18th International Meeting

StubickeToplice
Croatia

13-17 April, 2011

at the invitation of

Institut za etnologiju i folkloristiku

Nice Fracile, 
Serbia
nicef@neobee.net

Bagpipes "of Banat" in Vojvodina, between past and present

Traditional music instruments of Vojvodina represent remarkable and very interesting spectrum of instruments, as true witnesses which remember and transfer messages of their times, regions and cultures. They are an endless source of folk creative work, rich and very versatile repertoire - ceremonial instrumental melodies and dance melodies of different national affiliations in Vojvodina. With the alteration of their function, form, sound and techniques, the repertoire has changed, as well as the performing style. What has happened with Bagpipes "of Banat" in Vojvodina which were essential at dances, weddings, christenings and other customs and celebrations in the practice of Serbian inhabitants? How has this rural traditional music instrument subsisted even in the 21st century? Have they endured several organologic changes, what is their function and how do people of Vojvodina perceive bagpipers and their music today? These are all the questions the author will try to answer.
Phonographic recordings of Serbian songs and instrumental melodies made by Béla Bartók in Banat region, which date from 1912, include several bagpipe recordings, which is an extraordinary useful material for enlightening the continuity, changes and evolution tendencies in relation to the repertoire and performing style of present day bagpipers from Vojvodina, Republic of Serbia.