Acquaragia Drom

Decades ago, in a record store in Paris (in the days when there were such things) I picked up, out of curiosity, a CD by a group of Adriatic gypsies who called themselves Acquaragia Drom. The group appeared to travel around in a tour bus and consisted of three men and two women. Instrumentarium was guitar, accordion, violin, clarinet, bass clarinet, and 'tromba de' zingari'. The music alternates between European, Indian, and 'Arab'. Throughout over two decades, this one CD has given me immense pleasure. Listening to it again today, I could not help but reflect on just how far popular / folk music has deteriorated with the advent of all-embracing American/African popular music, with its omnipresent guitar strumming, beat, and bongo drumming, all in relentless 4/4 time. No violins, no clarinets, no accordions, and everything synthesised and amplified via advanced electronics. Modern music has a lot to answer for. Modern folk (or "people's") music is to music what Bach is to Stockhausen. "Stockhausen? I think I once trod in some" quipped Thomas Beecham.