Serbian Choral Society Melbourne P R E S E N T S
Mokranjac: Serbia Ser bian n Sacred Chora Choral l Music ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN A CAPPELLA WORKS BY STEVAN STOJANOVIĆ MOKRANJAC Australian concert premiere of Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom &
Funeral Service (Requiem) Conducted by Sanja Drljača Sava Djukic, baritone Alan de Niese, presenter
Sunday Sunda y 25 October 2015, 3:00 pm • St Johns Southgate Southgate Lutheran Church, Melbourne
“ In Serbia Serbia Mokranjac Mokranjac is likened likened to Johan Sebastian Bach, such was his immense contribution to both secular and sacred ( Serbian Serbian ) music music”” Simon Callow,
‘Madrid and Belgrade’ episode 12, season 2 TV series ‘Classical Destinations’ (2007)
“Church music is the only Serbian classical tradition, because the onset of “Church the Ottoman occupation ( in in 14th century ) interrup interrupted ted the deve develop lopment ment of Renaissanc Ren aissancee secular secular music music.. If we see seek k histo historical rical music roo roots, ts, tod today ay they they can be only anticipated and recognised in the church chants and manuscripts of Serbian composers of Byzantine tradition from the Middle Ages.” Miloš Raičković,
Serbian composer - USA, 2011
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About the Programme
Welcome
RAJKO VUKČEVIĆ SECRETARY OF SERBIAN CHORAL SOCIETY
Tonight’s program focuses on the sacred music used in the service of Serbian Orthodox Church. All of the pieces presented are composed by the most outstanding gure in the Serbian classical music – Stevan Stojanović Mokranjac (pronounced as Mokraːnjats). The Orthodox Church, including the Serbian, traditional ly does not use instruments in the liturgical services, relying entirely on choral music and chanting. All the words of Orthodox services, except sermons and such, are either chanted or sung by readers and choirs, and when possible the congregations. Serbian Choral Society follows this tradition and the concert will be performed entirely a cappella (without instrumental accompaniment). ~ The concert opens with The Lord’s Prayer , a hymn which is normally sung as part of the Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom located somewhere at the ¾ mark. Tonight it will be performed separately for two reasons - as this version was composed almost 20 years after the
Divine Liturgy, and as it was one of the last major works by Mokranjac. This composition is often performed as a concert piece on its own, and in Australia it was presented several times by the Serbian Choral Society.
an artistically coherent performance. As a result, the duration of the performance of the Divine Liturgy is scaled down to approximately 45 minutes from about 2 hours of the regular liturgical service.
~ The version of the Divine Liturgy performed tonight is somewhat different from the one usually carried out on Sunday morning services in Serbian Orthodox churches (including those in Australia). As is customary on occasions of concert performances (and their equivalent audio recordings), some changes are introduced to the structure of the Liturgy. The focus of tonight’s performance is on the artistic expression and display of beauty of the music, rather than on evocation of the religious fervour.
~ The role of a priest will be more prominent in the work that follows - Funeral Service. It will be performed in its integral form - as composed and as used in the church service - therefore complete with the original readings of the priest.
During the regular church service a choir takes on the role of ‘people’ (congregation), which ‘respond’ to the chanted readings of the priest by singing hymns and prayers. In this performance, however, there will be a role reversal - the choir becomes dominant and the priest of secondary importance. Some readings normally chanted by the priest are omitted, while the retained ones form the ‘glue’ between the choir’s pieces to achieve and enhance
~ We Praise Tee is another popular concert piece, and one of Mokranjac’s most important sacred compositions. It was also performed by Serbian Choral Society on several occasions. ~ The last piece Hail, Bride is somewhat special, and not only for its beauty. Two days before his passing away in 1914, Mokranjac insi sted that his wife Milica and his son Momčilo join him in a singalong. Hail, Bride was his last chanting. As far as we are aware of, t he performances of Divine Liturg y and Funeral Se rvice wil l be Australian concert premiers. We rejoice in this occasion and extend our war m welcome to this unique and rare concert performance.
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Programme
WORKS BY
STEVAN STOJANOVIĆ MOKRANJAC (1856-1914)
1.
THE LORD’S PRAYER (1912) ОЧЕ НАШ
* 2.
DIVINE LITURGY OF ST JOHN CHRYSOSTOM (1894-95) БОЖАНСТВЕНА ЛИТУРГИЈА СВ ЈОВАНА ЗЛАТОУСТОГ
PART 1 - Liturgy of the Catechumens
PART 2 - Liturgy of the Believers
Litany, Lord, have mercy Bless the Lord, O my soul O only-begot ten Son Come, let us worship Holy God Alleluia And with thy spirit
* 3.
Cherubic Hymn That we may receive the King of all It is meet and right Holy, holy, holy We praise Thee It is truly meet Praise Ye the Lord Let our mouth be flled with Thy praise Blessed be the name of the Lord
FUNERAL SERVICE (REQUIEM) (1888) ОПЕЛО – ПАРАСТОС
Litany, Lord, have mercy No one is as Holy With the Saints Spirits and Souls Eternal Memory
4.
WE PRAISE THEE (TE DEUM) (1904) ТЕБЕ БОГА ХВАЛИМ
5.
