Sevdalinka
Encyclopedia
Sevdalinka is a traditional genre of folk music
from Bosnia and Herzegovina
.
Sevdalinka is popular across the ex-Yugoslavia
region, especially in Croatia
, Serbia
, Montenegro
and Macedonia
. The actual composers of many sevdalinkas are unknown.
In musical sense, sevdalinka is characterized by a slow or moderate tempo
and rich harmony
, leaving a melancholic feeling with the listener. Sevdalinka songs are very elaborate, emotionally charged and are traditionally sung with passion
and fervor. The combination of Oriental, European and Sephardic elements make this type of music stand out among other types of folk music from the Balkans
. The singer will often impose the rhythm
and tempo
of the song, both of which can vary throughout the song. Traditionally, sevdalinkas are women's songs, most addressing the issue of love and longing, unfulfilled and unfortunate love, some touch on a woman's physical desire for her loved one, and some have comic elements. Currently they are often performed by men as well. Traditionally, they were played without any instruments, hence the elaborate harmony. Modern interpretations are followed by a small orchestra
containing accordion
(the most prominent), violin
, nylon-string guitar
s and/or other string instruments (occasionally), flute
or clarinet
(occasionally), upright bass
, snare drum
. In between the verses, an accordion or violin solo
can almost always be heard.
, Asim Brkan
, Beba Selimović
, Hanka Paldum
, Himzo Polovina
, Meho Puzić
, Safet Isović
, Silvana Armenulić
, Zehra Deović
and Nada Mamula
.
Although sang mainly by traditional Bosnian singers, sevdalinka has made its way to many "mainstream" musicians. Sevdalinkas were re-recorded by Josipa Lisac
(she recorded Safet Isović
song "Omer Beže"), Željko Bebek
("Da zna zora"), Ibrica Jusić
(he recorded a whole album of sevdalinkas in 2003 named "Amanet", and in 2008. called Amanet 2), Jadranka Stojaković
and Zdravko Čolić
or taken as a basis for few songs by Johnny Štulić
(his band Azra
was named after a verse from a sevdalinka song).
In 1990s a band Mostar Sevdah Reunion
was assembled in Mostar and in early 2000s they became widely popular on world music
scene receiving high awards for their lively interpretations of sevdalinkas and introducing many people outside Bosnia
to sevdalinka.
in medieval Balkans
. The word itself comes from the Turkish
sevda which derives from the Arabic
word sawda (meaning black and also black bile, which in earlier times was used by doctors to denote a substance purported to control human feelings and emotions. But in Turkish sevda doesn't mean black; it means love, caressing. That word was brought to Bosnia
by the Ottomans
. Today it is a richly evocative Bosnian
word meaning love, caressing, longing (for loved one), and the main theme of sevdalinka lyrics. Thus the people of Bosnia
employ the words "sevdalinka" and "sevdah" interchangeably as the name of this music, although the word sevdah can also be used in other meanings. It is possible that the central term in Portuguese Fado saudade
is of the same origin.
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
from Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
.
Sevdalinka is popular across the ex-Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
region, especially in Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
and Macedonia
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
. The actual composers of many sevdalinkas are unknown.
In musical sense, sevdalinka is characterized by a slow or moderate tempo
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
and rich harmony
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
, leaving a melancholic feeling with the listener. Sevdalinka songs are very elaborate, emotionally charged and are traditionally sung with passion
Passion (emotion)
Passion is a term applied to a very strong feeling about a person or thing. Passion is an intense emotion compelling feeling, enthusiasm, or desire for something....
and fervor. The combination of Oriental, European and Sephardic elements make this type of music stand out among other types of folk music from the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
. The singer will often impose the rhythm
Rhythm
Rhythm may be generally defined as a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions." This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time may be applied to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or...
and tempo
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
of the song, both of which can vary throughout the song. Traditionally, sevdalinkas are women's songs, most addressing the issue of love and longing, unfulfilled and unfortunate love, some touch on a woman's physical desire for her loved one, and some have comic elements. Currently they are often performed by men as well. Traditionally, they were played without any instruments, hence the elaborate harmony. Modern interpretations are followed by a small orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
containing accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
(the most prominent), violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
, nylon-string guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s and/or other string instruments (occasionally), flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
or clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
(occasionally), upright bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, snare drum
Snare drum
The snare drum or side drum is a melodic percussion instrument with strands of snares made of curled metal wire, metal cable, plastic cable, or gut cords stretched across the drumhead, typically the bottom. Pipe and tabor and some military snare drums often have a second set of snares on the bottom...
. In between the verses, an accordion or violin solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
can almost always be heard.
Performers
The most prominent performers (singers) of sevdalinka in the 20th century are Zaim ImamovićZaim Imamovic (musician)
Zaim Imamović was a popular sevdalinka performer....
, Asim Brkan
Asim Brkan
Asim Brkan is a Bosnian singer, musician, and artist. Today, he is considered by many music experts to be finest and most complete Bosnian folk singer.-Biography:...
, Beba Selimović
Beba Selimovic
Beba Selimović in Trebinje, Kingdom of Yugoslavia. She is best known as a singer of Bosnian sevdalinka songs and has over 300 to her name. She was one of the speakers at the memorial service for Safet Isović on September 3, 2007....
, Hanka Paldum
Hanka Paldum
Hanka Paldum is a popular Bosniak folk and sevdah singer. She is regarded as one of the best female sevdah performers of all time, and has diva status in her home country. She is a star that has been shining for the last three decades with full intensity at the very top of the sky above Bosnia...
