La klapa, traditional music and dance
Klapa is the traditional music of southern Dalmatia. The men hold each other by the shoulders in a semicircle and sing of their love for the land and sea, a capella or accompanied by a mandolin or harmonium, taking turns in mid-voice, usually in a high tessitura. Another distinctive feature of the klapa is its penchant for singing without written notation. Amateurs inherit the tradition from their predecessors. Local communities see it as a pure Dalmatian heritage, rather like Corsican polyphony or Basque songs, which the Klapa Ikson or Klapa Cakulone (seven women) perpetuate. In today's versions, the songs are accompanied by omnipresent orchestration and heavy arrangements. These include Tomislav Bralić & Klapa Intrade and Klapa S Mora, the group that represented Croatia at Eurovision 2013. Street singers often take to the terraces of cafés and restaurants, while the best ensembles perform at the Dalmatian Klapa festival in Omiš, which welcomes national and diaspora groups. Since 1966, this prestigious open-air festival has been held every year in summer, throughout the month of July, with prizes awarded to the best ensembles. At the end of April in Dubrovnik, the Aklapela festival of Dalmatian songs also celebrates this music with concerts at the Lazareti.
In addition to the klapa, two other traditional Croatian musics, of rural origin, are inscribed on Unesco's list of intangible heritage along with ojkanje singing. The first, the music of Istria, is characterized by a scale based on six notes, unique in the world. Singers and wind instruments respond to each other in two-part pieces. Often improvised, these songs have managed to survive thanks to a community of musicians who pass them on orally. The second is a special interpretation technique that comes from deep in the throat. The singer produces a tremolo while his companions accompany him, until the main performer no longer has the strength to continue. Very few Dalmatian villages still practice this demanding art; this music of discordant harmonies has fewer and fewer followers.
Genuine Croatian folk music festivals are often linked to a religious or local festival. Few towns or villages don't have their own troupe ready to liven up churches, concert halls and public squares. In the village of Čilipi, near Dubrovnik, for example, a municipal group performs every Sunday morning (music, dance, costumes). Festivities around Christmas and Easter often invite a folk show, but also patron saint festivals like St. Blaise's Day in Dubrovnik in February. Summer festivals held in towns along the Croatian coast and islands also include folklore on the program.
Traditional Croatian dances remain a living cultural heritage that is passed on to children and young people. If in the mountains and Dalmatian hinterland (Dinaric cultural sphere), the silent round dance(nijemo kolo) or round dance known as Vrlika, Lika or Sinj is a typical dance with steps, hopping and no music, it appears a little austere. In north-western and central Croatia, drmeš is performed in couples or in small rounds, accompanied by a small orchestra of stringed instruments (guci). The folk dance characteristic of Slavonia and Baranja is also danced in the round(kolo) for group movements to the chords of the bagpipes (gajde) and tamboura, a kind of lute. In Istria and the Primorje region, bombards are brought out to set the tempo for group songs and dances, known as balun and tanac des sopele (roženice). In mid-July, you'll find some of the best folklore troupes in the country and around the world. The Zagreb Folk Festival has become Croatia's biggest stage for traditional music. Every year in summer, performances take place on open-air stages or in concert halls. Dubrovnik's summer festival offers a variety of musical styles, always featuring Croatian folklore.
The evolution of classical music
Croatian classical music was first dominated by vocal figures, then the classical period saw the birth of the first great instrumental compositions. From the 19th century onwards, the heart of musical life moved further north. The country's oldest musical institution, the Musikverein (now the Hrvatski glazbeni zavod - HGZ), was founded in Zagreb in 1827. The company gave the city its first concert hall in 1876.
The Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra(Zagrebačka filharmonija), founded in 1871, has performed in virtually every country in Europe, Russia, the USA, Mexico and Japan. It regularly takes part in the Dubrovnik Summer Festival and the Zagreb Music Biennale, the capital's prestigious festival.
Composer Blagoje Bersa has left his mark on modern Croatian music. Strongly influenced by Mahler and Strauss, he offered audiences a richly diverse and powerfully conceived piano oeuvre. Later, the "neo-national" movement found its leaders in the composers Josip Štolcer Slavenski, Krešimir Baranović (also conductor of the Zagreb Opera) and Jakov Gotovac, author of the most popular of Croatian operas(Ero de l'autre monde). In summer, Zagreb offers numerous open-air concerts, especially in the upper town. Several cities have their own summer festivals: Dubrovnik, of course, but also Split, Zadar, in the acoustically perfect Basilica of St. Donatus, the Dubrovnik Chamber Music Festival, the Soirées musicales de Saint-Donat in or Varaždin and its Soirées baroques in the cathedral.
In opera, the young Max Emanuel Cenčić, who first performed in public at the age of 6, is today considered one of the finest countertenors. The Zagreb Soloists began their career in 1953 as a broadcasting ensemble, under the artistic direction of Italian cellist and conductor Antonio Janigro. This chamber orchestra is one of the most outstanding on the international scene. In 2011, French cellist Marc Coppey was appointed artistic director. With over seventy studio albums to their credit, the Solistes de Zagreb maintain a broad classical repertoire, while also taking an interest in contemporary music. In the spring of 2022, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, with Sakari Oramo's lively, expressive interpretation, introduced us to a Croatian pianist-composer, Dora Pejačević (1885-1923), unjustly forgotten.
