Traditional From Serbia

Sung Epic Poetry Has Been An Integral Part Of Serbs And Balkan Music For Centuries. In Montenegro These Long Poems Are Typically Accompanied On A One-String Fiddle Called The Gusle And Concern Themselves With Subjects Such As The Life Under The Ottoman Occupation Or Various Battles Such As The Battle Of Kosovo Against The Turks. In Croatia Serbian Krajina The Poems Are About The Life And Feeling Of The Serbs Under Austro-Hungarian Rule And Oppression. Medieval Musical Instruments Included Horns Trumpets Lutes Psalteries Drums And Cymbals. Traditional Folk Instruments Include Various Kinds Of Bagpipes Flutes Diple Tamburitza And Gusle Tapan Lijerica And Zurle Among Others. Brass Bands Are Extremely Popular Especially In Southern And Central Serbia. This Brass-Band Tradition Is A Specifically Serbian One Born Of A Culture That Has Spent Almost Its Entire Existence Either At War Or In Subjugation. The Music Began In 1804 When The Trumpet First Came To Serbia During The Karageorge Uprising In Which A Serbian Patriot Known As Black George Led A Revolt Against The Turkish Occupation Of 400 Years. Though It Was A Military Instrument To Wake And Gather Soldiers And Announce Battles The Trumpet Took On The Role Of Entertainment During Downtime As Soldiers Used It To Transpose Popular Folk Songs. When War Ended And They Returned To Their Hometowns The Music Entered Civilian Life. Eventually Gypsies Adopted The Tradition Adding More Complicated Rhythms And Melodies And Creating Two Schools The More Subtle And Melodic West Serbian Bands And The More Complex And Danceable Gypsy-Blooded South Serbian Orchestras. The Best Known Serbian Brass Musicians Are Fejat Sejdić Bakija Bakić And Boban Marković And Are Also The Biggest Names In The World Of Modern Brass Band Bandleaders. There Is Also A Big Festival In Guca Every Year With At Least 300.000 Of Visitors From All Over The World. read less