Jovano Jovanke - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Jovano, Jovanke is a traditional folk song of the Macedonia region

Macedonia (region)

Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but nowadays the region is considered to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, as...

. It is popular in and frequently performed in the Republic of 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...

, Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

, 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...

and northern Greece

Macedonia (Greece)

Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of Greece in Southern Europe. Macedonia is the largest and second most populous Greek region...

. It is about two young lovers separated by their disapproving parents. The song mentions the Vardar

Vardar

The Vardar or Axios is the longest and major river in the Republic of Macedonia and also a major river of Greece. It is long, and drains an area of around . The maximum depth of river is ....

river which runs through present-day Republic of Macedonia

Republic of Macedonia

and Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

.

Jovana is a female name (Slavic

Slavic peoples

The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...

form of Joan), and Jovanka is the diminutive form. The usages Jovano and Jovanke are in the vocative case used by the South Slavic languages

South Slavic languages

The South Slavic languages comprise one of three branches of the Slavic languages. There are approximately 30 million speakers, mainly in the Balkans. These are separated geographically from speakers of the other two Slavic branches by a belt of German, Hungarian and Romanian speakers...

Renditions

Macedonian singer and songwriter Aleksandar Sarievski
Aleksandar Sarievski
Aleksandar Sarievski was a Macedonian iconic singer-songwriter whose career spanned almost six decades. He was one of the most recognizable figures in Macedonian music....

performed a traditional version of the song throughout his musical career (1946-2002).
In 1967, former Yugoslav beat
Beat music
Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a pop and rock music genre that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1960s. Beat music is a fusion of rock and roll, doo wop, skiffle, R&B and soul...

band Zlatni Dečaci
Zlatni Dečaci
Zlatni Dečaci were a former Yugoslav rock band from Belgrade, notable as one of the pioneers of the former Yugoslav rock scene.- History :...

recorded a version of the song for Vladan Slijepčević's film Where to After the Rain?.
In 1986, Croatian and former Yugoslav hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...

band Osmi Putnik
Osmi putnik
Osmi putnik is a Croatian and former Yugoslav hard rock/heavy metal band.-1985 - 1989:...

incorporated a part of the melody in their song "Jovana".
In 1986, Macedonian and former Yugoslav jazz-fusion and rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

band Leb i Sol
Leb i sol
Leb i sol is a Macedonian rock group founded in the 1970s by Vlatko Stefanovski , Bodan Arsovski , Nikola Kokan Dimuševski and Garabet Tavitjan . Tavitjan ceded the drumwork to Dragoljub Đuričić for some of the albums, while Kiril Džajkovski replaced Kokan on Kao Kakao and Putujemo...

, produced an instrumental version of the song.
In 1994, Macedonian and former Yugoslav band Anastasia
Anastasia
Anastasia is a personal name and the female form of the Greek male name Anastasius/Anastasios meaning "resurrection." The name, and its male counterpart, were often given to Greek children born around December 2 or around Easter during the early days of Christianity. It is the name of several...

included a part of the melody in the score "Coming Back Home 1" for the soundtrack of Before the Rain
Before the Rain (film)
Before the Rain is a 1994 Macedonian film starring Katrin Cartlidge, Rade Šerbedžija, Grégoire Colin, and Labina Mitevska. It was directed and written by Milčo Mančevski. The music was created by the band Anastasia.-Plot:...

.
In 1999, Romanian band Transsylvania Phoenix
Transsylvania Phoenix
Transsylvania Phoenix is a Romanian rock band formed in 1962 in Timişoara by guitarists Nicu Covaci and Kamocsa Béla. Guitarist Claudiu Rotaru, vocalist Florin "Moni" Bordeianu and drummer Ioan "Pilu" Ştefanovici completed the early lineup...

included a version of the song on their album Ora-Hora.
In 2003, Vienna-based world music band Nim Sofyan released a version of the song on their album Tuna. The band previously released it on their album düm tek in 1997.
In 2003, Polish band Kroke
Kroke
KROKE – A Kraków instrumental ensemble of the world music genre. The band's name in Yiddish means Kraków.The band was founded in 1992 by three friends and graduates of the Academy of Music in Kraków. Initially, they were associated with klezmer music with strong Balkan influences...

and the violinist Nigel Kennedy
Nigel Kennedy
Nigel Kennedy is a British born violinist and violist. He made his early career in the classical field, and he has performed and recorded most of the major violin concerti...

performed this song on their album East meets East.
In 2006, Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

-based world music band 17 Hippies
17 Hippies
17 Hippies is a band from Berlin, Germany, playing largely on acoustic instruments. Their music is a confection of various folk influences. They are most popular in their native Germany and France.-History:...

released a version of the song on their album 17 Hippies Live in Berlin. The band previously released it several times, first time on their album Rock 'n' Roll 13 in 1995.
In 2006, Macedonian singer Toše Proeski
Toše Proeski
Todor Toše Proeski was a Macedonian multi-genre singer, songwriter and actor. He was popular across the entire Balkan area and all around Eastern Europe, and locally he was considered a top act of the Macedonian music scene...

released a version of the song on his album Božilak
Božilak
Božilak is the sixth studio album by Macedonian singer Tose Proeski, released in Macedonian. The album comprises fourteen traditional Macedonian songs sung with a new arrangement...

. Proeski has frequently performed the song at his live concerts as well.
In 2007, Bulgarian singer and entertainer Slavi Trifonov performed the song and filmed a patriotic video to accompany it, which recreates the Bulgarian victory in the Battle of Doiran
Battle of Doiran
The third Battle of Doiran was fought from 18 September to 19 September 1918, with the Greeks and the British assaulting the positions of the Bulgarian First Army near Dojran Lake. The battle was part of World War I and took place in the Balkan Theatre...

during the First World War.
In 2009, Croatian-Istrian-based band Hot Club de Istra made a gypsy jazz
Gypsy jazz
Gypsy jazz is an idiom often said to have been started by guitarist Jean "Django" Reinhardt in the 1930s. Because its origins are largely in France it is often called by the French name, "Jazz manouche," or alternatively, "manouche jazz," even in English language sources...

arrangement of the song.
In 2009, the melody of this song was used in the sixth sequel of the TV advertising campaign Macedonia Timeless
Macedonia Timeless
Macedonia Timeless is a series of promotional tourist videos about the Republic of Macedonia. The videos showcase scenery from the Balkan country and of Macedonian culture to a foreign audience. Each video of the project is the work of a private production company, carried out on behalf of the...

.

Renditions

External links

See also