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Fluier
mic (the little flute)
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Traian Ciuculescu, city of Pitesti
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1998
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Flute – plum wood, rings – brass
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Le : 30 cm
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Museum of the Romanian Peasant
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One beautiful
summer’s day, I left to go to the mountains with some friends. We
met a flock of sheep and were so delighted that we decided to spend
the night at the closest sheep barn. That evening around the fire,
while we were remembering the events of the day, a shepherd took
out a little flute (fluier mic) from his belt and started to play.
I thought the music was terrific and thus I wanted to learn how
to play the instrument. Then the shepherd told me what he knew about
flutes.
The simplest flute, carved by the shepherds in hazel wood or bark,
willow or elder, is called the tilincă. But it deteriorates as
it dries. So shepherds prefer "real" little flutes made from ash,
cherry, plum or plane wood made by "real" master craftsmen. Shepherds
buy them in winter when they come down into the village. In summer,
they play them near their sheep when they finish their work.
The shepherd who told me this story had a portable radio in his
shed where he sheltered at night. Nonetheless, he played dance
melodies and songs well! He played a very interesting piece, a
sort of instrumental poem about the "Shepherd who lost his sheep"
even better. It seems that the shepherd in this poem must have
found his sheep at the end of this story because the piece ends
with a joyful dance tune.
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