One of the most famous songs from Šaban Bajramović, aka ’King of the Gypsies’. The title translates as ’Her hair is black’. A young man declares the beauty of his love to his mother, & vows to marry her. It is in 7/8 & some of the instrumental parts are challenging. However the simple melody is beautiful enough to make the piece work, even if some of the trickier parts are dropped. This is the fourth song in our ’Romany Journey’ suite. A suite of seven Gypsy songs arranged for choir, childrens choir, soloists & full symphony orchestra with rhythm section. The suite was premièred at the Colston Hall, Bristol, UK, July 7th 2013. Here’s the YouTube footage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrlNmT9qYCI&list=PLyCbOs7sB3AoCTHjuZgfkF57zIdu-H92O&index=4 It is, of course, possible to adapt for smaller forces, something I may do myself in due course. As well as individual instrument parts we have produced ’section scores’ for flute 4tet, oboe/clarinets 4tet, saxes/bassoon 5tet, combined woodwind, brass 8tet, rhythm section & string 4tet (no Viola). Also kids choir & choral score. N.B. These ’section scores’ are not ’stand alone’ scores, ie they are not complete without other parts but they are designed to make sectional rehearsal easier & more enjoyable. In general I think it’s fair to say that the suite is a great crowd pleaser & performers love it too. The choral parts are in strange languages of course, but have been designed to minimise that burden. Our un-auditioned choir performed the entire suite from memory without much difficulty. The flamboyance & dramatic nature of Romany music means that it succeeds in connecting with people even when played quite roughly. When performed well, it’s beauty becomes exquisite.