HAIL, BRIDE (EXCERPT FROM AKATHISTOS) (1892) РАДУЈСЈА (ДЕО ИЗ АКАТИСТА)
* Australian
concert premiere The concert will last approximately 1 hour 30 minutes. There will be no interval.
Programme
LYRICS All compositions of the programme will be sung in the original Church Slavonic verse. Only the choir text is shown below - on the left is Latin t ransliteration of the original Slavonic script, with English translation on the right.
1. OČE NAŠ
1. THE LORD’S PRAYER
Oče naš iže jesi na nebesjeh. Da svjatitsja imja T voje; da pridet carstv ije Tvoje; da budet volja tvoja, jako na nebesi i na zem lji.
Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Hljeb naš nasuščnij dažd nam dnes; i ostavi nam dolgi našja, jakože i mi ostavljajem dolžni kom našim; i ne vovedi nas vo iskušenije, no izbavi nas ot lukavago, ot lukavago.
Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the Evil One.
Amin.
Amen
2. BOŽANSTVENA LITURGIJA SV JOVANA ZLATOUSTOG
2. THE DIVINE LITURGY OF ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
Amin. Gospodi, pomiluj. Tebje, Gospodi. Am in.
Amen. Lord, have mercy. To Thee, O Lord. Amen.
Slava Ocu i Sinu i Svjatomu Duhu, i ninje i prisno, i vo vjeki vjekov. Ami n. Blagoslovi duše moja Gospoda, i vsja vnutrenjaja moja, imja svjato je Jego. Blagosloven jesi Gospodi.
Glory be to the Father, to the Son, to the Holy Spirit. Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all t hat is withi n me bless His holy Name. Blessed art Thou, O Lord.
Gospodi, pomiluj. Tebje, Gospodi. Amin.
Lord, have merc y. To Thee, O Lord. Amen.
Slava Ocu i Sinu i Svjatomu Duhu, i ninje i prisno, i vo vjeki vjekov. Ami n. Jedinorodn ij Sine , i Slove Božij, bezsmerten sij, i izvolivij spasenija našego radi, voplotitisja, ot svjatija Bogorodici i prisno djevi Mariji , nepreložno vo čelovječivijsja: raspnijsja že Hriste Bože, smertiju smert popravij, jedin sij svjatija Troici, sproslavljajem ij Ocu i Svjatomu Duhu, spasi nas.
Glory be to the Father, to the Son, to the Holy Spirit. Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. O only-begotten Son and Word of God, who art immortal, a nd yet didst deign for our salvation to become incarnate of the holy Mother of God and ever-virgin Mary; Who without change becamedst man: and wast crucied, O Christ our God, by Thy death destroying death; Who art one of the Holy Trinity, gloried together with the Father and the Holy Spirit: save us!
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Pridite, poklonimsja, i pripadem ko Hristu, Spasi ni, Sine Božij, voskresij iz mertvih, pojuščija ti: Aliluja.
O come, let us worship and bow down, before Christ. O Son of God, who art risen from-the dead, save us who sing to Thee: Alleluia!
Gospodi, pomiluj. Amin.
Lord, have mercy. Amen.
Svjati Bože, svjati krjepki, svjati besmertni, pomiluj nas. Slava Ocu i Sinu, i Svjatomu Duhu, i ninje i prisno, i vo vjeki vjekov. Ami n. Svjati bezsmertni, pomiluj nas. Svjati Bože, svjati krjepki, sv jati besmertni , pomiluj nas.
Holy God, holy and mighty, holy and immortal, have mercy on us. Glory be to the Father, to the Son, to the Holy Spirit. Both now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen. Holy and immortal, have mercy on us. Holy God, holy and mighty, holy and immortal, have mercy on us.
Aliluja, aliluja, aliluja.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
I duhovi tvojemu. Slava tebje, Gospodi, slava tebje. Is pola eti despota.
And with thy spirit. Glory be to Thee, O Lord, glory to Thee. For many years, O Despot.
Gospodi, pomiluj. Amin. Gospodi, pomiluj. Tebje Gospodi. Amin.
Lord, have mercy. Amen. Lord, have mercy. To Thee, O Lord. Amen.
Iže heruvimi, tajno obrazujušče, i životvorjaščej Trojicje trisvjatuju pjesan pripjevajušče, vsjakoje ninje žitejskoje otložim popečenije. Amin, amin, amin.
We that mystically represent the cherubim, and sing to the life-giving Tr inity the thr ice-holy hymn, let us now lay aside all earth ly care. Amen, amen, amen.
Jako da Car ja vsjeh podimem, angelskimi nevidimo dorinosima činmi. Aliluja, aliluja, aliluja.
That we may receive the King of all, invisibly escorted by the hosts of angels. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
Oca, i Sina, i Svjatago Duha, Troicu jedinosuščnuju i nerazdjelnuju.
The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Trinit y consubstantial and undivided.
Milost mira, žertv u hvaljenija. I so duhom tvojim. Imami ko Gospodu.
The mercy of peace, the sacrice of praise. And with thy spirit. We lift them up unto the Lord.
Достојно и праведно јест, поклањатисја Оцу, и Сину, и Свјатому Духу, Тројицје јединосу шчњеј и нераздјелњеј.
