MEĐIMURSKA POPEVKA - (a folk song from Međimurje)

Međimurska popevka (the folk song of Međimurje) was originally performed a cappella (without instrumental accompaniment). Its oldest records date back to the 16th century. Sung in the Međimurje dialect of the Kajkavian idiom, it consists of mostly lyrical verses comprising a song (pesem) and a tune (viža). The opening of the song is sung by the most prominent female singer počimalja (popevačica) or the best male singer pređar (vižar), whereas the other singers in the group follow and continue to sing together in unison and natural voice, with frequent ornamentation of the main tones, sliding from tone to tone and quieting the last syllable of the musical unit. The melodies sound archaic and unusual because they were mostly composed in the Old Church authentic modes (Dorian, Aeolian and Phrygian) and plagal modes, i.e. using the archaic pentatonic scale and pentatonic elements, but sometimes also the Mixolydian mode similar to the major scale. A narrower melodic range, a sequence of adjacent tones, teasing embellishments, and a unique rhythm characterize the older tunes in the wheeldance (kolo). These fairy-tale songs, short stories, tragic ballads and more cheerful romances are not sung in real singing stanzas, but the verse is added to the previous verse or parts of the verse are repeated, with the addition of exclamations, invocations, choruses and onomatopoeia. Developed tunes are characterized by asymmetry, polymetry, punctuated rhythm, emphasized performance sensitivity and instrumental accompaniment. In some songs, Pannonian and Dinaric Croatian and other Slavic melodic influences can be recognized, as well as the influences of the neighboring countries of Hungary and Slovenia. Customary and ritual, patriotic, love, reflexive, humorous and children's songs are sung from birth to death, in all stages of the year and life. The main way of transmitting the song was by direct learning from older family members and the local community in real performance contexts, and from the 19th century onwards also thanks to more extensive transcription records. The most prominent researcher of the folk song of Međumurje was ethnomusicologist, melographer and academician Vinko Žganec (1890–1976), born in Vratišinec, Međimurje. Collaborating with about five hundred singers from Međimurje, he patiently and methodically transcribed by ear about 6,000 folk songs of Međumurje and recorded them with a phonograph in the 1920s and with a tape recorder in the 1950s. The Međimurje Song Festival in Nedelišće, founded in 1971, contributed to the preservation and popularization of traditional singing. As a unique reflection of the Croatian continuity and identity of Međimurje, the Međimurje folk song has been included in UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2018.
 
                                                                                                              Lidija Bajuk, PhD
Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Research