Music of North Macedonia

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Music of the Republic of Macedonia and ethnic Macedonians has many things in common with the music of neighbouring Balkan countries, but maintains its own distinctive sound.

Folk music

The ethnic Macedonian folk music (Macedonian: Народна музика, Narodna muzika) includes:

  • Traditional music (Macedonian: Изворна музика, Izvorna muzika)
  • Newly-composed folk music (Macedonian language: новокомпонирана народна музика or новосоздадена народна музика)

Traditional music

The ethnic Macedonian traditional music, which can be rural or urban (starogradska muzika), includes: lyric songs, epic songs, labour songs, ritual songs, humorous songs, circle dance ("oro"), the old urban style called Čalgija (not to be confused with chalga) etc. Popular traditional songs are: Kaleš bre Angjo, Slušam kaj šumat šumite, Biljana platno beleše, Dafino vino crveno, Narode Makedonski and many others. Often referenced oro dances are Teškoto from the village of Galičnik, Kalajdžiskoto, Komitskoto (The Dance of the freedom fighters) and others. An internationally acclaimed professional folklore association is the award winning Tanec.

  • Female oro performed by Tanec
    Female oro performed by Tanec
  • Mens oro performed by Tanec
    Mens oro performed by Tanec
  • Female folk dance performed by Tanec
    Female folk dance performed by Tanec
  • Mens oro by Tanec
    Mens oro by Tanec
  • Female folk dance by Tanec
    Female folk dance by Tanec
  • Mixed male and female dances
    Mixed male and female dances

The music of the Balkans is known for complex rhythms. Macedonian music exemplifies this trait. Folk songs like "Pominisli libe Todoro" can have rhythms as complex as 22/16, divided by stanza to 2-2-3-2-2-3-2-2-2-2. In order to add tension to notes, musicians (primarily from older schools) will add the distinctive characteristic of stretching out beats.

The gajda (bagpipe) was the most common folk instrument in traditional Macedonian culture. It has now become an instrument for concert recitation, drawing on recent legends like Pece Atanasovski (video), leader of the Radio Skopje ensemble Ansambl na Narodni Instrumenti, as the source of modern tradition. Other instruments include:

Macedonian folk orchestras consist of a clarinet or saxophone, drum kit, bass guitar, accordion and guitar, sometimes with modern synthesizers and drum machines. These orchestras are very popular in Macedona. Popular members are virtuoso musicians Skender Ameti and Milan Zafkov on accordion and Miroslav Businovski on clarinet.

Čalgija is an urban style, played by bands (Čalgii) with a dajre (tambourine) and tarabuka (hourglass drum) providing percussion for ut (lute), kanun (zither), clarinet and violin. Though modern musicians have updated the Čalgija into a spectrum of hard and soft, classical and pop sounds, some traditional musicians remain. Perhaps the most influential of recent years was Tale Ognenovski, who plays a wide variety of traditional and modern sounds.

Newly composed folk

The newly-composed folk music (in Macedonian language: новокомпонирана народна музика or новосоздадена народна музика), which can be described as pop-folk, is a contemporary popular style based on the traditional music. However, unlike it, the newly-composed folk music is credited to a particular author and it falls under the copyright laws, its performed by professional musicians and its ussualy (but not necesarily) played with modern instrumentation. Ussualy, the older performers and composers (such as the highly acclaimed Aleksandar Sarievski, Jonče Hristovski and Dobri Stavrevski) stay closer to the traditional roots, and thus some newly-composed folk songs are often mistaken for traditional. On the other hand, the younger ussualy espouse a more modernized sound and image, thus often being disproved by the traditional purists as kitsch. Nevertheless, the style is popular among the common people and notable performers include: Suzana Spasovska, Mitre Mitrevski, Efto Pupinovski, Vojo Stojanovski, Orce Stefkovski, Blagica Pavlovska, Dragan Vučić, Zoran Vanev, Vaska Ilieva and others. Some of them also perform traditional songs.

Several popular folk music festivals exist, including: Folk fest Valandovo in Valandovo, Serenada na Širok sokak in Bitola, Cvetnici in Skopje and others.

File:Kostas Novakis-White field down to the White Sea.jpg
Front cover of White field down to the White Sea CD by Kostas Novakis

Outside the Republic of Macedonia

Traditional as well as modern music is created and performed in other countries where ethnic Macedonian communities exist, which include primarily the Balkan countries surrounding Republic of Macedonia, as well as enclaves resulting from the diaspora in the USA, Australia, Canada and other countries. A notable example is the folk musician Kostas Novakis from Greece (born in Koufalia, Thessaloniki prefecture, Greek Macedonia), who claims Macedonian ethnicity and performs traditional ethnic Macedonian music. Despite the political tensions between Republic of Macedonia, with ethnic Macedonians on one side and Greece on the other, Novakis released several CD titles with traditional ethnic Macedonian music in Greece[1].

Newly composed folk

The newly-composed folk music (in Macedonian language: новокомпонирана народна музика or новосоздадена народна музика), which is similar to pop-folk, is a contemporary popular style based on the traditional music. Unlike it, the newly-composed folk music is credited to a particular author and it falls under the copyright laws, its performed by professional musicians and its ussualy (but not necesarily) played with modern instrumentation. Ussualy, the older performers and composers (such as the highly acclaimed Aleksandar Sarievski, Jonče Hristovski and Dobri Stavrevski) stay closer to the traditional roots, and thus some newly-composed folk songs are often mistaken for traditional. On the other hand, the younger ussualy espouse a more modernized sound and image, thus often being disproved by the traditional purists as kitsch. Nevertheless, the style is popular among the common people and notable performers include: Suzana Spasovska, Mitre Mitrevski, Efto Pupinovski, Vojo Stojanovski, Orce Stefkovski, Blagica Pavlovska, Dragan Vučić, Zoran Vanev, Vaska Ilieva and others. Some of them also perform traditional songs.

