What is doina?
doinăRomanianalso spelled doyna
A free-time improvised lament of Romanian origin, adopted by klezmer (כּלי־זמר) as its great solo showpiece: the band holds a drone, the beat stops, and a violin or clarinet pours out ornamented phrases like a voice in prayer.
The doina came into klezmer from Romanian and Moldavian folk practice, where it was a shepherd's improvised lament. In the klezmer version the pulse simply stops: over a held drone or slow-rolled chords, a solo instrument — violin in the older bands, clarinet in the American era — improvises long, sobbing, richly ornamented phrases whose rhythm follows breath and feeling rather than a beat. Its vocal, cantorial quality made it a klezmer signature, and its traditional exit is part of the drama: the doina resolves into a fast dance tune, and the room snaps from weeping to dancing in a single bar.