It is meet and right to worship the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Trinit y consubstantial and undivided.
Svjat, svjat, svjat Gospod Savaot, ispoln nebo i zemlja slavi Tvojeja: osana vo višnjih, blagosloven grjadij vo imja Gospodnje, osana vo višnjih. Amin.
Holy, holy, holy, Lord of Sabaoth! Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. Amen.
Amin, amin.
Amen, amen.
2. (NASTAVAK)
BOŽANSTVENA LITURGIJA SV JOVANA ZLATOUSTOG
2. (CONTINUED)
THE DIVINE LITURGY OF ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
Tebe pojem, Tebe blagoslovim, Tebje blagodarim, G ospodi,
We praise Thee, we bless,
i molim ti sja Bože naš.
and we pray to Thee, our God.
Dostojno jest jako vo istinu,
we give thanks to Thee, O Lord; It is truly meet
blažiti tja Bogorodicu, prisnoblaženuju i preneporočnuju, i mater Boga našego. Čestnjejšuju heruvim, i slavnjejšuju bez sravnjenija seram, bez istljenija Boga slova roždšuju, suščuju Bogorodicu, Tja veličajem.
to call Thee blessed, O Mother of God,
I vsjeh, i vsja. Amin.
And each and all. Amen.
Jedin svjat, jedin Gospod, Isus Hristos, vo slavu Boga Oca. Ami n.
One is holy, One is Lord, Jesus Christ,
Hvalite, hvalite, hvalite Gospoda, hvalite, hvalite, hvalite Gospoda s nebes,
hvalite jego vo višnji h. Aliluja.
Praise Ye the Lord; praise Hi m from the heavens, praise Him in t he height. Praise Him in the height. Al leluia.
Blagosloven g rjadij vo imja Gospodnje, Bog Gospod i javisja nam.
Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord: God is the Lord and hath appeared to us.
Vidjehom svjet ist inij, prijahom Duha nebesnago, obrjetohom vjeru istinuju,
We have seen the true Light, we have received the heavenly Spirit,
nerazdjelnjej Troicje poklanjajemsja:
we worship the undivided Trin ity, for the same hath saved us.
ta bo nas spasla jest. Amin Da ispolnjatsja usta naša hvaljenija tvojego,
Gospodi, jako da pojem slavu Tvoju, jako spodobil jesi nas pričastitisja Svjatim Tvoji m, božestvenim, bezsmertni m i životvorjaščim tajnam: sobljudi nas vo Tvojej svjatinji, ves den poučatisja pravdje Tvojej. Aliluja, aliluja, aliluja. Amin Budi imja Gospodnje blagosloveno
ever-blessed and most pure
and the Mother of our God. More honourable than the Cherubim and incomparably more glorious than the Seraphim, Thou who without corruption hast borne God the
Word; Thee, Mother of God, we magnify!
to the glory of God the Father. Amen.
we have found the true Faith;
Amen. Let our mouth be flled with Thy praise, O Lord, that we may sing of Thy glory;
for Thou hast made us worthy to parta ke of Thy holy, divine, immortal and life-giving mysteries: Preserve us in Thy holiness, that we may learn of Thy righteousness all the day long. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
ot ninje i do vjeka. Amin.
Amen. Blessed be the name of the Lord, from henceforth and for evermore. Amen.
Amin.
Amen.
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3. OPELO - PARASTOS
3. FUNERAL SERVICE (REQUIEM)
Amin. Gospodi, pomiluj. Podaj, Gospodi. Gospodi, pomiluj. Amin.
Amen. Lord, have mercy. Grant it, O Lord. Lord, have mercy. Amen
Njest svjat , jakože ti, Gospodi Bože moj, voznesij
No one is as Holy as Thou, O Lord my God, lift up the
rog vjernih tvojih, blaže, i utverdivij nas na kameni ispovedanija tvojego.
glory of Thy faithful, O blessed One, and make us rm as rock in our confession of Thou.
So svjatimi upokoj, Hriste, dušu raba tvojego,
idježe njest, boljezan, ni pečal, ni vozdihanije, no žizan bezkonečnaja.
With the saints give rest, O Christ, to the soul of Thy servant, where there is no pain, no sorrow, no sighing, but life w ithout end.
Dusi i duši pravednih voshvaljat tja Gospodi.
Spirits and souls of the righteous bless Thee, O Lord.
Vječnaja pamjat , vječnaja pamjat.
Eternal memory. Eternal memory.
4. TEBE BOGA HVALIM
4. WE PRAISE THEE (TE DEUM)
Tebe Boga hvalim, tebe Gospoda ispovjedujem,
We praise Thee, O God; we acknowledge Thee to be the Lord. All the earth doth worship Thee, the Father
tebe prevječnago Oca vsja zemlja veličajet.
everlasting. Tebe vsi angeli, tebje nebesa i vsja sili ,
tebje heruvimi i serami neprestanimi glasi vzivajut:
To Thee all the Angels cr y aloud; the Heavens, and all the Powers therein,
to Thee Cherubim and Seraphim continually do cry:
Svjat, svjat, svjat Gospod Bog Savaot,
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God the Sa baoth;
polni sut nebesa i zemlja veličestva slavi tvojeja.
Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty of Thy Glory.
Tebe ubo prosim: pomozi rabom tvoim, spasi, Gospodi, ljudi tvoja i blagoslovi dostojanije tvoje.
We therefore pray Thee, help Thy servants, O Lord, save Thy people, and bless Thine heritage.
Slava Ocu i Sinu, i Svjatomu Duhu,
Glory to the Father, to the Son, to the Holy Spirit,
i ninje i prisno i vo vjeki vjekov, amin.
now and ever, and unto ages of ages, amen.
Aliluja, aliluja, aliluja, slava tebe Bože.
Al leluia, alleluia, al leluia, glory to Thee, O God.
5. RADUJSJA
5. HAIL, BRIDE
Radujsja, nevjesto nenevjestnaja. Aliluja.
Hail, Bride without the bridegroom, Alleluia
TEXT SOURCES:
STEVAN ST. MOKRANJAC, Complete Works, Volume 4, Sacred Music I LITURGY (1994) Liturgical text (2), translated by Mother Marija of Gradac. STEVAN ST. MOKRANJAC, Complete Works, Volume 5, Sacred Music II (1995)
All other texts (1, 3, 4 & 5), translated by Archdeacon Radomir Rakić. Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom, for Ca ntors Transliterated text prepared by St. Luke’s Serbian Orthodox Mission, sv-luka.org
C A J N A R K O M
Manuscript facsimile of the Cherubic Hymn, from Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, by Mokranjac
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Programme NOTES
ABOUT THE MUSIC
THE FOLLOWING NOTES ARE EXCERPTS FROM THE INTRODUCTORY TEXTS TO STEVAN ST. MOKRANJAC, COMPLETE WORKS, VOLUMES 4 & 5,
BY VLASTIMIR PERIČIĆ AND VOJISLAV ILIĆ, TRANSLATED BY KARIN
RADOVANOVIĆ AND DANICA ŠĆEKIĆ.
THE LORD’S PRAYER, COMPOSED IN 1912 The LORD’S PRAYER (Oče naš ) is in fact the part of a Liturgy, although Stevan Mokranjac has not composed this version while working on his Liturgy, but much later. It was not created according to the traditional church melodies, li ke the rest of the Liturg y, but is his own composition. It represent one of his last sacred compositions, as it has been written by the already aili ng master during his recovery (July 1912) in the hotel “Zlatorog”, in the vicin ity of Lake of Bohinj (now in the Republic of Slovenia).
DIVINE LITURGY OF ST JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, COMPOSED IN 1894-95 Among Mokranjac’s nest religious works - in addition to his Requiem, Hymns for Good Friday, Akathistos to the Mother of God, Stasis - is denitely his Divine Liturg y after the Serbian Folk Chant. The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, “in terms of its depth, ex pression, polyphonic and formal values can stand equal to the best works of Palestrina”. With its expressiveness, unusual melodies, beauty
of shading, tonal colouring, Mokranjac’s Liturgy is rmly linked with the Serbian folk tradition of church singi ng - Octoechos. It is an expression of the Serbian Orthodox religious heritage. Its rich, broadreaching, strong ha rmonies inspire spiritual joy. “Tru ly, Mokranjac’s Liturgy is above all - in t he purity and beauty of style with which the inspiration of a master has produced a bril liant work of art - a monumental tonal construction, unique in Serbian music.” The aura of venerable Serbian churches, the melodious Octoechos, the religious symbolism of the Liturgy all enhance feelings of faith and love. One must indeed delve deep into the spiritual environment inhabited by Mokranjac, with his natural creative talent, in order to understand the grandeur of his Litu rgy, its classical beauty and profound inspiration, a supreme achievement in Serbian choral l iterature.
Mokranjac composed the Liturgy for use in Orthodox church services. It is an expression of the hearty, broad and also warm feelings of the pious, God-fearing Serbian folk. There is joy and light, darkness, sorrow and pain. It is rmly connected with the tradition of Serbian chant on which it is based.
It is composed - “tailored” either from the beginning, middle or nal portions of the Octoechos and Veliko pojanje (Great Chant), or from the whole chants of individual modes.
Mokranjac’s Liturgy is thus based not only on the rst mode, but also from parts of the melodies in the Veliko pojanje and the Octoechos. Just as the composer of the Octoechos - Serbian church chant - remains anonymous, so are the “serene monks” who composed litu rgical texts based on the Octoechos, thus creating a new tune - “liturgical” - of splendid spiritual sonority. Mokranjac enriched these lovely melodies with solemn harmonies of astounding beauty, producing a magnicent fresco of sound - the Liturgy - one of the most beautiful pieces of Orthodox church music.
FUNERAL SERVICE (REQUIEM), COMPOSED IN 1888 The FUNERAL SERVICE REQUIEM (Opelo – Parastos) composed for a mixed c hoir, is found i n the Mokranjac’s manuscript (autograph) under the tit le “Parastos - Pomen” (Slavonic = Panih ida), but with time the name “Opelo” has been assimi lated which, after all , originates from Mokranjac himself. Opelo II (F sharp minor) for a mixed choir was written for the occasion of 100th anniversary of Vuk Karadzić’s birthday in 1888. The difference, however, between the “Opelo” and the “Parastos” as church rituals is very big. The Opelo is longer and comprises more than 30 stic hera (songs), whereas the Parastos has a bout 15 stichera only. Mokranjac has composed even shorter comprising only the Litany, No one is as holy, With the Saints, Spirits and Souls and Eternal memory, what is probably the reason for his putting the title of “Parastos” in his manuscript.