Cities of theatre and dance
In the Croatian capital, all artistic styles are represented: musicals, drama, opera, classical ballet and even puppet shows. The Croatian National Theatre (CNT), with its bright yellow neo-Baroque façade, is the city's landmark. Founded in 1860 by Dimitrije Demeter, the theater has welcomed the greatest Croatian artists and initiated reforms that have given Croatian theater a new lease of life. Numerous musical evenings are regularly programmed here. The Komedija Theater offers opera-comedies and musicals, such as Mamma Mia and Jesus Christ Superstar. Dramatic works, both contemporary and classical, are performed at the Gavella Theatre, while the Zagreb Youth Theatre provides artistic training for young people, with a marked desire to take on or create original, committed and sometimes controversial works. At the Zagreb Puppet Theatre, the alternative offer is aimed at children, but not only. Adults can also find poetic expression that appeals to the whole family. In addition, the Dubrovnik Summer Games, founded in 1950, and the Split Summer Festival, launched in 1954, bring an international dimension to Croatian theater.
Zagreb has had a School of Classical Dance since 1949. This has since expanded to include several prestigious companies: the Zagreb Dance Company, the Contemporary Dance Studio and the Free Dance Chamber Ensemble. Every year, the Zagreb Contemporary Dance Week, an international festival created in 1984, contributes to the dynamism of the Croatian ballet scene. A particularly lively scene, since in addition to Zagreb, the cities of Split, Rijeka and Osijek also boast permanent ballet troupes.
Popular music and rock
Yugoslav rock was a thriving, structured industry before the collapse of the Federation of Yugoslavia. The history of Croatian pop and rock is closely linked to that of the Jugoton label. Founded in 1947, it was the largest record company in the former Yugoslavia. Based in Zagreb, the label released a host of pop-rock artists. A veritable state enterprise, it had its own studios, radio station, pressing plant and network of stores. One of Jugoton's distinctive features was that, alongside mainstream music, it was able to sign numerous punk and new wave groups - perhaps not the most radical, but who sometimes challenged the powers that be. As war approached, the label was privatized and became the property of the Croatian state after the break-up of Yugoslavia. The company's name was changed to simply Croatia Records, a simple name marking the ex-Jugoton's roots in the young Croatian nation.
When political crises arise, any stance taken affects society as a whole and often influences artistic works. When the crisis hit the Balkans, artists had to make a choice: oppose the nationalist regime or serve as its standard-bearer.
Some artists emigrated to the West, like Branimir Stulić, songwriter with the Zagreb-based band Azra, or Dušan Kojić Koja, bassist and singer with the Belgrade alternative band Disciplina Kicme. Conversely, other musicians, such as Prljavo Kazaliste, proudly claimed to support the nationalists. Contemporary Croatian musicians, outside their own borders, found it difficult to make their difference heard, as in the case of ladno Pivo (cold beer), one of the best-known hard rock bands. As for Marko Perković, his drift towards right-wing rock earned him the label of fascist... but he remained very popular all the same. Enlisted in the war in 1991, armed with a Thompson rifle, he made a name for himself with his song "Bojna Čavoglave", which cheered up the soldiers. A symbol of the Croatian struggle for independence, this fervent Catholic sings of love for God, family and country with outrage.
During the Milošević era, rock went underground. When peace returned, it resumed, but without the same success. Pop and dance took over. In 1989, the Riva group won the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Rock Me". Oliver - Oliver Dragojević - has been one of the most popular Croatian singers since the 1970s. His most famous hits are "Cesarica", "Luce mala" (Little Lucia) and "Moje prvo pijanstvo" (My First Drunk). He passed away in July 2018, and remains one of the founders of Dalmatian song. Severina is Croatia's sex symbol, known as much for her music as for her looks. Gibonni started out in a heavy metal band, then evolved his style into a pop rock sometimes reminiscent of Peter Gabriel and Genesis. Whether writing for himself or for others, his songs are particularly popular in Croatia. INmusic, held in June on Lake Jarun in Zagreb, is Croatia's biggest indie rock festival, always featuring international headliners and opening acts from local bands. However, the formatting of today's international music has replaced Yugoslav rock bands, while Croatian variety and romantic songs are still on the airwaves.
Rap and hip-hop
Some rap and hip-hop artists have also gained recognition: The Beat Fleet started out in Split in 1992, recording three tracks in their garage, with local radio stations following suit. In 1997, they released their first album and have since become a benchmark in Croatian hip-hop circles. In the north, the seven-member Zagreb Elemental collective plays an important role. The Zaprešić Boys, on the other hand, have established themselves as a rock-rap band supporting Dinamo Zagreb. They are the symbol of patriotism ultra-transposed into soccer. By contrast, Edo Maajka, the capital's rapper, is openly anti-fascist.
Clubbing and turbo-folk
As rap music found its audience, the clubbing phenomenon took hold in Croatia in the 1990s, with more and more beach bars and clubs organizing parties, and summer-long festivals on beaches entirely dedicated to dance culture. Ultra Europe is the European edition of the famous dance festival, held every year in Croatia, where it takes over Split's Poljud stadium to host the biggest names in EDM, house and techno. Numerous other parties are also organized, including the Ultra Beach Party on the island of Hvar, and the Regatta Beach Party on the island of Brač. Turbo-folk also took root during these years, at the same time as Yugoslav unity disappeared, to the benefit of Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian nationalism. This musical style is controversial in Croatia, mainly because it is identified with the eastern part of the former Yugoslavia. Yet, despite all the controversy and uneven quality, it is very popular in the country. There's a media embargo, which means the genre is banned from most TV and radio stations, but the clubs that play turbo-folk are packed. Inseparable from the context of its emergence, turbo-folk invariably rhymes with the rise of nationalism. Much cooler: the Croatian reggae scene, with its emblematic bands such as So! Mazgoon, a small, ecologically-minded group that emphasizes riddims, tropical percussion and a love of nature. Zinedin Zidan - that's their real name - celebrate roots made in Split, while Zagrébois Brain Holidays were lucky enough to record their fifth album in 2020 at Tuff Gong Kingston, Bob Marley's legendary Jamaican studio.
