Folk music is the music of a nation, culture or ethnic group.
Each such group has its own characteristics, which includes such things
as behavior, food, language, history, traditions, etc. The music and
dance reflect these aspects and, as aesthetics, are communicated with
soul. Folk music is almost like a language that tells of the various
victories, hardships, sorrows and other survival factors that have
transpired, usually over centuries. This gets passed down from
generation to generation, without the formalities of academics and, most
often, not in written form. But it is ingrained in the hearts of its
people. It tends to apply to all of its people, regardless of social
statuses or classes, and is therefore embracive but unique to its group.
The
melodies are usually simple and could be no more than four notes. They
are often repetitive with very simple harmonies and little to no
modulation to other keys. However, some can have complicated rhythmic
patterns, such as West African and Indian folk music. The instruments
are unique, but quite often very similar or even the same in neighboring
regions, such as the Chinese sanxian and the Japanese shamisen.
However, the essence of each culture's music has its own characteristic,
just like language. While there are nuances of each micro-region of a
nation or area, just like a language and its dialects, they each possess
the unique essence of their nation or area.
Listen to a
traditional Persian folk tune and then an Irish one, or a Mongolian song
and then a Balinese one. You will instantly note the flavor of each
one.
Being simplistic does not mean that the artistic value of
folk music is lost. It has its own intrinsic aesthetic value as it comes
from the soul of the people and is performed with emotion, spirit and
meaning. It tells a story.
Many classical composers have
incorporated the folk melodies from their own cultures to their
masterpiece compositions, such as Alexander Borodin (Russian) or Aram
Khatchaturian (Armenian). In such a case, one cannot look at that piece
as being folk music anymore, but instead, it becomes a more refined
creation. It sophisticates into something finer and more worldly as
opposed to something just localized. Its aesthetic quality is of a
different nature.
However, certain world-class classical composers
have incorporated folk elements from other cultures outside their own
to their own compositions. We hear Russian, Chinese and Spanish elements
by composers who are not of those ethnicities. Inspired by various
melodies, masterpieces have been created. Again, one has to look at this
from another perspective.
A great analogy would be Da Vinci's The
Last Supper. This is strictly a work of fine art but it is obviously
inspired by ancient cultural phenomena. Though, it does not reflect the
exact customs and aspects of that culture in the way folk art would. The
figures of that work all possess Western European features. The bread
on the table is shown as leavened. These are peculiarities, perhaps even
anachronisms, included by the creative license of the artist, which
immediately show this work to be one of a fine art composition and not
just a cultural artifact. The same principle may happen in music too, as
in any other form of art.
Folk music is one of the key essences
of a people, and is the aesthetic beauty that binds a culture. And this
has expanded into being a major influence on music of an international
level, which makes it even more special.