Music is an integral part of any culture. It reflects our way of life and our values. If we go back into history, music can help us to understand what mattered for people and what people were thinking about hundred years ago. Music not only retains the idea of who we are but it also retains the language our ancestors spoke and we speak now. Music changes, the language changes too. Many foreign words appear in our lives, often replacing the native ones. This trend is universal all over the world.
“Yasti” duet hails from Kongaz (the largest village in Europe). Without any exaggeration, everyone in Gagauzia knows them. Their songs are constantly broadcasted on the radio, and they are invited for performances all over Gagauzia. They were among the first to start writing songs in the Gagauz language, although initially, everything started a little bit differently.
“Yasti” duet is not just a musical band. This is a duet of husband and wife – Mikhail and Valentina Yasybash. They got married 15 years ago, immediately after graduation from teacher training college, and after that they entered the vocal class of Comrat State University. Since then, they have been performing at various events and celebrations.
More and more often, people at weddings used to ask them to play something Gagauz and they had to sing the same songs over and over again. They got tired of that – if there are no other pieces of music, then we should compose them ourselves. Mikhail recalls how it started:
“50 -60% of songs at weddings were Russian, and 20-30% were Moldovan. Of course, we hear Moldovan music everywhere and it is of high quality. So, we used to play Moldovan music at weddings. Many older people would tell us, “Can you sing something Gagauz?” And we did not want to sing the same songs all the time. These were the 1990s, the times of stagnation after collapse of the USSR. There were only a few songs and few performers at that time.
I had studied the Steinberg Cubase program and we began composing our own music. Gagauz songs in the Gagauz language. They are based mainly on folk rhythms and flavor. We also composed in Russian because the second language here is Russian. We have three albums now. The first album came out in 2014, half of it consisted of songs in Russian and another half were Gagauz songs. The second album is only in Gagauz, while the third one is only in Russian. Some people composed music and texts for us, others only texts, while we composed the music but the arrangement was always ours“.
If folk music is divided into elements, we can see that it consists of many different components. All together they sound like music, but if you listen closely you can hear Balkan elements in Moldovan music and Russian ones in Ukrainian and vice versa. Neighboring cultures penetrate each other. In ethnic music, these infiltrations occurred a long time ago and it took time for it to become what we know now. So, when we listen to Moldovan music, we can easily identify it. In our past interview Constantin Ghermec said that during its history Gagauz culture absorbed elements of neighboring cultures – similar dances are based on elements of Balkan, Moldovan and Turkish cultures. But when exactly were these elements borrowed? And most importantly – by whom? Who was the first to decide to use such a musical instrument or a dance element? Mikhail Yasybash – mastered nay (pan flute). This instrument is not very popular in Gagauzia, almost nobody could play it before.
“I was 9 when I heard it on TV and told my dad about it. My father is an accordionist. I told him that I want to learn to play the nay. My father could not find either the instrument, or a teacher, as there are none in the south, but he taught me to play the accordion. When I graduated from a musical school and Teacher Training College, I was 22, I found a master, bought myself a nay and started to learn to play the nay myself. I was given the basic lessons, how to hold the instrument and how to extract sounds and I continued mastering it myself. It was 12 years ago”.
Perhaps, time will pass and nay, as an instrument and part of folk music, will become a traditional Gagauz instrument and perhaps now is that very moment when one culture is having an influence on the other one. Mikhail not only plays the nay, he also teaches children to play it. With his musical education, he is also a specialist in teaching. A year and a half ago the headmaster of Kongaz School of Music persuaded him to open his class and Mikhail agreed.
Mikhail and Valentina compose music in two main styles: pop and folk. They record their albums at home, in their home studio, in a specially equipped room. Because Gagauz media market is very small, their music within Gagauzia is practically not monetized, except for commercial orders? Such as concerts at festivals and celebrations. However, they have signed a contract with an English label for the right to distribute their music and that is why they can be easily found in the Internet.
Mikhail says that they are very popular among the Gagauz who have lived abroad. The reason is simple, as Gagauz language is practically absent on the Internet. There is very little content in Gagauz and mostly these are humorous gigs. People who have left home for a different country, whether it is Turkey or Russia, miss their home and their culture. What reminds of home more than a language? That is why the demand for Gagauz language songs has increased so much.
In recent years, there has been a negative trend in language proficiency among children in Gagauzia. In big cities, many use Russian for communication. Due to globalization, the Gagauz language is in danger of extinction. Music is a good way of saving the language. Theatre and cinema are not well developed yet. The situation with prose and poetry is noticeably better but this form of art is not as popular as music. Music penetrates every home, every car, every celebration, it reaches people, remains in their hearts, and comes back with its memorable melodies.
Mikhail and Valentina have four children, and their own children also speak mostly Russian. It is generally believed that the Russian language gives more opportunities, as no one speaks Gagauz outside Gagauzia. With good intentions many parents taught their children Russian, they spoke Russian at home believing that the children will learn Gagauz playing with other kids in the street. But, unfortunately, everybody thought so then, while children continued to communicate in Russian among themselves. Valentina tried to explain why Gagauz children are less likely to speak Gagauz:
“At some period of our childhood we did not know Russian language well enough, but teaching at schools was in Russian. We were told that we need to learn Russian and should try to speak more or less without accent. Probably, our society went too far with this and now all the children speak mostly Russian”.
Songs are not only an instrumental form and phonetic wordplay. It also transmits certain messages that musicians put into their works. Whether it is a lyrical song or a song about burning concerns of the day, it reflects the viewpoint of the authors. Mikhail and Valentina compose music mainly about love but not only:
“There are a lot of humorous songs in our repertoire. But the humor is not straightforward. Overall, it’s funny, but the point is always deeper, relatable, sometimes even philosophical. That’s what matters for us. If a person doesn’t play music, he simply talks about this at home or with friends. And since we are playing music, we want to express our position through music and poems, the way we see what is right and what is wrong”.
Unfortunately, people have to leave their homeland mostly for economic reasons. This trend is generally the same all over Moldova. Those who can, are looking for a better life abroad, some find it, some do not. At the very beginning of their marriage, when Mikhail and Valentina were 20, they, as many of their countrymen did, left Gagauzia in search of a better life for themselves and their future children. But almost immediately they returned and set down roots at home. According to the Gagauz tradition – the younger son remains at home, with his parents. Mikhail is the youngest son.
Mikhail: “I do not know about others, but Gagauz people love to have 20-30 people for a holiday. Even if it’s a family celebration, but this does not happen anymore”.
Valentina: “Of course, it is very sad. I want something to attract people back home. They say they miss home, but they still remain there, because there is more work, more opportunities there”.
Mikhail and Valentina not only returned home, but they also put down their roots there. For them, culture and music are integral parts of their lives. Largely thanks to such people, culture has been preserved to this day and gets richer. And they consider it very important.
“Every person once thinks about his roots, right? With some people, it happens at the age of 20, with some in their 40s. People begin to express interest in who their ancestors were, that is why it is very important to preserve our Gagauz heritage. If we lose our language and culture, what will remain? It is part of our identity!”
“I think in 10-15 years there will be fewer songs in our repertoire but they will be of higher quality. If they are about love and life, they will be deeper. In other words, it will be the music for the people, the same age as ours at that time. Our music gets more mature together with us”.
Mikhail.
“Though the family is our first priority, music is an integral part of our life. I joke that I have two wedding rings – one I got at the wedding and another is a violin clef. Music is the reason for our existence”.
Valentina.
