Violin by Mikhail Bugaev, vocals & arrangement by Farya Faraji. This is a folk song from the region of Međimurje, the northenmost region of the country. Music in this region reflects the typological features of Central and Eastern European music rather prominently. Similarly to Hungarian or Transylvanian music, melodies are defined by densely packed chord progressions that switch between consonance and dissonance, creating a lighter tone that would otherwise make the minor melodies far more sombre.
The instruments used are the violin, played skillfully by Mikhail Bugaev using a style often heard in music of the region with little vibrato and a slightly freer pitch intonation that one found in Classical forms of Western Europe. I played a mandolin in lieu of a Croatian tamburica due to their similar sounds, supporting the underlying harmonic progression with maintained tremolo, something heard across most of the country's music, even in regions with fundamentally different music such as Dalmatia on the West coast. Similarly to a lot of Romanian and Hungarian music, arpegiatted chords accompany the melody with the use of a very muted technique on the cimbalom.
Lyrics in Croatian:
Ljubav se ne trži
Niti ne kupuje
Ko ljubiti ne zna
Nek se ne hapljuje
Ako nam je ljubav
Iskrena i prava
Z srca ju ne spere
Mura niti Drava
Ljubav ne raspari
Žbiri ni žandari
Niti poglavari
English translation:
Love isn't up for sale, nor can be bought,
Love isn't up for sale, nor can be bought
Who can't love, ought not to begin
Who can't love, ought not to begin.
If our love is sincere and true.
If our love is sincere and true
Off my heart it can't be washed off
Neither by the Mura nor the Drava.
Love isn't up for sale, nor can be bought,
Love isn't up for sale, nor can be bought
Who can't love, ought not to even try loving.
5 сен 2024
