Newly Composed Folk Music of Yugoslavia

Download or read book Newly Composed Folk Music of Yugoslavia written by Ljerka V. Rasmussen and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-07-23 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Western political discourse, Yugoslavia was frequently referred to as a “buffer zone,” its independence from the Soviet bloc being the single most salient factor making it politically atypical. Another enduring metaphor, that of a crossroads between East and West, was often invoked to describe Yugoslavia’s heterogeneous culture, owing as much to its geographic position in central/southeast Europe as to its multinational makeup. Yet, if not solely for its socialist brand of communism, the Balkan-Slavic identity of Yugoslavia’s traditional culture shaped the perception of the country as a part of the east European cultural bloc. Like other cultures on the map of Slavic traditions, Yugoslavia presented the casual observer with a colorful variety of village music, ethnic customs and a proliferating national folklore engendered in festival re-enactments of rural life. Rapid social changes following World War II profoundly affected the country’s largely rural-based culture. Despite enormous evidence of vanishing historic practices, the music rooted in the socioeconomic milieu of peasant society remained the main focus of ethnomusico-logical research interest. Yugoslavia’s contemporary culture, originating in such modem institutions as mass media and the market place, did not receive comparable attention.