Music of Croatia

In Croatia both pop and rock are popular, as well as pop music influenced by Dalmatian or Slavonian folk elements.

Since the mid-20th century,

History of music in Croatia

Medieval

The oldest preserved relics of musical culture in Croatia are sacral in nature and represented by Latin medieval liturgical chant manuscripts (approximately one hundred musical codices and fragments dating from the 11th to the 15th centuries have been preserved to date). They reveal a wealth of various influences and liturgical traditions that converged in this region (Dalmatian liturgy in Benevento script, Northern Gregorian chant, and original Glagolitic chant).

Renaissance and baroque

Early in the 15th century, the ideas of

The most prominent Croatian composers of this period include Ivan Lukačić, Vinko Jelić and Atanazije Jurjević.

New tendencies of early

The tradition of the Baroque was more lasting in church/sacral music, which was the musical form that was systematically nurtured in numerous monasteries (especially Franciscan ones) as well as in parish and cathedral churches. The preservation of music manuscripts and prints became a widespread practice in the mid-18th century. Simple vocal-instrumental music for two voices with organ continuo was the form most frequently performed in churches; more prominent individuals active in the sphere of music could be found only in larger urban centres. They were mostly organists and maestri di cappella, skilful composers who had small vocal and/or instrumental ensembles and who frequently acted as music teachers (private or in church schools). The gradual development of the middle class had as one of its consequences the corresponding secular organisation of musical life, particularly in the first decades of the 19th century, a period that saw the establishment of music ensembles, music societies (1827 in Zagreb, then in Varaždin, Rijeka, Osijek etc.) and music schools.

In addition, public balls and other events were organised (music academies, theatre performances) with the participation of local and foreign musicians (from Italy, Austria, Bohemia etc.) including the private collection of music materials for playing music at home. Music became a component part of various festivities, such as the arrival of important political personalities (the new governor or the Habsburg king Frances I, etc.), the feasts of patron saints (St. Blaise in Dubrovnik, St. Domnius in Split, St. Stephen in Hvar and Zagreb etc.), for which so called art music was specifically composed, with the inclusion of popular elements (bourgeois dances, folk music of the peasantry).

Romanticism

Many Italian and domestic musicians worked in Dubrovnik: in the cathedral choir and orchestra, in the Duke's orchestra, at private and public festivities.^[1] An excellent early example of pre-classical symphony and chamber music was given by Luka Sorkočević, a nobleman educated in Rome, as well as his son Antun, a historian and diplomat. Ferdo Livadić (1799–1879) wrote Notturno in F-sharp minor for piano as early as 1822, which is, along with John Field's compositions under the same name, one of the earliest examples of that type of piano miniatures in general.^[2]

In the course of the 1830s, as a reflection of such tendencies in Europe, the

The traditional folk music of Croatia is mostly associated with the following:

Ganga

Ganga is a type of singing which is characterized by a lone singer singing one line of lyrics and then others joining in for what can be best described as a wail. It is a very passionate form of singing, which is one of the reasons it has been limited in popularity to small towns. Even though it is a unique and autochthonous form of singing by Croats, it is very rare to hear this music on Croatian airwaves. However, several popular Croatian musicians have incorporated some ganga into their work. It can also be heard in concert music: the American composer Craig Walsh incorporates a ganga-inspired wailing, sighing, pitch-bending, micro-tonal vocal style in his 'String Quartet No. 1' (2010), a work commissioned for the Sarajevo Chamber Music Festival and the Manhattan String Quartet, the second movement of which is clearly paying homage to ganga style.

Only recently has ganga begun to address political issues, frequently adopting overtly nationalistic overtones and incorporating themes from the Croatian Homeland War. Although both men and women regularly perform ganga, it is extremely unusual for them to perform songs together. It is not unusual at all for both Catholic and Muslim men to perform ganga together.

Klapa

The klapa music is a form of a cappella singing that first appeared in littoral Croatia during the middle of the 19th century.^[3] The word klapa is derived from a word in slang Italian spoken in Trieste at the time. It refers to "a group of people" and the singing style traces its roots to liturgical church singing. The motifs, in general, celebrate love, wine (grapes), country (homeland) and sea. The main elements of the music are harmony and melody, with rhythm very rarely being very important.

A klapa group consists of a first tenor, a second tenor, a baritone, and a bass. It is possible to double all the voices apart from the first tenor. Although klapa is a cappella music, on occasion, it is possible to add a gentle guitar and a mandolin.

