CONTEMPORARY PERFORMANCES OF SEVDALINKA

The late 20th and the early 21st century brought about a significant change in the view and perception of the traditional Bosnian and Herzegovinian music and its most representative genre – sevdalinka. The appearance of singers and bands such as Damir Imamović, Amira Medunjanin, Dertum, Mostar Sevdah Reunion, Urban Sevdah, Divanhana and others marked the beginning of a new epoch in performing the traditional sevdalinka, which would in following years until today be described by terms “modern sevdah”, “contemporary sevdah“, “new sevdah“, „sevdah in new arrangements“ and others. Western musicians and musical authors label this style simply as Contemporary Sevdah Music, while others classify it in the category of the World Music. In the absence of a suitable term which would describe this style, public in Bosnia and Herzegovina typically uses terms “contemporary” or “modern sevdah”. Such terminological determination of the style suggests music which emerges and develops under distinctive circumstances by combining elements with other musical genres, and in no case should it indicate that styles of the traditional (classical) performances of sevdalinka are retrograde or that they have become outdated and rejected. Due to the fact that a significant number of musicians have preserved this style (in this text we listed only the most prominent ones), it can certainly be described as a separate musical genre.  

Emergence of the contemporary sevdah was affected by several factors. The main and unavoidable ones are global influence and commercialization, which resulted in the trend of bringing the world (traditional) music closer to the Western popular music. Global acceptance of the World Music as a genre began in about 1990, and it triggered a change in musicians' and producers' minds. There are several essential characteristics of the contemporary sevdah. Lyrics of songs are typically authentic, although there are deviations at some places. Most lyrics are well-known to public at large, though there are some new lyrics taken from the tradition which appear for the first time thanks to the research by individual musicians. From the musical aspect, the bases of the melodic lines from the traditional expression have been preserved, although we also find examples which include progressive improvisation. Performers allow themselves maximum freedom in their artistic expression: sometimes these are tunes which are expanded and enlivened, and at other times tunes are shortened or performed faster. In the songs, music arrangements which combine different musical styles (form jazz and blues, through world, all the way to ethno music) prevail, thus creating an interesting fusion, which is the crucial feature of contemporary sevdah. Besides sevdalinka, performers typically perform traditional songs from the whole region as well. Their repertoire is expanded with songs from Macedonian, Serbian, Montenegrin and other traditions, and therefore we can view the contemporary sevdah in the context of the World Music. Performers' basic musical guideline is bringing the traditional sevdalinkacloser to younger generations and international audiences. Unlike the traditional performing of sevdalinka, which implied that the singer was accompanied by big folk orchestras, the contemporary sevdah is typically performed in the form of chamber music (with a smaller number of musicians), which significantly changes the overall musical image.

The producer of the band Mostar Sevdah Reunion Dragi Šestić (1966) gathered individuals and musicians of different ethnic origins united by the endless love for music. Their debut album was published in 1999. Their primary task was to promote traditional music of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and as early as in 2000 they appeared at Amsterdam Roots Festival and Belgian Sfinks Festival. They have collaborated with the greatest names of Romani music, such as Ljiljana Buttler, Esma Redžepova and Šaban Bajramović, and published noteworthy albums with them. The musical expression of Mostar Sevdah Reunion is so impressive that their performances leave nobody indifferent. 

Amira Medunjanin (1972) achieved a notable success as early as with her first soloist album “Rosaˮ (2004), which was declared the album of the year in Great Britain by Sunday Times. “Rosaˮ is credited with making Bosnia and Herzegovina and its musical treasure noted and bringing them to the very top of the interest by European musical audiences. Simple and minimalist, the album was still firmly leaning on the traditional musical patterns and did not include experiments, which were to follow on Amira's later albums. “I was glad for taking Bosnia and Herzegovina to a fantastic connotation, and because people finally stopped speaking of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a country which has political, economic and other problems. I was surprised to see my first album well accepted and that Songlinesincluded this album among the ten best albums in the world ˮ (radio program Gost sedmice (Guest of the Week), Radio BIR, 2008). Amira Medunjanin is characterized by a gracious musical expression, and her performing style is therefore very simple and unobtrusive. She is blessed with a beautiful voice, which she uses to transmit the sincerest emotions. The Balkan Billie Holiday, as she was described by the Guardian, performs sevdah permeated with jazz, even somewhat psychedelic music.

