Serbian music, collective term for folk and art music within the territory of today’s Serbia. Due to the different expansion of Serbia in the course of history, Serbian music was exposed to a variety of influences, as it also had on the music of the other peoples of the Balkans.
Folk music: In addition to the instrumental music and the instrumentally accompanied chants, the vocal music is at the center of Serbian music, which in turn can be classified into lyrical and epic chants; Ballads play a major role. The music follows the festivals and circumstances of the annual cycle. The battle on the Amselfeld (1389) is at the center of numerous epic chants, while the ballads often depict the female view of a subject. Melody and text form an inseparable unit and do not appear alone. In polyphonic singing there are two forms, a heterophonic older (also with drone) and a homophonic younger. The instruments include various flutes (including double flutes and ocarina), the bagpipe Gajde, single and double reed instruments (diple, dipla),
Art music: From Christianization into the 19th century, church music had an almost unchallenged position. Secular music in the courts was suppressed by the church; according to globalsciencellc, written evidence of Serbian music has therefore not survived. In spite of the long lasting Turkish rule, church music was passed on alongside folk music. One can therefore only speak of Serbian art music at the beginning of the 19th century, apart from the area of Vojvodina, where the Serbs, as part of a very mixed population, participated in musical life even earlier. The pioneers of Serbian art music include the composers Aleksandar Morfinis-Nisis (* 1803, † 1878) and György Arnold (* 1781, † 1848). The first orchestra in Serbia was founded in 1831 by the composer Josif Slezinger (* 1794, † 1870). In the course of the 19th century, a national Serbian romanticism developed with composers who had mostly received their training abroad. They include Kornelije Stanković (* 1831, † 1865), Josif Marinković (* 1851, † 1931), Stevan Mokranjac (* 1856, † 1914), Stanislav Binički (* 1872, † 1942). The generation of composers after the turn of the 20th century was divided into two groups: some composers took up the developments in European music and processed them in their own works; others referred to folk music and tried to integrate it into their works in a simplified musical language. This generation includes, among others, Stanojlo Rajicić (* 1910, † 2000), Mihovil Logar (* 1902, † 1998) and Ljubica Marić (* 1909, † 2003), later also Vlastimir Pericić (* 1927, † 2000), Konstantin Babić (* 1954), Dusan Radić (* 1919, † 2010) and Aleksandar Obradović (* 1927, † 2001). In the youngest generation of composers, Serbian music is about from Mirjana Zivković (* 1935), Ivan Jevtić (* 1947), Vladan Radovanović (* 1932), Milan Mihalović (* 1945) and Ivana Stefanović (* 1948). A forum for the performance of the works of young composers is provided by the festivals held since 1992 in various cities under the name of »Tribina kompozitora« (»Composers Tribune«).
Yugoslavia (1918–1992)
Yugoslavia, an existing state in Southeastern Europe from 1918–92, name of two states in Southeastern Europe.
1) Federal state that was established after the First World War and existed until 1990/91, which (from 1946) comprised the sub-republics of Serbia (with the provinces of Kosovo and Vojvodina), Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and Montenegro. Serbo-Croatian, Slovenian and Macedonian were the official languages. The capital was Belgrade.
Of the almost 24 million residents, around 40% were Serbs, 22% Croats, and 8% Slovenes; in addition, Albanians, Macedonians and many other ethnic groups lived in Yugoslavia. The area was 255 804 km 2.
History: In 1918 the “Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes” was founded from parts of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, the Kingdom of Montenegro and the Kingdom of Serbia. In 1929 it was renamed the “Kingdom of Yugoslavia”. During World War II, Yugoslavia was partitioned between Germany, Italy, Hungary and Bulgaria (1941); in Croatia, the right-wing extremist Ustaše proclaimed the Independent State of Croatia under German protection. As a result, there was brisk resistance activity from loyal to the king and national Serb as well as communist partisans (led by the later President Josip Tito), who also fought among themselves.
After the liberation by the Soviet army (1944), Tito founded the Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia. Under him as President, this pursued a non-aligned policy and its own path to socialism. The national question was to be resolved through the creation of six People’s Republics, the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina and the Autonomous Region of Kosovo (Kosovo-Metohija until 1970).
After the death of Tito (1980), who embodied the unity and independence of Yugoslavia, the problems of nationality worsened. Conflicts similar to civil wars resulted in the creation of their own armed forces in the individual republics. In June 1991 Croatia and Slovenia declared their independence and thus left the federal state of Yugoslavia. Heavy military clashes between the Serbian-dominated federal army, Serbian irregulars and Croatian militias resulted in a cruel civil war that ultimately led to the breakup of the state. Bosnia and Herzegovina also declared independence in October 1991 and Macedonia in November. Finally, in April 1992, Serbia and Montenegro formed the new Federal Republic Yugoslavia.
2) The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia: formed after the disintegration of Yugoslavia in 1992, but not internationally recognized until 1996, which comprised the republics of Serbia (including Kosovo and Vojvodina) and Montenegro. The Serbian Slobodan Milošević became the dominant political figure (1941-2006). The claim to sole representation of the former Yugoslavia under international law and the militant Greater Serbian policy towards Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina led to tensions and military conflicts. T. 1995 in the Treaty of Dayton could be defused. In 1998 the nationalist conflicts between Serbs and Albanians in the province of Kosovo escalated into a civil war that turned into an international crisis: After three months of air strikes by NATO Kosovo was granted extensive autonomy with the G8 plan in 1999, and an international peacekeeping force was deployed. In 2000 Milošević was forced to resign and in 2001 extradited to the war crimes tribunal in The Hague. He died during the trial so there was no verdict. At the beginning of 2003, with the adoption of a new constitution, the Confederation of Serbia and Montenegro was formed. In 2006 this federation broke up after a referendum in Montenegro resulted in a vote in favor of state independence.
