Heretical Angels. Rituals of Medieval Bosnia and Herzegovina

Featuring

Joško Ćaleta
Jure Miloš
Srećko Damjanović
Nikola Damjanović
Tonko Podrug
Milivoj Rilov

Katarina Livljanić
Norbert Rodenkirchen
Albrecht Maurer
Kantaduri Ensemble
Ensemble Dialogos
Anonymous

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Instruments

The gusle, a single-string wooden chordophone with a goat skin body, is a traditional instrument from the Dalmatian hinterland and Herzegovina, often accompanying epic singers.

Historical Context

Medieval Bosnia and Herzegovina was a melting pot of traditions and religions, with Catholics, Orthodox Christians, Bosnian Krstjani, Muslims, and Jews coexisting.

Composer's Artistic Vision

The program intertwines motifs, vows, exorcisms, and tombstone inscriptions as short commentaries, creating a mosaic based on ancient texts.

Compositional Technique

Ganga is a polyphonic song style used for tombstone inscriptions, performed by one lead singer and others providing a drone, with melodies based on limited chromatic tone ranges.

Compositional Technique

The music reconstructs and recomposes fragments and formulas typical of the local musical idiom, drawing from traditional music of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Interpretation

The ensemble Dialogos collaborated with traditional musicians, including a Herzegovinian epic singer and gusle player, to explore ancient Bosnian traditions.