mokranjac_program1

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Australian concert premiere of

Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom

&

Funeral Service (Requiem)

Conducted by

Sanja Drljača

Sava Djukic

, baritone

Alan de Niese

, presenter

Mokranjac:

Ser

bia

n Sacred Ch

ora

l Music

ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN A CAPPELLA WORKS BY

STEVAN STOJANOVIĆ MOKRANJAC

Sunda

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“

In S

erbia M

okranjac is likene

d to

Johan

Sebastian Bach,

such was his immense contribution to both secular and sacred (

Serbian

) m

usic

”

Simon Callow

Simon Callow_,_,_{‘Madrid and}_{‘Madrid and}_Belgrade’_Belgrade’

episode 12, season 2 TV series ‘Classical Destinations’ (2007)

“Churc

h music is

the only Serbian classical tradition,

because the onset of

the Ottoman occupation (

in 14th century

) in

terrup

ted

the

deve

lop

ment

of

Ren

aissanc

e s

ecular

music

.

If

we

see

k his

to

rical

music

roo

ts,

tod

ay t

hey can

be only anticipated and recognised in the church chants and manuscripts of

Serbian composers of Byzantine tradition from the Middle Ages.”

Miloš Raičković

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RAJKO VUKČEVIĆ

SECRETARY OF SERBIAN CHORAL SOCIETY

Tonight’s program focuses on the sacred music used in the service of Serbian Orthodox Church. All of the pieces presented are composed by the most outstanding gure in the Serbian classical music – Stevan Stojanović Mokranjac (pronounced as Mokraːnjats).

The Orthodox Church, including the Serbian, traditionally does not use instruments in the liturgical services, relying entirely on choral music and chanting. All the words of Orthodox services, except sermons and such,

are either chanted or sung by readers and choirs, and when possible the congregations. Serbian Choral Society follows this tradition and the concert will be performed entirely a cappella (without

instrumental accompaniment). ~ The concert opens with

The Lord’s Prayer , a hymn which is normally sung as part of the Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom located somewhere at the ¾ mark. Tonight it will be performed separately for two reasons - as this version was composed almost 20 years after the

Divine Liturgy, and as it was one of the last major works by Mokranjac. This composition is often performed as a

concert piece on its own, and in Australia it was presented several times by the Serbian Choral Society.

~ The version of the Divine Liturgy performed tonight is

somewhat different from the one usually carried out on Sunday morning services in Serbian Orthodox churches (including those in Australia). As is customary on occasions of concert performances (and their equivalent audio recordings), some changes are introduced to the structure of the Liturgy. The focus of tonight’s performance is on the artistic expression and display of beauty of the music, rather than on evocation of the religious fervour.

During the regular church service a choir takes on the role of ‘people’ (congregation), which ‘respond’ to the

chanted readings of the priest by singing hymns and prayers. In this performance, however, there will be a role reversal - the choir becomes dominant and the priest of secondary importance. Some readings normally chanted by the priest are omitted, while the retained ones form the ‘glue’ between the choir’s pieces to achieve and enhance

an artistically coherent

performance. As a result, the duration of the performance of the Divine Liturgy is scaled down to approximately 45 minutes from about 2 hours of the regular liturgical service.

~ The role of a priest will be more prominent in the work that follows - Funeral Service. It will be performed in its integral form - as

composed and as used in the church service - therefore complete with the original readings of the priest. ~ We Praise Tee is another

popular concert piece, and one of Mokranjac’s most important sacred compositions. It was also performed by Serbian Choral Society on several occasions. ~ The last piece Hail, Bride is

somewhat special, and not only for its beauty. Two days before his passing away in 1914, Mokranjac insi sted that his wife Milica and his son Momčilo join him in a sing-along. Hail, Bride was his last chanting.

As far as we are aware of, t he performances of Divine Liturg y and Funeral Service wil l be Australian concert premiers. We rejoice in this occasion and extend our war m welcome to this unique and rare concert performance.

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2.

3.

4.

