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My Croatian Heritage :)

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Elvis

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Hello guys.. i wanted to show you something that unique to my country,

 

and thats ensembles called "KLAPA" in Croatia...its accepted as  Croatian National Heritage and UNESCO protected it as "non-material heritage"

 

Its bassically a choir but with a certain Mediterranean  feel to it..

 

Take a listen to one of my favourite "Klapa" from Croatia...

 

I am aware its in Croatian and you wont maybe understand alot of it, but i figured its an interesting "hear" nevertheless

 

There are modern "KLAPA" that uses instruments but the original way is acapella...and imo more beautifull

 

Ill try to translate the lyrics down below but take note that it will be more or less literal translation so something will be lost in translation :)

 

 

 

Ill try my best with the lyrics :P

 

 

Verse1

 

Oh My Song

I poured my sould into you

And released you into world

Because of my love, unhappy

To light my path While im seeking for it 

 

Verse2:

 

All the beauty of the world

i poured it in here

In this fistfull of words

In my mysery and my destiny

To light my path while i seek for her (love)

Because my soul cant continue without it (love)

 

Ref:

 

Oh my song fly over to her

And whisper her dearest of the word's

 

That i still carry for her

On my heart this open wound

That only she knows how to heal

 

Edit: This is how UNESCO describes klapa singing

 

The leader of the singing group is the highest voice – I. tenor, followed by several II. tenori, baritoni and basi voices. Multipart singing, a capella homophonic singing, oral tradition and simple music making are the main features of traditional klapa singing. Another important feature of the klapa is the ability to sing freely, without the help of the notation of tunes and their harmonisation. During the performance, singers stand in the recognizable setup, tight semi-circle, communicating occasionally by the hand gestures and moves of the singing leader – I. tenor. I. tenor starts the singing followed by the others in a specific manner (singing formulas) where II. tenori sing in parallel thirds, basi feature the major key functions and baritoni “fill” the harmony of the chords. Technically, klapa singers express their mood by means of open guttural, nasal, serenade-like sotto voce and falsetto singing, and usually in high-pitched tessitura. The main aim of the singers is to achieve the best possible blend of voices. Topics of klapa songs usually deal with love, familiar life situations, and the environment in which they live. Love, though, is the predominant theme.

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It's beautiful, I wish the sound wasn't clipped at the higher volumes so we could hear a more pure tone. It's kind of like a close mic choir. Traditionally was it done without close mics like a western choir?

 

I'm a huge fan of harmony in singing, so your country's folk music is right up my alley. Opening this forum up to the world has done a whole lot of good.

 

For people like myself who have been in two countries in my life time, both bordering each other, it's great to have you all sharing your heritage and unique perspectives that influence your art. I always hope just a bit of your upbringing will come out in your music, even if you ultimately tilt western for commercial or artistic reasons. Just a little twist, a little freshness. Something different, right?

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I completely agree..and yes..mic is here because thers is a big audience..its ussually for smaller crowd and purely no PA....and yes i will share one more music style that u will find extremely exotic and that descends exactly from my root..and that style can and will influence my music tremendously

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