THE INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE AND MODERNITY: TRADITIONAL MUSIC IN TRANSITION

The author’s approach represents a fi rst attempt to summarize the fi eld data and materials that were put together during the transboundary research project called: “The modernization processes of the intangible cultural heritage in Romania and Moldova. The phenomenon of folklorism and the traditional musical and literary creation.”. The investigation has revealed that the older genres of the traditional music can’t entirely explain the moment of radical social, cultural, political and economic changes that occurred in the society during the post-communist period of transition of the ‘90s. Acting like a sort troubadours of modernity, “the new minstrels” rely on effi ciently assimilating the technological innovations in art, especially by using the facilities of the electronic instruments. The contemporary process of economic and cultural modernization and globalization leads to a critical and selective exposure of the wedding traditions to a new intercultural dialogue. New forms of music are emerging, as a synthesis of different elements from the folk, traditional and ethnic culture, so that the current repertory will correspond to the necessities and the aesthetical preferences of the society in transition