The main musical point of the Funeral service is No one is as holy (Njest svjat), which represents Mokranjac’s masterpiece and is considered to be among the most beautiful pages of the Serbian music creations. That is why it is often performed separately as a concert piece. With the Saints (So svjatimi) represents even more expressively Mokranjac’s psychological, al most programmatic interpretation of the verses. The same applies to the nal Eternal memory (Vjecnaja pamjat), only that the version in F sharp mi nor has the advantage of already being thematic and tonal reprise of the initial Lord, have mercy (Gospodi pomi luj).
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WE PRAISE THEE (TE DEUM), COMPOSED IN 1904
HAIL, BRIDE (EXCERPT FROM AKATHISTOS), COMPOSED IN 1892
WE PRAISE THEE (Tebe Boga hvalim), composed on the basis of the melody “Slavoslovije” ( Doxology) of the mode VI, ranks among Stevan Mokranjac’s best sacred compositions.
AKATHISTOS (Akatist) - the song of praise to the Mother of Jesus; composed in 1892 is anot her one of Mokranjac’s masterpieces that enthuses the audience with crystal clear melodic lines and an expression of undisturbed serenity. In this case too, composer nds the appropriate psychological expression for the modest worshiping by exclaiming “Radujsja, nevjesto nenevjestnaja” (Hail , Bride without bridegroom).
That is an Old Church Slavonic translation of a well-known old Christian hymn Te Deum laudamus, nowadays attributed to the 4th century St. Nicetas of Remesiana (Bela Palanka, Serbia). Mokranjac has written thi s musical piece in the year of 1904 as an integral part of a repertoire prepared for the coronation ritual of the Serbian king Petar I Karadjordjević. According to the church ritual, it i s also performed during the religious serv ices at New Year eve and the thanksgiving. During t he years, We Praise Thee has become a very popular concert piece, thanks to the skilful ly written and extraordinar y sonorous and effective choral harmony.
Kosta Manojlović, another Serbian eminent composer, once remarked “(the song) reminds one of the Sistine Madonna and Raffaello’s paintbrush”.
ALL COMPOSITIONS ARE PERFORMED USING SCORES APPEARING IN:
STEVAN ST. MOKRANJAC, Complete Works Volume 4, Sacred Music I, Liturgy (1994) & Volume 5, Sacred Music II (1995) PUBLISHED BY:
Institute for Textbooks and Teaching Aids, Publishers • Belgrade, Serbia Nota • Publishing House For Music Editions, Knjazevac, Serbia
ABOUT THE COMPOSER
MOKRANJAC Stevan Stojanović Mokranjac is the most outstanding gure in Serbian music at the turn of the 19th and 20th centur ies.
STEVAN STOJANOVIĆ MOKRANJAC B. 9 JAN 1856 NEGOTIN, D. 30 SEP 1914 SKOPLJE
Mokranjac was born in Negotin on Januar y 9, 1856, Completing grammar school in Belgrade, attracted by the positivist ideas exposed by Svetozar Marković, he enrolled at the Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics of the High School (later Belgrade University). Having already shown an interest in music while in gram mar school, he joined the First Belgrade Choral Society. Seeing him as a successor to Kornelije Stanković, this society enabled him to go to study in Munich in 1879. In 1883 he had to discontinue his studies, resuming them in 1884-85 in Rome, then in 1885-87 at the Leipzig conservatory. At this point Mokranjac began his long and varied music career in Belgrade. By 1884 he had already disting uished himself leading the Kornelije Stanković Choir, and from 1887 until the and of his li fe he was director of the First Belgrade Choral Society, which developed under his guidance into a rst-class ensemble. He toured with this society, giving concerts throughout Serbia, other South Slav lands and foreign countries, serving as a kind of cultural ambassador of Serbia (1893 - Dubrovnik , Cetinje; 1894 - Thessaloniki, Skoplje, Budapest; 1895 Istanbul, Soa, Plovdiv; 1896
- St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kiev; 1899 - Berlin, Dresden, Leipzig; 1910 - Sarajevo, Split, Cetinje; 1911 - Trieste, Rijeka, Zag reb). Occasionally he di rected other choirs (Jaksić Typographers Chorus, Serbian-Jewish Chorus). His activ ities were diverse. From 1887 until 1900 he taught music at the First Belgrade Grammar School and after 1901 at the Faculty of Theolog y. In 1899 under the auspices of the First Belgrade Choral Society he co-founded the Serbian Music School in Belgrade, Serbia’s rst permanent music school, remaining its d irector and a teacher his whole life. With F. Mater, St. Dram and J. Svoboda, he started Serbia’s rst stri ng quartet, which played a pioneer role from 1889 until 1893, cultivating chamber music in these parts of Europe. At the foundi ng meeting of the Serbian Musicians Society (1907) he was elected chairman. In 1906 he was especially honoured by being elected corresponding member of the Serbian Royal Academy (today the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts). In 1912 ill health obliged him gradually to abandon his duties as director of the First Belgrade Choral Society. He died during the night of September 29 and 30, 1914 in Skoplje where he had taken refuge with his family at the outbreak of the First World War. With a few except ions (some solo songs, music for a play Ivko’s Saint’s Day, ve fugues
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for string instru ments during his student days) Mokranjac’s entire opus consists of choral music. In his fteen “Garlands of songs” (Rukoveti) he created a classic pattern for the artistic styli sation of folk songs and provided a rm basis for the national movement in Serbian music. The “garland” pattern also includes Coastal Melodies (Primorski napjevi), and partly the arrangements of Hungarian, Turkish, Russian and Romani an songs (some of these were written when the First Belgrade Choral Society was touring abroad). Less important are his compositions setti ng verse to music. Of special interest is his witty choral scherzo Goatherd (Kozar), one of his nest achievements in the creative use of folk themes.
