"Slovenske Narodne Pjesme" (1956)

Browsing trough enormous archive of former recording company giant "Jugoton" (now "Croatia Records") that is now available on line, I was intrigued with series of EP recordings released roughly from mid-1950s to mid -1960s under the title "The Songs and Dances of Yugoslavia" ("Pjesme i plesovi naroda Jugoslavije"). The homegrown recording companies were still in the earliest stages, so they experimented with everything in attempt to find the audience and titles of releases perfectly describe this technique: little bit of folklore, classical, brass orchestra and pop schlager, peppered with occasional international hit. This particular series had actually interesting context as to showcase various music traditions from completely distant parts of the country, so each recording would focus on separate areas, like Bosna, Kosovo, Dalmacija, Vranje, Vojvodina, Pomoravlje etc. Occasionally the arrangements went too much into semi-classical direction (in attempt to make traditional folk music more legitimate, I guess) but for the most part things were kept simple as they should be.

This particular recording - which I actually bought on line and was surprised with crisp, clean sound of original mono 1950s recordings - showcases traditional folk music from Slovenija. The mountainous area, graced with beautiful lakes and Alps, was at the time northern part of Yugoslavia and naturally has its own, recognisable music that leans toward either sprightly Polka or a cappella vocal quartets, both represented here. The recording is divided between two sides - side one are lovely, cheerful duets between Danica Filiplič and Franc Koren (with energetic accordion), while side two are somber a capella numbers by vocal quartet Fantje Na Vasi which sounds timeless (listener can easily imagine this type of music being performed two hundred years ago). Since I was already familiar with opening song (lilting "Petelnička Bom Vprašal") on the spur of the moment I decided to buy the whole compilation and its delightful. The best thing about it is that producers decided to keep it simple and authentic, instead of adding layers of symphonic strings and operatic singers, this is local equivalent of Alan Lomax and his field recordings.