Folk music from Vranje

By this time probably everybody who glanced on this blog noticed that I really love music.

And I'm very democratic in my taste - according to the mood,I would equally enjoy classical,jazz,country and christmas music as long as there is some variety in it and my usual attention span goes for 30 minutes which was typical side of vinyl LP when I was growing up. (That is why I usually stay away from artists like Tori Amos who love to stuff their CDs with 20 songs) When it comes to music I really agree with Duke Ellington who claimed there is only good music and bad music. Thanks to internet, it seems that everything once recorded is now available, not just newest pop hits but if one wants, he can easily find recordings from beginning of last century and that is fine by me as I always had music archeologist streak in me - nothing is too old to be overlooked.

Still,it came as a surprise when I realized that in some of my most intimate,relaxed moments when I'm alone with myself reading or just relaxing I would go for two really forgotten Ex Yu Folk LPs with music from Serbia - both albums have absolutely nothing to do with my hometown (in the north of Croatia,so very far from this kind of music historically,musically or geographically) and both were recorded in post WW2 time when folk music was treated in quasi-clasical style with strings and huge choruses. Perhaps this lack of authenticity (it is basically folk music as presented in concert podium) is what actually appeal to me,who knows - in any case I checked these two albums out of pure curiosity and my God it was love at first listening, though I never mentioned this to anybody so far.

First LP comes from the whole series of "Musical portraits of Yugoslavia" where every corner of the country would be represented by different album - somehow it happened that my LP represents southern part of Serbia called "Vranje" which to my understanding is far down south,almost on the border with Macedonia and known for its beautiful music,often happy and melancholic at the same time. There are various artists represented here (all of them completely unknown to me,but they sound very stately,polite and serious) backed with huge choruses and orchestration is out of this world - this is not really folk as we understand it,more symphonic variation on folk originals and music is arranged and conducted by wonderful gentleman called Đorđe Karaklajić, who treats this music as a most delicate classical pieces,with lots of love and care,giving it almost operatic style mixed with some original folk instruments. Simply beautiful. The original LP is long out of print and just a part of the series but so far nothing else I heard matches this beauty.

By some coincidence, around the same time I discovered this album,I also stumbled upon LP with famous music theatre piece “Koštana”, by Bora Stanković. Again, complete new discovery since I just vaguely knew the title but nothing about it. It turned out that this is very well known serbian theatre institution where only best of the best actresses play this femme fatale who turns every man's head with her beauty and singing (and all the women in the village against her). And guess what, the story happens in Vranje and music is actually original traditional folk from the very same area! This particular LP was recorded with wonderful singer/actress Divna Radić Đoković in a leading role. Some of music here actually turns also on previously mentioned album so it's really a happy coincidence that now I own them both. I really enjoy this music and it's a pity that this wonderful traditional folk music is not better known,specially when I see that so many of my friends have curiosity to check folk music from Korea or Africa but would never look in their own backyard and check what do we have so near in the neighborhood.