Preliminary communication
https://doi.org/10.56954/bg.18.1.4
Dalmatian songs vs. klapa songs – the beginnings of organized klapa singing through the prism of influence of the early recording industry
Joško Ćaleta
Abstract
Organized public presentation of Dalmatian (klapa) singing occurs long before the beginnings of organized klapa singing. The dominance of the tradition of vocal music with instrumental accompaniment of Dalmatian urban song continues to this day, and its repertoire in the general public becomes synonymous with “klapa singing”. The fundamental question relates to the differences in the repertoire and stylistic elements of musical performance: Are vocal groups, which form their repertoire in a way – soloist/duet and chorus, accompanied by contemporary (or traditional mandolin) instruments, entitled to call themselves klapas?
We found partial answers to the open questions in the earliest discography recordings of the “Dalmatian” repertoire, starting from the editions of Edison Bell Penkala and Elektroton, to the first decades of work of the first Yugoslav recording company Jugoton (successor of the pre-war and wartime Elektroton), in whose musical production and distribution that repertoire had an extremely important place. From the end of the 20s to the beginning of the 60s of the twentieth century, the interlinking of two repertoires – Dalmatian (urban) songs and klapa songs is shown. The stylistic term “Dalmatian folk song” found on gramophone records has often removed the author’s identity from musical works, which continued in the takeover and adaptation in klapa singing.
Early recordings of Dalmatian songs (Edison Bell Penkala, Elektroton) are mainly recorded as solo performances (in the manner of classical music singers in the compositions of Ivo Tijardović or in the manner of a hit or a pop song as performed by Vlaho Paljetak), accompanied by a mandolin and / or guitar and a smaller orchestra, which will continue with the duets of the Sutlović brothers, whose performance will be a model for future performers of Jugoton releases. In the post-war years, members of the then Radio Zagreb male choir stood out as leading performers who sing with the strong supported voices in arrangements that would today be called klapa. Two ensembles deserve special attention, the Dalmatian Petar Tralić’s Group, which persisted in performing with instruments and which had a pioneering task in the artistic and market design of Dalmatian songs and corresponding newly composed hits, and the Dalmatian Ensemble, which raised the performance criteria by achieving loudness, rich timbre and blended and balanced group singing. At the end of the 1950s, Dalmatian music dominated in Jugoton’s domestic production, in which folk music bordered with popular music.
Open questions of repertoire and stylistic elements and features of musical performance, to which we tried to find answers in this paper will still remain a current topic for reflection and conflict of interest of all those who, through their work and approach, ultimately pay special tribute to the valuable remnant of Dalmatian cultural heritage.
Keywords
Dalmatian urban song, klapa singing, Croatian discography, folk song, pop music
Hrčak ID:
312003
URI
Publication date:
1.12.2023.
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