especially in the early 20th century United States,
primarily in the New York area, many, including some of the best know Klezmer
bands had Roma members (mostly due to a scarcity of sufficiently accomplished
Jewish players at the time) and that these not only became masters of traditional
East European Jewish music but are by some said to have injected "new" elements
into this tradition, including "jazzy bits."  Obviously, the two traditions
started off with much in common, namely with common sources in East European
(especially Czechoslovak, Ukrainian, Russian, Balkan, Hungarian and Romanian)
music, and both show signs of the survival of Middle Eastern relics.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

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