Mokranjac devoted a large part of his opus to Orthodox religious music, based largely on the traditional chanting in Serbian churches. This includes his monumental Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Requiem, Akathistos, Two songs for Good Friday, We Praise Te, Glorication of St. Sava, and other works comparable in qual ity to his best in secular music. Closely associated with his composing was his melographic work: recording the folk songs of Kosovo (only a small par t published posthumously), a collection
of Folk Songs a nd Dances f rom Levach and two i mportant collections of church chants: Octoechos and Feast Chants. The forewords to the Folk Songs and Octoechos were the rst studies in Serbian ethnomusicology.
Yet, what is it t hat makes Mokranjac’s works seem so alive and fresh today, when many contemporary Serbian composers have been all but forgotten? The reason is not simply that almost his entire opus was inspired by the folk idiom (or traditional church music), as Mokranjac was not the only one to do this. Mokranjac plunged deeper into the spirit of the folk melody, emphasizing through stylisation, the hidden values of anonymous folk tradition. With a sure hand he selected from this treasury what was most valuable and what best reected the spirit and life of the people. Here one can notice traces of the realistic approach which were certainly not accidental, since Mokranjac’s early stages are concurrent with the development of realism in Serbian literatu re. He clad folk motifs in robes of pure, rich choral harmony, framing them in a coherent formal structures. Thus, the “adaptation” of folk melodies became original compositions, and for several decades Mokranjac was a model for all contemporary Serbian composers attempting a national music idiom. Such composers appeared
in later generations as well, and Mokranjac’s in uenced composers with simi lar aspirations among other Yugoslav peoples. The relig ious music composed by Stevan St. Mokranjac surpasses in quantity and possibly in quality his secular music. Of the 500 secular folk tunes that he noted down, he used 90 in his choral compositions Garlands of songs (Rukoveti), whereas from his recordings of over 2,000 pieces of church music he created works of the highest order. His collection of religious music was published in the Octoechos (328 hymns) and Chants for Feast Days (over 1500 stichera, prokeimena, megalynaria, cherubika, heirmoi and sessional hymns), while many works which remained in a manuscript form were beatitudes, troparia and kontakia for particular church feasts. In the Serbian church melodies that he recorded, Mokranjac “discovered, selected and enhanced the psychological ha rmonies buried deep in the soul of Serbian people, making it dicult to believe that these people could have created anythi ng of this order”.
Excerpts from the Stevan St. Mokranjac, Complete Works by Vlastimir
Peričić and Vojislav Ilić Translated by Karin Radovanović and Danica Šćekić
MOKRANJAC and the Serbian Classical Music As in all other countries belonging to the so-called European periphery, composers in Serbia faced the problem of asserting both their belonging to the European musical community and having specic differences. The former had to be displayed by t heir musical craftsmansh ip and creative individual ity, while the latter were conveyed through the introduction of native folk elements as tokens of a specic identity.
Stevan Mokranjac (18561914) was the key-g ure among Serbian composers before World War I. On his numerous tours abroad (Thessaloniki, Budapest, Soa, Istanbul, Berlin, Dresden, Leipzig, Moscow), he received considerable appraisal for his choral works, which were primarily suites based on folk music (“Garlands of songs”). The most important part of Stevan Mokranjac’s output are his Garlands of songs and church music, both composed for a cappella choir (Serbian church music is traditionally vocal a cappella music), but he also composed some works for voice and piano, for strings and incidental music. Mokranjac was only two years younger than Leos Janacek, but the Czech master outlived him by 14 years. Both of them studied for a while in Leipzig, t hough not at the same time (Janacek in 1879, Mokranjac in 1885-87). There is, however, a great difference
between their works, which is qu ite understandable when their native social and cultural milieus are taken into consideration. The overall Czech musical culture that gave birth to Czech musical nationalism, provided strong support for Janacek as a composer. His predecessors - Bedrich Smetana, Antonin Dvorak and a number of other Czech composers - had successfu lly integrated their nationally orientated music into the European developments. During t hat time, Serbian musicians were stil l ghting to achieve European standards of music culture. Russian composers are deliberately not mentioned in relation to Stevan Mokranjac because their music - apart from church music - was little known in Serbia before World War I. It was only the next generation of composers that came under the inuence of Russian music, and that, via Prague. Some similarities in musical thin king between Mokranjac and the Russians could be explai ned by common characteristics i n musical folklore, as well as essentially simi lar ideological frameworks.
