Questioning the Possibility of Revitalising Traditional Rural Songs in Topola, Serbia

Abstract

This chapter will explore the possibility of reviving the Serbian musical tradition in the city of Topola in Šumadija, Serbia’s central region. I will draw upon a singing workshop that I gave to, and that informed a field study that I conducted on, a small vocal group from the Oplenac Cultural-Artistic Association (in Serbian: Kulturno-umetničko društvo or KUD). The research focused on three themes: 1) the societal milieu of the community and its positive attitude towards traditional music; 2) the ability of young singers not only to imitate, but also to interpret traditional songs from their native region (Kisliuk and Gross 2004, 253); and 3) the family context, which provides a link with previous heirs to the musical tradition. As will be shown in this article, during my research in Topola, emic and etic approaches partly were brought together in addressing these themes.