Klapa singing has become increasingly popular in littoral Croatia. Many young people from Dalmatia treasure klapa and sing it regularly when going out eating/drinking. This music has gained popularity among mainstream audiences in coastal regions of Croatia, with newer klapa formed by younger generations fusing klapa vocals with other music styles, such as klapa Libar's metal cover of "Pusti da ti leut svira"^[4] and the pop/klapa song "Kako ću joj reć' da varin" by klapa DVD-a Žrnovnica Sv. Florijan,^[5] which won the Split Song Festival in 2010.

Tamburica

Tamburica (diminutive of tambura) music is a form of folk music that involves these and related string instruments. It became increasingly popular in the 1800s, and small bands began to form, paralleling similar developments in Russia, Italy and Ukraine.

The main themes of tamburitza songs are the common themes of love and happy village life. Tamburitza music is primarily associated with the northern,

Gusle

The gusle music is played on this traditional string instrument. It is primarily rooted in epic poetry with emphasis on important historical or patriotic events. It is the traditional instrument of inland Dalmatia and of Herzegovina, the part of Bosnia and Herzegovina with predominant Croatian population.

Gusle players are known for glorifying outlaws such as

As for contemporary gusle players in Croatia, one person that particularly stands out is Mile Krajina. Krajina is a prolific folk poet and gusle player who gained cult status among some conservative groups. There are also several other prominent Croatian gusle players who often perform at various folk-festivals throughout Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Diple

Diple is a traditional woodwind musical instrument in Croatian music. Sometimes called "Mih", "mjeh", "mjesina" or only "diple", it is played from Istria, Lika, over Dalmatia Islands and Coast to Herzegovina. "Mih" is made of tanned goat or sheep skin and consists of a "dulac" or "kanela" through which the air is blown and "diple" (chanter) on which it is played. Inside the "mih" on the chanter, two single-blade reeds are situated. Unlike bagpipes, "Mih" doesn't have a "trubanj" or "bordun" (drone). Although they are very similar, the "mih" from different parts of Croatia still differ in type of chanter, in the position of holes or in some tiny details (for example ornaments).

Other folk traditions

The folk music of

The folk music of

The Slavonian town Požega hosts a known folk music festival, Zlatne žice Slavonije (Golden strings of Slavonia), which has prompted musicians to compose new songs with far-reaching influences, recently including American bluegrass.

The towns of Vinkovci and Đakovo, also in Slavonia, host yearly folklore festivals (Vinkovačke jeseni and Đakovački vezovi) where folk music is also listened to as part of the tradition.

The town of Slavonski Brod holds an annual festival called Brodfest, where many of the great tamburica bands come together to play.

The Dubrovnik Summer Festival puts on dramatic music and ballet. It was founded in 1950.

The Osor Musical Evenings was founded in 1976 and takes place in July and August. It plays classical Croatian masters.

The Musical Evenings in Donat takes place during the summer in Zadar. It was founded in 1961, and plays old music.

Popular music

Pop

The

Let 3 and KUD Idijoti are also prominent rock acts, popular both for their music and their interesting, often controversial, performances and stunts.

Beginning in the late 1980s, folk-rock groups also sprouted across Croatia. The first is said to be

There is also a number of Croatian bands who play modern music in English, most prominent being My Buddy Moose, The orange strips, In-the-go, Kimiko, Cold Snap and Snovi

Dance

Dino Dvornik is one of the pioneers of electronic music in Croatian.

The singer Vanna rose to prominence through the dance trio E.T., and the music of Vesna Pisarović has a fair bit of dance beat.

Although E.T. still operates, they've changed singers several times and lost in popularity. The band Colonia is perhaps the only one that rode the dance wave of the '90s and today is one of the most popular performers in Croatia.

Rap

The 1990s were marked by the emergence of Croatian

The Croatian rap gained much from the fact Edo Maajka, a Bosnian rapper, signed on to a label in Zagreb. Recently a rapper known as Shorty gained a lot of popularity by having songs with strong regional flavour of his native Vinkovci. The Zagreb band Elemental also burst into the scene featuring one of the few Croatian female rappers.

Other

The tendency to combine different elements also has a long presence in more

Classical musicians and compositions by Croatian composers are generally not well known worldwide despite having produced a huge and interesting contribution over many centuries. Influences of style were often taken from neighbouring influences (Italy, Austria) or settlers (in the Mediterranean Croatia from Italy, and in Panonia (north Croatia) from Germany and Bohemia).

