The fujara is an indigenous Slovakian folk instrument originating from the the 12th century. Initially, the shepherds played the fujara to express solitude and the pastoralism in their quotidian life in the mountains.

Solo folk songs performed on the fujara were often sustainedand melancholic in nature. Over the centuries, groups of three to seven players performing music of a variety of moods and tempi were established.

To these days, the fujara thrives around Slovakia and is widely used in folk music.

The fujara is a wooden pipe made of semi-hard wood from indigenous trees with the length between 165-190 cm and diameter of 3-5 cm.

The traditional fujara has three holes, although fujaras with more holes, as many as 9, maybe found in some Slovakian regions.

The Fujara's tone is produced by blowing into the small mouthpiece, attached to the shorter tube. The tone consists of overtones based on harmonic series. Overblowing technique produces individual harmonics. For example, higher air pressure will result in producing a higher harmonic.

Air is a composition scored for the physical and virtual fujaras. The composition presents a communication between the ancient instrument and its ditigally modeled replica. The virtual fujara designed by Stefania Serafin extends the frequency range, amplitude envelope contour and duration, and timbre of the physical instrument. The model further facilitates circular breathing, an effect that is impossible to achieve by the physical fujara. The composition elaborates on breathing and overblowing patterns of various durations, shapes, and intensities. Pitch material of Air is derived from the Slovak folk music. Formally, the composition follows the trajectory from the idiomatic sound of the physical fujara to the sounds produced by extended performance techniques, and, finally, to the sonorities of the physical model.

To hear some audio examples, click here: Example 1 (J. Kojs, fujara, MP3, 640Kb), Example 2 (J. Kojs, fujara, MP3, 708Kb).

Duration: 7'40"

To learn more about fujara, click here or visit www.fujara.sk