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Book Review — Bright Balkan Morning
By L.A. Steel
Bright Balkan Morning, written by Charles Keil and Angeliki Vellou Keil with photography by Dick Blau and soundscapes by Steven Feld, was recently published by Wesleyan University Press.
As I read the text of Bright Balkan Morning, I listened to the accompanying music and soundscapes CD and felt as though I was becoming immersed in the stunning black and white photographs. I felt the sense of being transported on a spiritual and physical journey though space and time to a remote village in Greek Macedonia.
"… I walked the streets in full sunshine. Most of them were unpaved, fluffy with baked blond dust. Silence. Not a soul in sight. I was stunned by the emptiness, the poverty, the order and beauty. The houses were tiny; the lowly outbuildings were built of sun dried brick, and brilliant whitewash reflected the light, with blocks of ochre here and there …" — Angeliki Vellou Keil, Bright Balkan Morning
As I listened to the CD of soundscapes, I could hear men and women speaking in their odd language as dogs barked and goat herders herded their goats and the sounds of a marketplace and tavern echoed an ancient music and language.
The pages of photographs came alive, while the words of Charles and Angeliki Keil seemed to dance off the pages. With their honest, colorful collaboration of writing styles, they inform and involve the reader in an intimate account of their research, conversations and interviews with the Romani people.
Regrettably the music and cultural traditions of so many ancient cultures have been irretrievably lost in time, but through the research and commitment of Charles and Angeliki Keil the unique music and traditions of the Romani people can be archived and preserved for new generations to appreciate. The Romani people are fortunate to have been so well portrayed in the warm and brilliant light of Bright Balkan Morning.
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