Folk Song Material in the Archive of the Institute of Ethnomusicology of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts

As part of the research project Teža preteklosti. Dediščina večkulturnega območja: primer Kočevske we also paid more attention to the material collected by colleagues of the Institute of Ethnomusicology ZRC SAZU during the 90-year history of the Institute (which is celebrating its round anniversary this year), or even older material that the Institute holds as the central institution for folk music, song and dance in Slovenia. At first, we seemed to have almost no material for the period prior to World War II, but a closer examination of the archives showed that this was not the case. The material collected specifically by the Institute’s staff is not very extensive, but thanks to cooperation with related institutions in Austria and Germany, the Institute keeps copies of material stored in other countries. Folk songs were recorded in the Kočevska region at a time when Slovenia was still part of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy.

Recordings in the Kočevska Region

But back to the surprises. After World War II, in 1953 to be precise, the Institute started sound recordings. This means that they visited people and recorded their singing. Several of these recordings took place in the Kočevsko Region. In 1992, mag. Igor Cvetko recorded a group of singers in Kočevska Reka, who sang the following songs for him: Tam dol na ravnem polju (Down in the Level Field), Preozke so stezice (The Trails are too Narrow), Ko psi zalajajo po celi vas na glas (When the Dogs’ Loud Barking is Heard All Over the Village), Fantič pride pod okence stat (The Boy Comes to Stand Under the Window), Sijaj mi sončece (Shine On My Sunshine), Duša le pojdi zmanoj (Sweet Soul Just Go with Me), Ênglaš valcer (English Waltz) (accordion), Ta stara polka (That Old Polka) (accordion), Se spominjaš davnih časov (Do You Still Remember the Old Days) (accordion), Moje dekle je še mlado, ja, ja (My Girl is Still Young, Oh Yeah), Sinoči je pela (Last Night She Sang), En hribček bom kupil (One Little Hill I’ll Buy), Grêmo na Štajersko (Let’s Wander Off to Štajerska), Ko so fantje proti vasi šli (When the Boys Went to the Village), Moj očka ima konjička dva (My Daddy Has Two Little Horses), Moj fantič je na t(i)rolsko vandral (My Little Boy Went to the Tyrol), Al me boš kaj rada imela (Think You’ll Love Me), Ko so Adáma pokopal (When They Buried Adám), Soča voda je šumela (The Waters of the Soča Murmured), Micika v püngradi (Micika in Püngradi), Rozamunda (Rosamunda) (accordion), Ena starinska (Ye’ Old Song) (accordion).

Pesem Micika v püngradi: Folk Songs of the Prekmurje Region in Kočevska Region

Püngrad is the Prekmurje word for garden. In the folk song, Micika is in the garden picking flowers and talking to her sweetheart.

The song from the Micika v püngradi recording is sung by a woman and a man in a beautiful (authentic) Prekmurje dialect. They moved to the Kočevska region in 1954 from Prekmurje, namely from two different places. The resettlement of inhabitants of Prekmurje to villages in the Kočevska region that had been emptied during World War II is well known and documented. However, it seems that it is only when we hear this song sung in a dialect from the opposite end of Slovenia that we become aware of their presence. I presented the sound recording of this song at a panel organised as part of the above-mentioned project in Ljubljana in March 2024. It was also attended by two local women from the Kočevska area, descendants of the Gottscheers. Their reaction when they heard the first verses of the song piqued my interest, because it was completely foreign to them. Although they are well acquainted with the history of the area, are involved in the local life and actively participate in cultural associations, they were still surprised by this song. In fact, the song is a beautiful example of how fluid tradition actually is and how folk songs are transferred from one place to another. The case is also of interest to researchers working on the theory of heritage, its formation and change.

Article How Did Micika v püngradi come to the Kočevska Region? – Folk Songs of the Prekmurje Region in Kočevska Region

is part of the project Teža preteklosti. Dediščina večkulturnega območja: primer Kočevske , which was financially supported by the Slovenian Research Agency.

Our previous post: Cemetery in Stari Log.

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