Several popular folk music festivals exist, including: Folk fest Valandovo in Valandovo, Serenada na Širok sokak in Bitola, Cvetnici in Skopje and others.

Classical music

The first cultural and artistic association in Veles

The cultural and artistic association was established in Veles in 1894 [citation needed]and it focused mainly on music.

The Mokranjac School of Music

The Mokranjac School of Music was established in Skopje, in 1934. In addition to its well-respected choir, it was famous for the people that were involved in its establishment, composers like Trajko Prokopiev and Todor Skalovski.

Post-WWII

After the liberation of the country from fascist occupation in the Second World War and the formation of the modern Macedonian state, the Macedonian Philharmonic Orchestra was established in 1944, while 1947 saw the formation of the Association of Musicians of Macedonia. Shortly after that, the first Macedonian radio concert was made, conducted by Todor Skalovski.

During the 1950s, the first Macedonian ballet by Gligor Smokvarski and opera "Goce" by Kiril Makedonski were produced. The period after these brought a relative renaissance of Macedonian music, focussed on innovation.

Current

Today, one of the most prominent classical music artists is the pianists Simon Trpčeski, while notable opera singers include Blagoj Nacoski, Ana Durlovski and Boris Trajanov. From the diaspora, a notable performer is the Australian born, but ethnic Macedonian pianist Hristijan Spirovski.

Popular music

Pop music

Popular pop music performers in Republic of Macedonia include: Toše Proeski, Karolina Gočeva, Elena Ristevska, Dani Dimitrovska, Kaliopi, Tamara Todevska, Lambe Alabakoski, Jovan Jovanov, Andrijana Janevska, Hristijan Spirovski, Dimitar Andonovski, Kristina Arnaudova, Sonja Tarculovska, Elena Velevska, Jasmina Mukaetova and others. Notable composers, producers and arrangers involved in the pop music scene are Darko Dimitrov, Aleksandar Masevski, and Grigor Koprov.

Several popular music festivals exist, including: Skopje Fest in Skopje, Ohridski Trubaduri - Ohrid Fest in Ohrid, Makfest in Štip, Interfest in Bitola and others.

Eurovision Song Contest

Main article: Republic of Macedonia in the Eurovision Song Contest

The Republic of Macedonia debuted as an independent state at the Eurovision Song Contest 1998. So far, its highest placing was 12th in Eurovision Song Contest 2006 final.

Rock music

The most successful and influential band in Macedonia (and one of the most popular in former Yugoslavia) was the band Leb i Sol. They combined rock with fusion jazz and folk music elements creating a distinct sound of their own. After they broke up, their frontman, guitarist Vlatko Stefanovski started a successful solo career. In 2006 they gathered again for a reunion tour to mark 30th year anniversary from their beginning as a band. It is still unclear if this represents a permanent reunion.

Other notable acts include the cult bands Mizar and Arhangel (postpunk, darkwave, gothic rock), the ethnic music group Anastasia (authors of the soundtrack for Milčo Mančevski's Before the Rain), Superhiks (ska punk), Two Sides (hardcore punk), Sanatorium (thrash metal) and many others.

There are several rock music festivals, some of the most notable include: Taksirat organized by Lithium Records and Skopje gori organized by Avalon Productions, both of which hosted numerous internationally acclaimed acts. There are also smaller demo band festivals such as Luzer Fest and Rok-fest, which has existed for several decades. The most notable international open-air festival is Alarm held in Ljubaništa by the Ohrid Lake in 2002. In 1994 during the tensions in the Balkans such as the Yugoslav Wars and the Macedonia naming dispute, a festival called Urban fest was organized in Skopje gathering artists from almost all the countries in the region.

Hip hop

Main article: Macedonian hip hop

A well developed hip hop music scene also exist. Most Macedonian hip hop artists are underground hip hop but there are many mainstream pop-rap artists as well. Most famous is SAF (Sakam Afro Frizura, English: I want an afro hairdo). Several hip hop artists outside of the Republic of Macedonia have also produced music considered to be Macedonian hip hop, such as Australian group Curse ov Dialect.

Electronic scene

The most prominent electronic musicians are Kiril Džajkovski (a former member of Bastion), the PMG Collective, Robotek, and Gotra. Macedonia has a developed clubbing scene especially in Skopje. Several festivals featuring foreign DJs take place in the country, many of them on the Ohrid Lake during the summer season.

Jazz

The Macedonian jazz scene is highly appreciated as well. The premier jazz guitarist in Macedonia currently is Toni Kitanovski. The Skopje Jazz Festival is held annually.

Children's music

One of the most notable children's music festivals is Zlatno slavejče (Golden Nightingale) annually held in Skopje, which has a long tradition in the Republic of Macedonia. Other festivals include Si-Do in Bitola Kalinka in Gevgelija and Super Zvezda, also in Skopje. Notable composers of children songs,producers and arrangers include Dragan Karanfilovski Bojs, Miodrag and Marjan Nečak, Kire Kostov, Petar Sidovski, Slave Dimitrov, Milko Lozanovski, Aleksandar Džambazov, Ljupčo Mirkovski, Darko Mijalkovski,Mile Serdenkov,Darko Serdenkov and others. Several TV shows featuring children music exist. The country also takes part in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest and recently achieved the best result- 5th place for their 2007 entry at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2007.

References

  • Burton, Kim. "Tricky Rhythms". 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 202–206. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. ISBN 1-85828-636-0

Audio clips

Video

See also

External links

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