Yesterday I went to "Shutka," the part of Skopje with the largest Roma population, to find a musician. I had been invited by way of Tim Rice to a sunet (a wedding-like celebration in honor of the circumcision of a young boy) hosted by a well-known zurla player named Muzo. Tim worked with Muzo in the 70s, and hadn't seen him in awhile, so I decided to go a few days before and introduce myself. I figured out the bus to Shutka, got off in the center of the neighborhood, and started asking around to find Muzo's house. It was pretty easy to find, and after exchanging greetings on Tim's behalf, Muzo launched into a story-telling session about his performance experiences in Macedonia and around the world. We didn't have much time to talk (only an hour or two), since he was preparing for the sunet of his grandson, but near the end he offered to teach me to play the zurla over the next month if I have time, but only if I promised to keep the way that he taught me a secret. Here's a picture of me and Muzo posing with his zurla--you can see his grandson to the left, who has no clue what's about to happen to him!

Here's a video of the most well-known zurla performance in Macedonia: Teshkoto (The Hard One). Teshkoto is a folk song/dance with powerful meaning for Macedonians, often eliciting goose-bumps and tears when it is performed. Representing the difficulties of Macedonian life under the Ottoman Empire along with the hope of something better, Teshkoto is performed consistently by "Tanec," the state-sponsored folk-ensemble, and at the Galichnik Wedding, a yearly cultural event held in July honoring wedding traditions. Take notice around 4:10--the lead dancer jumps on the tapan drum to enact the most iconic moment of the dance...you can hear the audience applaud. Interesting how a specific piece of music can bring forth such emotion from an audience familiar with its meaning...and the zurlas and tapan continue throughout...though if you were nearby, you might need earplugs--that zurla is darn loud!