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WORKS BY

STEVAN STOJANOVIĆ MOKRANJAC (1856-1914)

1. THE LORD’S PRAYER (1912)

ОЧЕ НАШ

2. DIVINE LITURGY OF ST JOHN CHRYSOSTOM (1894-95)

БОЖАНСТВЕНА ЛИТУРГИЈА СВ ЈОВАНА ЗЛАТОУСТОГ

PART 1 - Liturgy of the Catechumens PART 2 - Liturgy of the Believers Litany, Lord, have mercy Cherubic Hymn

Bless the Lord, O my soul That we may receive the King of all O only-begotten Son It is meet and right

Come, let us worship Holy, holy, holy

Holy God We praise Thee

Alleluia It is truly meet

And with thy spirit Praise Ye the Lord

Let our mouth be flled with Thy praise Blessed be the name of the Lord

3. FUNERAL SERVICE (REQUIEM) (1888)

ОПЕЛО – ПАРАСТОС

Litany, Lord, have mercy No one is as Holy

With the Saints Spirits and Souls Eternal Memory

4. WE PRAISE THEE (TE DEUM) (1904)

ТЕБЕ БОГА ХВАЛИМ

5. HAIL, BRIDE (EXCERPT FROM AKATHISTOS) (1892)

РАДУЈСЈА (ДЕО ИЗ АКАТИСТА)

Australian concert premiere

The concert will last approximately 1 hour 30 minutes. There will be no interval.

*

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1. OČE NAŠ

Oče naš iže jesi na nebesjeh. Da svjatitsja imja T voje; da pridet carstv ije Tvoje;

da budet volja tvoja, jako na nebesi i na zem lji. Hljeb naš nasuščnij dažd nam dnes;

i ostavi nam dolgi našja,

jakože i mi ostavljajem dolžni kom našim; i ne vovedi nas vo iskušenije,

no izbavi nas ot lukavago, ot lukavago. Amin.

2. BOŽANSTVENA LITURGIJA SV JOVANA ZLATOUSTOG

Amin. Gospodi, pomiluj. Tebje, Gospodi. Am in.

Slava Ocu i Sinu i Svjatomu Duhu,

i ninje i prisno, i vo vjeki vjekov. Ami n. Blagoslovi duše moja Gospoda,

i vsja vnutrenjaja moja, imja svjato je Jego. Blagosloven jesi Gospodi.

Gospodi, pomiluj. Tebje, Gospodi. Amin.

Slava Ocu i Sinu i Svjatomu Duhu, i ninje i prisno, i vo vjeki vjekov. Ami n.

Jedinorodn ij Sine, i Slove Božij, bezsmerten sij, i izvolivij spasenija našego radi, voplotitisja, ot svjatija Bogorodici i prisno djevi Mariji , nepreložno vo čelovječivijsja:

raspnijsja že Hriste Bože, smertiju smert popravij, jedin sij svjatija Troici, sproslavljajem ij Ocu i

Svjatomu Duhu, spasi nas.

1. THE LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name,

Thy Kingdom come,

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread;

and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from the Evil One. Amen

2. THE DIVINE LITURGY OF ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM

Amen. Lord, have mercy. To Thee, O Lord. Amen.

Glory be to the Father, to the Son, to the Holy Spirit. Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and all t hat is withi n me bless His holy Name. Blessed art Thou, O Lord.

Lord, have merc y.

To Thee, O Lord. Amen.

Glory be to the Father, to the Son, to the Holy Spirit. Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. O only-begotten Son and Word of God, who art immortal, a nd yet didst deign for our salvation to become incarnate of the holy Mother of God and ever-virgin Mary; Who without change becamedst man: and wast crucied, O Christ our God, by Thy death destroying death; Who art one of the Holy Trinity, gloried together with the Father and the Holy Spirit: save us!

All compositions of the programme will be sung in the original Church Slavonic verse.

Only the choir text is shown below - on the left is Latin t ransliteration of the original Slavonic script, with English translation on the right.

Programme

LYRICS

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O come, let us worship and bow down, before Christ. O Son of God, who art risen from-the dead,

save us who sing to Thee: Alleluia! Lord, have mercy. Amen.

