Starabanda | Tamburizza Ensemble

Tamburizza ensemble · Tamburaška skupina

An ensemble from Carinthia, in southern Austria — our musicians come from Keutschach, Schiefling am Wörthersee, Ludmannsdorf and Klagenfurt, carrying the sound of the tamburizza across borders and generations.

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Starabanda tamburizza ensemble performing — STARABANDA · 2016

The ensemble

The tamburizza group Starabanda came together again in 2004. Our members come from the communities of Keutschach, Schiefling, Ludmannsdorf and the city of Klagenfurt.

The music group is closely integrated with the two neighbouring Slovenian cultural associations “Zvezda” in Keutschach and “Edinost” in Schiefling.

Leadership

Franz Spitzer leads the organisation. Mag. Jörg Errenst is musical director; most of the arrangements are his work.

What is tamburizza?

Many people have never heard live tamburizza music before. The tamburizza is a family of plucked string instruments—related to the mandolin, balalaika and bandura—that took shape in the Balkans and has been part of musical life in Austria since the 19th century. A typical ensemble layers the bright bisernica with mid-range brač and čelo, rhythmic bugarija and a deep bass (berda). The characteristic shimmering sound comes from tremolo plucking with a plectrum, a playing style called trzanje. That is the sound world we carry into every performance.

Repertoire

Our programme spans Slovenian, Dalmatian, Greek, Russian and Italian folk songs, French chansons, classical pieces and more — from village melodies to concert stages.

Sacred music and hymns are part of our repertoire. We often accompany Mass. Around Christmas we sometimes give a small concert in church. We always include Feliz Navidad, which for us is a small New Year's greeting in its own right.

tamburaški rendezvous

CD · 2009 · with Tamburizza group TAMIKA, Bad Eisenkappel

A joint production celebrating friendship across ensembles.

Audio preview (excerpt)

Tracks | pesmi

Evo banke / Moja mala (hrvaške narodne, prir. D. Zajec, G. Errenst) (5:05)
Cigani ljubat pesnji (ruska ciganska, prir. D. Zajec) (2:23)
Sto perigiali (M. Theodorakis, prir. G. Errenst) (4:45)
Kalinka (I.P. Larionow, prir. G. Errenst) (3:46)
Ivuška (G. Ponomarenko, prir. G. Errenst, vocal: D. Thaler-Urschitz, S. Rovšek) (3:29)
Tiha noč (J. Offenbach, prir. M. Bajuk) (7:13)
Spomin na Alhambro (F. Tarrega, prir. G. Errenst) (3:56)
Diridonda (Z. Runjić, prir. J. Maszl) (3:57)
Ljubezenski venček (slov. narodnih, prir. G. Errenst) (4:45)
Pjesma rastanka (hrvaška narodna, prir. D. Zajec, G. Errenst) (3:55)
Rock tambure (N. Kalogjera) (3:32)
Žuto lišće ljubavi (Z. Runjić, prir. J. Maszl) (3:31)
Something stupid (C.C. Parks, prir. Z. Potočnik, vocal: K. Schorli, F. Spitzer) (2:47)
Zemlja pleše (M. Sepe, prir. P. Jakša, vocal: F. Spitzer) (2:27)

Starabanda was featured in the regional series „Heimatleuchten“ on ServusTV. We enjoyed the collaboration and filming — it was a lot of fun for everyone involved.