DEDE Mercan, STOJAKOVIC Jadranka & More
Sevdalinka - Sarajevo Love Songs

PIR 2113

826863211328
Piranha
Bosnia Erzegovina

 

There’s nothing better than a heavy dose of heartache to inspire a good tune. Whether it’s the sadness of a lost love, an unreturned love, a love that can never be, or the exile’s longing for a distant homeland with memories of better days gone by and perhaps never to return. For centuries, all over the world, poets and musicians have tried to express the harsh realties of our transient existence in words and music as a testimony that can assuage, heal and transcend. Soul music. Music of the soul. Think of African-American Blues, Greek Rembetika, Portugese Fado, Argentinian Tango, to name but a few.

Sevdalinka is the musical expression of the Bosnian soul. The name derives from the Turkish word “Sevdah”, denoting “longing” or “amorous yearning”. The music is informed by centuries of the region’s turbulent history, developing through the meeting of Oriental and Slavic cultures, from the influx of Sephardic Jews fleeing Spain in the late 15th century, to the times of the Ottoman Empire. It carries echoes of societal changes in the region. The introduction of Islamic culture led to greater separation of the sexes. Elaborate courting rituals developed involving declamation of poetry and singing of verses that had to carry over the walls that kept young lovers apart. From these sheltered urban compounds to the rugged hills of the countryside, Sevdalinka was composed and sung at all manner of social gatherings: weddings, fairs, the village dance. It grew from the influences brought by itinerant musicians of varied origins and it is imbued with the hopes and dreams of generations of Bosnians.

As Omer Pobriæ, one of the musicians featured on this album, says: “Sevdah is not just a word – it is rather an imaginative ambience of beauty, in whose immense expanse, souls feel, find grains of joy, thus forming a mosaic and making their lives beautiful. Unfortunately, life is not just love, and sevdalinka as a peak expression of sevdah is not just a love song. Sevdah is a style, a Bosnian lifestyle, and sevdalinka is a historical note-keeper of the lives of Bosnians.”

All these artists have been moved by the spirit of Sevdalinka and come together on this album to celebrate the soul music of Bosnia with their own inspired interpretations. This is especially welcome as, it is true to say, Sevdalinka is not as popular at home as it once was, particularly amongst the younger generation who are more drawn to the Rap, Rock and Pop music that permeates the “globalized” culture of the modern world. But it must surely in time be incorporated into these styles as Sevdalinka has always managed to assimilate new ideas, as illustrated by this collection. The traditional Sevdalinka performed with just voice and saz (track 11) is an example of the pure form dating back hundreds of years. More modern performers such as Safet Isoviæ, Himzo Polovina and Zaim Imamoviæ were criticized by purists for introducing instruments such as accordion, guitar, violin and clarinet but their recordings were immensely popular, also throughout the former Yugoslavia. However, on this album, we can hear on the fascinating bonus track how already in 1908 clarinet and accordion were part of the popular music of the area.

Let’s face it, there’s no such thing as “pure” music. It always comes from somewhere and is going somewhere else, changing with time and here Sevdalinka is using its voice of experience to speak the language of today and artists from around the world are joining in the conversation.

Colin Bass