Performances by Damir Imamović (1978) placed the traditional music into an entirely new context and provided it with a completely new character. Imamović got involved in sevdah when he discovered music by his grandfather Zaim Imamović and other sevdah performers. “When I realized how good this music is, I also realized that I would love to be involved in it, to play, and I began to sing for the first time in my life. When I began to sing, it was completely insane to imagine sevdah being sung by a young guy, who comes to the stage only with the guitar, without any violins or accordions. However, when people saw that it could work great, and when Trio was formed, the anthropological image was completely different. Sevdah used to be unthinkable without jumping and dancing, and now it is chamber music, you sit and listen ˮ (radio program Iz sehare, Radio BIR, 2009). Damir Imamović Triowas the first band which attempted to expand research of sevdah, which was previously based on solo performances. “When we provided sevdalinka with a new form, changed a chord at some places, or the structure of the song, young people re-discovered the value of tunes themselves, since they were performed again. We are trying to preserve what is the best in sevdah, ornaments, tunes and rudimentary harmonies, though we are trying to retain the soul of the music. Although we are making progressive improvisation, something always remains which makes sevdah - sevdah ˮ (radio program Iz sehare, Radio BIR, 2009). Later on, Imamović continued his career as a soloist, and then as a member of quartet Sevdah Takht Damira Imamovića. Huffington Post labeled Imamović as the “king of sevdah music”, while the Guardian described his musical expression as a „new view of Balkan blues”. British musical magazine Songlines declared Imamović the best European artist in 2021.  

The band Divanhana was founded by students of the Academy of Music in Sarajevo in 2009, and in 2011 they published their debut album “Dertˮ. Divanhana perform traditional sevdah enriched with modern arrangements, and proudly present sevdalinka and songs of other traditions in the country and in the world. This band has been features in a documentary produced by Al Jazeera Balkans. 

Viewed through the prism of the history of music, emergence of musical styles as expressions and new ways of musical thinking offended traditionalists and conservatives. Thus, in the 18th century, together with the omnipresent progress in music, different opinions, even diametrically opposed views speaking of decline and decadence, appeared. For some, music was a continuous progress, and for others it began its free fall as early as with Händel. Some circles labeled the emergence of jazz in America in the early 1920s as immoral and decadent. Similar views and opinions appeared in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well when this style appeared. Perhaps the modern sevdah and its representatives would not have been under public scrutiny and criticized for their manner of performing when they appeared at the musical stage, had it not been for a significantly decreased presence of the traditional sevdalinka in the public space, in the traditional form as we remember it sung by our doyens. With respect to the traditional folk music, pillars of musical life, until the dissolution of former Yugoslavia, included vocal soloists, folk orchestras and ensembles that worked within republic broadcasting stations. Due to the aggression on Bosnia and Herzegovina, these orchestras, same as many other institutions of culture, suffered significant devastation, particularly in terms of staff, which was reflected on the presence of traditional songs in the public space. Departure of doyens of sevdalinkafrom the musical stage also contributed to it, and therefore the traditional way of performing sevdalinka and expressions of folk creations in general were put on the back burner. However, the significance which was attached to the traditional music as the most brilliant folk-art achievement of socialist Yugoslavia, began to wane even earlier, when the unified state began to collapse, in parallel with the emergence of the so-called newly composed folk music. Some prominent Bosnian and Herzegovinian musicians and experts, mostly favoring traditional frameworks of performing, considered modern ways of performing sevdalinka as the destruction of sevdah, a too radical musical change, too avant-garde, or even as the destruction of everything that our ancestors left us. Amira Medunjanin views arrangements of sevdalinka as a chance for sevdalinka to be enriched and refined. “I am fascinated by sevdalinka and its beauty and breadth, by the possibility to transform and adjust it, to improvise, to toy with other musical trends. I do not believe that it is being desecrated; on the contrary, I think that it reveals all its breadth and beauty.” (radio program Gost sedmice, Radio BIR, 2008). 

The appearance of the performers of modern sevdalinka is the result of inventiveness and ingenuity of each musician individually, since they had a unique way to initiate a new era in the perception of traditional music of Bosnia and Herzegovina, both by local and, even more significantly, by international audiences. Contemporary sevdah can be viewed from several aspects: musical, sociological, anthropological, historical and aesthetic. From this distance, we can speak of decades-long activity and promotion of contemporary sevdah by representatives of this style. Without any doubt, contemporary sevdah has extended the lifetime of sevdalinka and this musical expression draw the attention of the world public to the traditional music of Bosnia and Herzegovina.