Like Stevan Mokranjac, the young generation of Serbian composers studied abroad, mostly i n Germany, during the rst and second decades of 20th centu ry. Consequent ly, they adopted
a western (i.e. CentralEuropean) stance in the evaluation of Mokranjac and other domestic composers. They called hi m the “Serbian Palestrina”. These composers high ly valued Mokranjac’s ability to select what was typical in folklore and to create organic forms on t he basis of folk music, and t hey particul arly praised the way he stylized folk melodies. They were also aware that Mokranjac had succeeded in penetrating the “laws” of latent harmony hidden in folk melodies and thus ful ly displayed their magic. On the other hand, some members of the generations of composers following Mokranjac, criticized him direct ly or indirect ly for the lack of a bolder, more elaborate approach to the use of folk melodies, for keeping to little more than simple harmonisations, and for restricti ng himself to choral a cappella music. By that, they essentially meant that Mokranjac ought to have composed elaborate instrumental and vocalinstrumental works, and not just clung to choral music, despite his creative efforts.
Mokranjac was respected as the father of Serbian national music. Mokranjac’s most talented successors knew that it was the historical task of their generation to attain international recognition of Serbian music, by leaning on Mokranjac’s heritage - by
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using it as the basis for works that would explore wider formal conceptions and more modern forms of expression more closely resembling contemporary developments in European music. We should note that Mokranjac’s orientation to choral music was probably due to his position as a conductor of the renowned First Belgrade Choral Society, the choir which gave the rst per formances of all his compositions. It could be concluded that he simply was not attracted to orchestral sounds, preferring i nstead vocal ex pression. It is also possible that he was so impressed by Alessandro Parisotti’s lectures on vocal polyphony in Rome (1884-85) that he decided to devote his talent and skills to that genre. According to some scholars, Mokranjac produced the ki nd of music that the Serbian audience demanded and was receptive to.
Mokranjac’s predecessors were usually designated as folklorists, along with some of his minor successors, and strangely enough, though only exceptionally, so was Mokranjac himself. The reason for the latter stemmed from the a mbivalence regarding the evaluation of Mokranjac’s choral suites either as a series of harmonised folk songs or as “real”, fully art istic compositions. The dominant view today is that Mokranjac was an exquisite composer who devoted his talent to a modest medium, but who knew how to compose works characterized by the use of rened harmonies, formal perfection, and a bala nced use of homophony and counterpoint. Serbian composers active in the rst decades of the century often stressed t he importance of founding a national musical style based on typically Serbian folk
music, which remained free from foreign inuences. The several centuries of occupation under Ottoman rule had led to the penetration of some oriental - Turkish but also Gypsy - elements into Serbian folk music, leaving only rural areas untouched. Therefore pure folklore was sought from rural areas that had conserved archaic and authentic features. It was generally assumed that Stevan Mokranjac knew how to choose genuine folk melodies, the best example being his tenth Garland, but it is noteworthy that the two most popular tunes from that work, belong to Mokranjac’s own invention.
For Stevan Mokranjac and his predecessors, it was common practice to i ntroduce authentic folk tunes, more or less modied, into their works, but sometimes they wrote tunes that, while being their own, had a folk-like character. Many composers built their own collections of folk music that they brought from vil lages. This method was seen as a problem by composers of the followi ng generation, who became aware that under the inuence of Smetana’s works a certain transposition or composing “in the spirit of folk music” was more appreciated than the use of citations. Excerpts from “The National Idea in Serbian Music of the 20th Century ” 2002 by Melita Milin, Musicologist (Belgrade, Serbia)
Performers Serbian Choral Society Aleksa ’ in 1991. Sanja left Bosnia as a refugee in 1993, and post-war she led many choirs: in Germany the church choir of the St. Luke the Apostle, in Melbourne children’s choir at the Serbian Orthodox Church ‘St. Stephen the A rchdeacon’, where she has been the conductor of the church choir ‘ Kornelije Stanković ’ since its founding in 2000.
SANJA DRLJAČA, CONDUCTOR AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
A distinguished music teacher, Sanja started her career in Bosnia. She taught accordion, piano and choral singi ng in no less than four primary and secondary music schools, while she became the rst accordion teacher in the Secondary Music School in Sarajevo. During this period Sanja composed and wrote songs for children, winn ing twice the rst prize at Children’s music festivals. The pinnacle of her career, at the pre-war time, was her appointment as the conductor of women’s vocal octet ‘Collegium Artisticum’ of Sarajevo, as part of the ‘Sarajevo’s Winter ’ following the Winter Olympiad in 1984. With the octet she toured extensively t hroughout Europe and former Yugoslavia, and recorded songs for the lm ‘My brother
In 2004 Sanja took the choir ‘ Lazarica ’ from St Lazarus Serbian Orthodox Church in Alexandria (Sydney) on a tour of Serbia. It was the rst visit to Serbia by a community choir from Australia. In February 2000 Sanja co-founded the community female choir ‘Balka n Voices ’, which over the years transformed into the mixed choir under the name of Serbian Choral Society. Sanja conducted choir workshops at The Boite Singers’ Festival in 2008 and 2009. For her outstanding voluntary contribution to the Serbian community of Victoria, Sanja received the Victorian Government’s prestigious Multicultural Awards for Excellence - the Meritorious Service to the Community Award in 2014. Sanja continues her professional career as music educator in Australia through her own music school ‘Collegium Artisticum’ in Dandenong (Melbourne), where she teaches performance on various musical instruments to
AMEB grade students.
