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Music of the Republic of 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.
ethnic Macedonian folk music (Macedonian: ??????? ??????, Narodna muzika) includes:
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 Calgija (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 Galicnik, Kalajdžiskoto, Komitskoto (The Dance of the freedom fighters) and others.
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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: ??????? ??????, Narodna muzika) includes:
- Traditional music (Macedonian: ??????? ??????, translit.: Izvorna muzika litteraly meaning: Roots music)
- Newly-composed folk music (Macedonian language: ??????????????? ??????? ?????? or ????????????? ??????? ??????)
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 Calgija (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 Galicnik, Kalajdžiskoto, Komitskoto (The Dance of the freedom fighters) and others. An internationally acclaimed professional folklore association is the award winning Tanec.
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 , 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.
Calgija is an urban style, played by bands (Calgii) with a dajre (tambourine) and tarabuka (hourglass drum) providing percussion for ut (lute), kanun (zither), clarinet and violin. Though modern musicians have updated the Calgija 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: ??????????????? ??????? ?????? or ????????????? ??????? ??????), 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 usually (but not necessarily) played with modern instrumentation. Usually, the older performers and composers (such as the highly acclaimed Aleksandar Sarievski, Jonce 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 usually 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 Vucic, 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.
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.
Classical music
The First Cultural and Artistic Association in Veles
The cultural and artistic association was established in Veles in 1894 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 Trpceski, 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 Goceva, Elena Risteska, 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, Damir Imeri, 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
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 which altogether was overall best result in televoting years.
Rock music
The most successful and influential rock band in Macedonia (and one of the most popular in former Yugoslavia) was the band Leb i Sol. They combined rock music with fusion jazz and traditional music elements creating a distinct sound of their own, becoming one of the top acts of the former Yugoslav Rock scene. After they broke up, their frontman, the 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.
Other notable group was Bisbez, which was influenced by The Beatles and other 1960s artists. It was formed in 1964 by merging two previously existing bands Biseri and Bezimeni. During the 1970s notable groups were Pu, Ilinden 903, Den za Den, Leva patika and others. Most of them were into hard rock, progressive rock, folk rock, symphonic rock and jazz rock. The late 1970s saw the emergence of punk rock. The first punk band was Fol jazik, formed in Skopje in 1978. During the 1980s other notable punk groups were Saraceni and Badmingtons, both led by Vladimir Petrovski Karter. Later he switched to a more mainstream sound and formed the group Aleksandar Makedonski (Alexander The Great). The New Wave music scene featured artists such as the ska group Cilindar, Triangl, Usta na usta and Tokmu taka. Its vocalist Ljupco Bubo Karov from Kavadarci later became popular as a member of the comedy show K-15. Notable heavy metal artists were the groups Karamela and Concorde, the latter being remembered for their more radio-friendly megahit Visoki štikli i crni corapi. Its guitarist Venko Serafimov later started a successful solo career. The synthpop trio Bastion which featured Kiril Džajkovski was one of the most important 1980s acts. Notable New Romantic act was Haos in Laos. The pop-rock group Memorija formed in 1984 was one of the most prosperous from this period. The most productive in the country was the post-punk, darkwave and gothic rock scene which included the cult bands Mizar, Arhangel and Padot na Vizantija, the latter led by Goran Trajkoski. Later he formed the neo-folk group Anastasia which became internationally acclaimed with its soundtrack for the Milco Mancevski's Academy Award nominated film Before the Rain. Notable artists during the first half of the 1990s included the thrash metal group Sanatorium, the alternative rock bands Suns and Last Expedition, the punk rockers Rok Agresori and Parketi, and D' Daltons, which was initialy a rockabilly act. The second half of the decade saw the emergence of the hardcore punk bands Sidewalk, Fluks, Smut, Bumbiks and No Name Nation, while a notable extreme metal band was Siniac. In the 2000s, prominent acts in the country include Superhiks (ska punk), Two Sides (hardcore punk), Denny Te Chuva (melodic hardcore, emo), Smut (metalcore), Parketi (pop punk), Kulturno Umetnicki Rabotnici (garage punk) and many others.
There are several rock music festivals, some of the most notable include: Taksirat annually organized by Lithium Records and the now-defunct Skopje gori organized by Avalon Productions. Both of the festivals hosted numerous internationally acclaimed acts. There are also smaller demo band festivals such as Winner Fest (formerly known as Loser Fest) and Rok-fest, the latter has existed for several decades. The most notable international open-air festival was 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 peace festival called Urban fest was organized in Skopje gathering underground music artists from all the Balkan countries.
Hip hop
A well developed hip hop music scene also exist. One of the famous hip hop acts is SAF (Sakam Afro Frizura, ). Most Macedonian hip hop artists are underground hip hop but there are many mainstream pop-rap artists as well.
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 slavejce (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 Necak, Kire Kostov, Petar Sidovski, Slave Dimitrov, Milko Lozanovski, Aleksandar Džambazov, Ljupco 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.
Audio clips
Video
See also
External links
- - Foundation Open Society Institute, Macedonia
- - mostly alternative rock & roll and electronic artists including news, biographies and MP3s
- including most of the Darkwave generation of bands from the 1980s
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