1. Gypsy Influence in Romantic Music

2. The Gypsies
The Gypsies (aka Romanis) were a culturally & ethnically unique nomadic people that showed up in Europe in the late Middle Ages.
It was thought they came from Egypt or were the descendants of Cain. Modern genetics & linguistics shows they probably emigrated from India about 500 AD.
They were often made slaves & otherwise persecuted for their strange customs.

3. Gypsy Culture & Music
Gypsies had a reputation for mysticism, colorful clothes high passions & lively music.
Many were skilled musicians & dancers. In the many places they settled in Europe, their music often became popular with the lower classes, especially in Eastern Europe (Hungary, Romania, Yugoslavia) & the Andalusian mountains of Spain (flamenco originated with them).

4. Gypsy Influence in Romantic Europe
The “Gypsy lifestyle” became popular during the Romantic period.
(Why? Write some reasons in your notes.)
Famous Gypsy characters:
Esmerelda in The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Carmen in Bizet’s opera Carmen
Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights
Javert’s mother in Les Miserables
Fortune tellers in various stories.

5. Gypsy Influence on Music
Classical composers of the Romantic period incorporated Gypsy music in their songs.
Csárdás is a traditional Gypsy- Hungarian folk song/dance from the 1700s. Several “classical” composers wrote versions of it in the 1800s.
The music is very dramatic, beginning slow and ending very fast.
“Csárdás” by Vittorio Monti (1904)

6. Brahms’ “Hungarian Dance #5”
Brahms was a German composer who lived in Vienna, Austria and lived He wrote music for piano, orchestra, & choir. He is considered the main successor of Beethoven and is part of the “3 B’s”.
Some of his most popular works were his Hungarian Dances, which were written in a Gypsy-Hungarian style.