SAVA DJUKIC, BARITONE
Born in Melbourne, Sava has worked as a professional musicia n for over 15 years. He has a Bachelor of Music and a Diploma of Education, and has been a high school music teacher in Australia and New Zealand for the past 10 years. His Musical Theatre credits include several minor and chorus roles, but a career highlight was playing a lead role as ‘Caiaphas’ in Jesus Christ Superstar in New Zealand. He has musical ly directed numerous shows, been an orchestral and concert band conductor, as well as directed several sacred and secular choirs both a cappella and accompanied. Since 2011, Sava has been singi ng with SUADE, Australia’s top male a cappella g roup, which tours internationally and national ly.
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ALAN DE NIESE , PRESENTER
Alan de Niese was born in Sri Lanka to a family of singers and musicians. He has sung in The Melbourne Chorale, Victoria Chorale and The de Niese Family Choir , as well as performed as a soloist. Alan has also been cantor at various Catholic churches and parishes in Melbourne. He is currently radio presenter of “Wednesday Night at the Opera” on 3MBS 103.5 FM, and monthly guest on Chris Gaf fney’s long-standing program “Great Voices” on 3CR 855 AM..
SERBIAN CHORAL SOCIETY THE CHOIR
Serbian Choral Society (in Serbian - Srpsko Pevačko Društvo) is an independent Serbian community choir based in Melbourne. It is an ‘a cappella’ ensemble, keen on achieving high artistic value in their performances. The choir tends to perform at various events within Serbian and other ethnic communities at least 4 to 5 ti mes per year. The SCS maintains a v igorous cooperation with Serbian and other ethnic choirs, artistic and folk groups. In addition, the choir part icipates in other non-ethnic based events, like festivals, eisteddfods and memorial services. Chronologically, the choir had seen three distinct periods in their work, spanning more
than 15 years of community involvement. Early Period The choir was founded by its conductor and arti stic di rector Sanja Drljaca in February 2000. At the time, it was born as a female octet under the name of Balkan Voices (in Serbian - Balkanski Glasovi).
Balkan Voices had many performances, mostly within the Serbian community, but also in independent events. The most notable was their rst annual concert held in September 2003. Sometime af ter the annual concert, due to long term health problems of several members, there was a pause in the choir performance activity for several years. Mixed Choir The choir was formally reborn by popular demand in March 2010, again as Balkan Voices. This time the group was formed as a mixed choir, including male voices for the rst time.
The new Balkan Voices performed on various occasions in front of Serbian and Austral ian audiences at multicultural events. Choral Society The new chapter in life of the choir began in September 2013, when the choir formally incorporated as an association under the new name - Serbian Choral Society Inc, and with new goals for themselves.
The Choir performs a variety of Serbian music - sacred and secula r compositions by Serbian composers, traditional and folk songs, but the repertoire is not conned only to Serbian music; it includes songs from other nations which shared t he same geographic space in the Balkans, and beyond. This was demonstrated on many occasions, particula rly at the annual concert in Nov 2013. Recent past performances of the choir include:
• Serbian Ort hodox Metropolitanate Day Celebrations 2012 & 2015, • SCS St Sava Ball Jan 2015, • Greek and Antiochian Orthodox Paschal concerts ‘Arise, O God’, 2x in 2015, • Memorial Serv ices 100 years since World War I 2014 & 2015, • Music & Art from the Heart festivals, 2014 & 2015, • Pan-Orthodox Divine Liturgies, 2x in 2014, • Greek Orthodox Charismas Carrols, 2014, • Concerts of Serbian Folk dance group KU D Kolo, 2013 & 2014, • Maslenitsa - Slavic Pancake Festival, 2013 & 2014, • Melbourne Eisteddfod Choral Festival, 2013 & 2014, • SCS - Annual Concert, at Melba Hall Nov 2013, • Multicultural Church Music Festivals 2012 & 2013, • Concert of Slavic Dance & Music, 2012.
Serbian Choral Society Melbourne
SOPRANOS Vesna Dulović Zorica Golijanin Ksenija Janković Aleksandra Katanović Dragica Kesić Ivana Lazarević Nevena Orlić Djurdja Pavasović
ALTOS Floarea Cveta Dimitrovici Dubravka Lazarević Olivera Stojić Gordana Vučurević
TENORS Goran Gajić Tijana Jarić Predrag Jorgović Biljana Klarić Tatjana Petrović
BASSES
CONTACT DETAILS
For further information about Serbian Choral Society please visit: www.serbianchoralsociety.org.au or contact
[email protected] SERBIAN CHORAL SOCIETY INC, REG.NO. A0059927Z
Siniša Duboka Aleksandar Kovač Vukan Mišić Igor Orlić Tamara Prošić Rade Vlajić Milan Vučetić