Croatian composers by current relevance in a global framework: (Maybe the order will change in the future, given that 95% of the composition exists as a single copy – the original manuscript, and yet need to be saved from oblivion, and then be performed and recorded on CD, and then presented to the international public)

• Vatroslav Lisinski (born as Ignaz Fuchs) considered as the founder of the Croatian nationalist music composed the first Croatian national opera Ljubav i Zloba (Love and Malice) and national opera Porin. Was a composer of great potential, but lived in a wrong time in a wrong place, and was a victim of politically-based intrigues.
• Ivan Zajc (born as Giovanni von Zaytz) composed a series of operas in Italian, German and Croatian language. The music bears the features of authentic Italian melodics, since he grew up in a Croatian-Italian town Fiume (present-day Rijeka). His instrumental compositions – and there are a lot of them – are unknown to the public, and yet need to be explored by musicologists and then published.
• Josip Hatze is the author of the first Croatian mass (ca. 1895) and the first Croatian cantata (Night on Una, 1902).
• Dora Pejačević (born as Theodora Pejacsevich) – one of the composers to introduce the orchestral song to Croatian music. Her Symphony in F-sharp minor is considered by scholars to be the first modern symphony in Croatian Music.
• Blagoje Bersa (born as Benito Bersa) is a typical figure of late Romantic stylistic crisis, the author of 'futuristic' opera Der Eisenhammer / Oganj (Zagreb, 1911).
• Fran Lhotka (alternative spelling: Franz Lhotka) – ballet The Devil in the Village; Violin Concerto;
• Rudolf Matz (alternative spelling: Rudolph Matz) – School for the Violoncello; Concerto for Flute and Strings; Concertino in Modo Antico for Violoncello and Strings;
• Božidar Kunc – Piano Concerto; piano sonatas; songs for voice and piano;
• Franjo Dugan – works for organ; Violin Sonata;
• dr. Božidar Širola – wrote numerous high-quality compositions, some of which were performed just once and then fell into oblivion, probably because of political reasons. The majority – if not all of them – were never given a modern-day performance
• Boris Papandopulo
• Stjepan Šulek – the symphonies; Sonata for Trombone and Piano 'Vox Gabrieli';
• Josip Štolcer Slavenski
  Sonata for Violin and Piano; Slavonic Dances for Piano;
• Drago Kocakov – composed the only Croatian sonata for a classy ensemble made up of two violins – the violin duo
• Julije Bajamonti
• Julije Skjavetić
• Ivan Lukačić
• Luka Sorkočević

Modern composers:

• Ivo Josipović
• Milko Kelemen
• Pavel Dešpalj
• Ivo Malec
• Stanko Horvat
• Marko Ruždjak
• Dubravko Detoni
• Igor Kuljerić
• Darko Hajsek

Croatian society of composers (Hrvatsko drustvo skladatelja – HDS) is the main organization promoting modern classical music in Croatia.

Jazz

Jazz appeared in Croatia in the 1920s, and flourished in Zagreb by the late 2000s, making it a regional center for jazz. In 1947, the jazz orchestra of Radio Zagreb was founded, which lives on today as the "HRT Big Band." In 1959, vibraphone player Boško Petrović, who was likely the most famous Croatian jazz musician, founded the Zagreb Jazz Quartet. Today, there is a fair number of active jazz groups in Croatia, and various cities host jazz festivals.^[6] Jazz has left its mark on the Croatian pop scene throughout the years, most notably in the works of Drago Diklić and occasionally Josipa Lisac.

Christian music

Croatian Catholic priests of

Very famous is repertory of church verses Cithara octochorda, which was published three times (Vienna: 1701, 1723 and Zagreb: 1757).[8] It contains Christian music inheritance of Croats, both Kajkavian and Latin verses. Those verses set to music and adapted to organs famous Croatian church music composers Albe Vidaković, Anđelko Klobučar and others. That arrangement is part of Catholic liturgy in Croatia today. Croatian church composers (Peran, Vidaković, Klobučar) composed so-called Croatian Masses, which also become regular part of liturgy.^[9]

EffaTha is the first Croatian

The most famous contemporary Christian music singers and composers are Dragutin Hrastović, Čedo Antolić, Alen Hržica, Nika Vlahović, Husar and Palić sisters. Some pop singers like Nina Badrić and Tajči were also affiliated with Christian music, as much as Meri Cetinić who composed spiritual songs.

See also

• Croatia Songs
• List of radio stations in Croatia
• Popular music in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
• Music of Yugoslavia
• Art of Croatia
• Gunjac

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Music of Croatia.

References

• Burton, Kim. "Toe Tapping Tamburicas". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), World Music, Vol. 1: Africa, Europe and the Middle East, pp 46–48. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books.
  ISBN 1-85828-636-0