Gusle
| Gusle | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | Central Asia |
| Cultural origins | 5th Century Serbia |
| Typical instruments |
|
Gusle (Serbian Cyrillic: гусле), some times referred to as the fiddle, is a genre of music in which a player or "guslar" recites epic poetry with the instrument it is named after. Although recognized as a part of Serbia's culture and intangible heritage by UNESCO, gusle is also performed in other areas of the Balkans such as parts of Bosnia and Hercegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, and Albania.
Characteristics
The gusle itself is a single-stringed lyre played by a bow. Double stringed gusle exist though are typically relegated to parts of the Dalmatian region and Bosanska Krajina.[1][2] Animals such as horses, goats, and eagles may be adorned on the top of the gusle.[3] Carved portraits of historical, biblical, or mythological figures, places, or national symbols such as a šahovnica (checkerboard) or a 4S may also be on the gusle,[4] usually placed at the base of the neck. The gusle plays five notes and the peg on the neck is used to tune the instrument to match the performer's vocal range.[5] Topics typical for the genre are historical events and/or figures,[6][7] though following the breakup of Yugoslavia, current events such as political arrests or assassinations are also covered.[1]
Releases of gusle on home media
Most releases are singles as they only contain one track that typically lasts about half an hour. On cassette and LP format, these are usually split into 15-minute segments. On some occasions, two 15-minute tracks can be present on a release and if the title track is less than 30 minutes, shorter tracks may be included to fill in the remaining run time. With the increasing accessibility of the CD format and digital streaming platforms, this method of formatting a release is now rendered obsolete. Complete albums with shorter tracks (that is, a release with eight or more tracks) can and do exist, though these are not very common.
Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, guslars would either publish under a pre-existing state label like Jugohit and Jugodisk, under an independent label such as SuperTon, Renome, and Nina trejd, or self-published with or without a personal label. Notable gusle labels by guslars are Astron, Božur produkcija, and Škola gusala Đorđije Koprivica.
References
- ↑ Jump up to: 1.0 1.1 "Gudačka glazbala". gajde.com. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
- ↑ Gusle. guslemj.blogspot.com. September 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
- ↑ "Par riječi o guslama". gusle.me. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
- ↑ "Guslarenje". blog.migk.hr. 10 April 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
- ↑ Jadran Jeić Baguzej. "Gusle u Žuljāni na poluotoku Pelješcu". Hrvatska Revija 3. 2016. 15 May 2024.
- ↑ Croatian music and dance. all-croatia.com 9 May 2024.
- ↑ "Singing to the accompaniment of the Gusle". UNESCO. 29 November 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2024.