, Himzo Polovina
Himzo Polovina
Dr. Himzo Polovina was a Bosnian singer and songwriter, most famous for performing sevdalinka songs. In addition, Dr...
, Meho Puzić
Meho Puzic
Meho Puzić was a famous sevdalinka performer from Bosnia and Herzegovina.-Discography:* 1971 - Jednom se živi* 1974 - Pusti majko jos veceras* 1979 - Majko, majko* 1979 - Šta cu kuci tako rano* 1980 - Pruži mi ruke ljubavi...
, Safet Isović
Safet Isovic
Safet Isović was a prominent and popular sevdah performer from Bosnia and Herzegovina.Throughout his career, which started in 1956, Isović performed at music festivals and won many of them which has contributed to the prevalence and popularity of the sevdalinka...
, Silvana Armenulić
Silvana Armenulic
Silvana Armenulić was one of the most prominent commercial folk music and traditional sevdalinka singers in former Yugoslavia...
, Zehra Deović
Zehra Deović
Zehra Deović is a Bosnian singer most famous for performing sevdalinka songs. She lives and works in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. She started working at Radio Sarajevo in 1960.- External links :* * * *...
and Nada Mamula
Nada Mamula
Nada Mamula was a Serbian singer, born during the time of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.. She started her career on Radio Beograd, where she passed an audition in 1946 . In 1946 she delivered her first ever professional performances as Nada Vukicevic along with Danica Obrenic and accordionist Voja...
.
Although sang mainly by traditional Bosnian singers, sevdalinka has made its way to many "mainstream" musicians. Sevdalinkas were re-recorded by Josipa Lisac
Josipa Lisac
Josipa Lisac is an eminent female singer.-Biography:During the 1960s she was a vocalist of the group named Zlatni Akordi...
(she recorded Safet Isović
Safet Isovic
Safet Isović was a prominent and popular sevdah performer from Bosnia and Herzegovina.Throughout his career, which started in 1956, Isović performed at music festivals and won many of them which has contributed to the prevalence and popularity of the sevdalinka...
song "Omer Beže"), Željko Bebek
Željko Bebek
Želimir "Željko" Bebek is a popular Bosnian Croat singer most notable for being the lead vocalist of Bijelo dugme from 1974 to 1984....
("Da zna zora"), Ibrica Jusić
Ibrica Jusić
-Biography:He started his career in Dubrovnik in 1965. On invitation of composer Pero Gotovac he went in Zagreb. He was a winner on Zagreb Festival in 1968, he won with song "Celuloidni pajac"...
(he recorded a whole album of sevdalinkas in 2003 named "Amanet", and in 2008. called Amanet 2), Jadranka Stojaković
Jadranka Stojakovic
Jadranka Stojaković is a Bosnian singer-songwriter popular in the former Yugoslavia, known for her unique, beautiful voice...
and Zdravko Čolić
Zdravko Colic
Zdravko Čolić , is a pop singer popular across the entire area of former Yugoslavia. Originally from Sarajevo, since 1992 , his home is in Belgrade, Serbia...
or taken as a basis for few songs by Johnny Štulić
Branimir Štulic
Branimir "Johnny" Štulić is a Yugoslav singer, songwriter, poet and a leader of the popular former Yugoslav rock group Azra...
(his band Azra
Azra
Azra was a rock band from Zagreb that was popular across Yugoslavia in the 1980s. Azra was formed in 1977 by its frontman Branimir "Johnny" Štulić. The other two members of the original line-up were Mišo Hrnjak and Boris Leiner . The band is named after a verse from "Der Asra" by Heinrich Heine...
was named after a verse from a sevdalinka song).
In 1990s a band Mostar Sevdah Reunion
Mostar Sevdah Reunion
Mostar Sevdah Reunion is a musical ensemble from Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina playing almost exclusively sevdalinka and Roma/gypsy music. The band is composed of experienced musicians and often collaborates with renowned musicians in the field of gypsy music: they made two albums with Šaban...
was assembled in Mostar and in early 2000s they became widely popular on world music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
scene receiving high awards for their lively interpretations of sevdalinkas and introducing many people outside Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
to sevdalinka.
Origins
The origins of sevdalinka are not known for certain, though it is known to date from sometime after the arrival of the TurksTurkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
in medieval Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
. The word itself comes from the Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
sevda which derives from the Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
word sawda (meaning black and also black bile, which in earlier times was used by doctors to denote a substance purported to control human feelings and emotions. But in Turkish sevda doesn't mean black; it means love, caressing. That word was brought to Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
by the Ottomans
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. Today it is a richly evocative Bosnian
Bosnian language
Bosnian is a South Slavic language, spoken by Bosniaks. As a standardized form of the Shtokavian dialect, it is one of the three official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina....
word meaning love, caressing, longing (for loved one), and the main theme of sevdalinka lyrics. Thus the people of Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
employ the words "sevdalinka" and "sevdah" interchangeably as the name of this music, although the word sevdah can also be used in other meanings. It is possible that the central term in Portuguese Fado saudade
Saudade
Saudade ) is a unique Galician-Portuguese word that has no immediate translation in English. Saudade describes a deep emotional state of nostalgic longing for an absent something or someone that one loves. It often carries a repressed knowledge that the object of longing might never return...
is of the same origin.
Examples
- Anadolka
- Kad ja pođoh
- Ne klepeći nanulama
- U Stambolu na Bosforu
- Žute dunje