# The doina — The unwritten song invented on the spot

A doina has no fixed melody. In this page's model, it has a skeleton of a few long notes, which the singer dresses differently every time.

## The mechanism, in brief

The phrase workshop on the HTML page starts from three model phrases: The call (rises and settles), The dwelling (rests on one long note) and The fall (descends with a sob). In every performance, the start and the end of the phrase stay fixed, and the resting note never moves. What changes is the length of the held note, the placing of the sob and how many turns fit between two resting points. That is why the doina counts as a formulaic improvisation system rather than a fixed melody.

## What UNESCO recognised in 2009

The doina entered the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009, through decision 4.COM 13.69, on the strength of file no. 00192.

- A lyrical, solemn chant that is improvised and spontaneous; until 1900 the only musical genre in many parts of the country.
- Always performed solo, with or without accompaniment (straight flute, bagpipes or improvised instruments); in any setting.
- Several regional variants, known under different names.
- Themes: joy, sadness, solitude, social conflicts, brigand attacks, love.
- A social role: a cathartic outlet that strengthens solidarity; it gave rise to other genres, including dances.
- Fragile transmission: a break in transmission from parent to child; some fifteen bearers identified.

Romania's DEX dictionary (2009) defines the doina as a form of folk lyric and folk music expressing longing, grief, revolt and love, later taken up by literary poetry.

## Limits

The contours on the page are drawn models, not transcriptions of field recordings. No notation captures the microtones of the voice, and the page uses no archive recordings.

## Sources

- UNESCO, Doina — file no. 00192: https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/doina-00192
- UNESCO, Decision 4.COM 13.69: https://ich.unesco.org/en/decisions/4.COM/13.69
- Romanian National Commission for UNESCO: https://www.cnr-unesco.ro/
- dexonline, definition of “doină”: https://dexonline.ro/definitie/doin%C4%83
- Romanian Academy Library: https://biblacad.ro/

Text, models and drawings by Marius Comper, 2026.