Holy God, holy and mighty, holy and immortal, have mercy on us.

Glory be to the Father, to the Son, to the Holy Spirit. Both now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen. Holy and immortal, have mercy on us.

Holy God, holy and mighty, holy and immortal, have mercy on us.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. And with thy spirit.

Glory be to Thee, O Lord, glory to Thee. For many years, O Despot.

Lord, have mercy. Amen. Lord, have mercy.

To Thee, O Lord. Amen.

We that mystically represent the cherubim, and sing to the life-giving Tr inity the thr ice-holy hymn, let us now lay aside all earth ly care.

Amen, amen, amen.

That we may receive the King of all, invisibly escorted by the hosts of angels. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Trinit y consubstantial and undivided. The mercy of peace, the sacrice of praise. And with thy spirit.

We lift them up unto the Lord. It is meet and right

to worship the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Trinit y consubstantial and undivided.

Holy, holy, holy, Lord of Sabaoth!

Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory. Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. Amen.

Amen, amen.

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Pridite, poklonimsja, i pripadem ko Hristu, Spasi ni, Sine Božij, voskresij iz mertvih, pojuščija ti: Aliluja.

Gospodi, pomiluj. Amin.

Svjati Bože, svjati krjepki, svjati besmertni, pomiluj nas.

Slava Ocu i Sinu, i Svjatomu Duhu,

i ninje i prisno, i vo vjeki vjekov. Ami n. Svjati bezsmertni, pomiluj nas.

Svjati Bože, svjati krjepki, sv jati besmertni , pomiluj nas.

Aliluja, aliluja, aliluja. I duhovi tvojemu.

Slava tebje, Gospodi, slava tebje. Is pola eti despota.

Gospodi, pomiluj. Amin. Gospodi, pomiluj.

Tebje Gospodi. Amin.

Iže heruvimi, tajno obrazujušče, i životvorjaščej Trojicje trisvjatuju pjesan pripjevajušče, vsjakoje ninje žitejskoje otložim popečenije.

Amin, amin, amin.

Jako da Car ja vsjeh podimem,

angelskimi nevidimo dorinosima činmi. Aliluja, aliluja, aliluja.

Oca, i Sina, i Svjatago Duha,

Troicu jedinosuščnuju i nerazdjelnuju. Milost mira, žertv u hvaljenija.

I so duhom tvojim. Imami ko Gospodu.

Достојно и праведно јест,

поклањатисја Оцу, и Сину, и Свјатому Духу, Тројицје јединосу шчњеј и нераздјелњеј. Svjat, svjat, svjat Gospod Savaot,

ispoln nebo i zemlja slavi Tvojeja: osana vo višnjih,

blagosloven grjadij vo imja Gospodnje, osana vo višnjih. Amin.

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Tebe pojem, Tebe blagoslovim, Tebje blagodarim, G ospodi,

i molim ti sja Bože naš.

Dostojno jest

jako vo istinu,

blažiti tja Bogorodicu,

prisnoblaženuju i preneporočnuju,

i mater Boga našego.

Čestnjejšuju heruvim,

i slavnjejšuju bez sravnjenija seram,

bez istljenija Boga slova roždšuju,

suščuju Bogorodicu, Tja veličajem.

I vsjeh, i vsja. Amin.

Jedin svjat, jedin Gospod, Isus Hristos, vo slavu Boga Oca. Ami n.

Hvalite, hvalite, hvalite Gospoda,

hvalite, hvalite, hvalite Gospoda s nebes,

hvalite jego vo višnji h. Aliluja.

Blagosloven g rjadij vo imja Gospodnje, Bog Gospod i javisja nam.

Vidjehom svjet ist inij, prijahom Duha nebesnago, obrjetohom vjeru istinuju,

nerazdjelnjej Troicje poklanjajemsja:

ta bo nas spasla jest. Amin

Da ispolnjatsja usta naša hvaljenija tvojego,

Gospodi, jako da pojem slavu Tvoju,

jako spodobil jesi nas pričastitisja Svjatim Tvoji m,

božestvenim, bezsmertnim i životvorjaščim

tajnam: sobljudi nas vo Tvojej svjatinji, ves den

poučatisja pravdje Tvojej.

Aliluja, aliluja, aliluja. Amin

Budi imja Gospodnje blagosloveno

ot ninje i do vjeka. Amin.

Amin.

We praise Thee, we bless,

we give thanks to Thee, O Lord;

and we pray to Thee, our God. It is truly meet

to call Thee blessed, O Mother of God,

ever-blessed and most pure

and the Mother of our God.

More honourable than the Cherubim

and incomparably more glorious than the Seraphim, Thou who without corruption hast borne God the

Word; Thee, Mother of God, we magnify!

And each and all. Amen.

One is holy, One is Lord, Jesus Christ,

to the glory of God the Father. Amen.

Praise Ye the Lord; praise Hi m from the heavens, praise Him in t he height.

Praise Him in the height. Alleluia.

Blessed is He that cometh

in the name of the Lord:

God is the Lord and hath appeared to us.

We have seen the true Light,

we have received the heavenly Spirit,

we have found the true Faith;

we worship the undivided Trin ity, for the same hath saved us.

Amen.

Let our mouth be flled with Thy praise, O Lord, that we may sing of Thy glory;

for Thou hast made us worthy to parta ke of Thy

holy, divine, immortal and life-giving mysteries:

Preserve us in Thy holiness, that we may learn of Thy righteousness all the day long.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. Amen.

Blessed be the name of the Lord,

from henceforth and for evermore. Amen. Amen.

2. (NASTAVAK) BOŽANSTVENA LITURGIJA SV JOVANA ZLATOUSTOG

2. (CONTINUED) THE DIVINE LITURGY OF ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM

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3. OPELO - PARASTOS

Amin. Gospodi, pomiluj. Podaj, Gospodi.

Gospodi, pomiluj. Amin.

Njest svjat

, jakože ti, Gospodi Bože moj, voznesij

rog vjernih tvojih, blaže, i utverdivij nas na

kameni ispovedanija tvojego.

So svjatimi upokoj

, Hriste, dušu raba tvojego,

idježe njest, boljezan, ni pečal, ni vozdihanije,

no žizan bezkonečnaja.

Dusi i duši pravednih voshvaljat tja Gospodi. Vječnaja pamjat

, vječnaja pamjat.

4. TEBE BOGA HVALIM

Tebe Boga hvalim, tebe Gospoda ispovjedujem,

tebe prevječnago Oca vsja zemlja veličajet.

Tebe vsi angeli, tebje nebesa i vsja sili ,

tebje heruvimi i serami neprestanimi glasi

vzivajut:

Svjat, svjat, svjat Gospod Bog Savaot,

polni sut nebesa i zemlja veličestva slavi tvojeja.

Tebe ubo prosim: pomozi rabom tvoim, spasi,

Gospodi, ljudi tvoja i blagoslovi dostojanije tvoje. Slava Ocu i Sinu, i Svjatomu Duhu,

i ninje i prisno i vo vjeki vjekov, amin.

Aliluja, aliluja, aliluja, slava tebe Bože.

5. RADUJSJA

Radujsja, nevjesto nenevjestnaja. Aliluja.

3. FUNERAL SERVICE (REQUIEM)

Amen. Lord, have mercy. Grant it, O Lord.

Lord, have mercy. Amen

No one is as Holy as Thou, O Lord my God, lift up the

glory of Thy faithful, O blessed One, and make us

rm as rock in our confession of Thou.

With the saints give rest, O Christ, to the soul of Thy servant, where there is no pain, no sorrow, no sighing, but life w ithout end.

Spirits and souls of the righteous bless Thee, O Lord. Eternal memory. Eternal memory.

4. WE PRAISE THEE (TE DEUM)

We praise Thee, O God; we acknowledge Thee to be

the Lord. All the earth doth worship Thee, the Father

everlasting.

To Thee all the Angels cr y aloud; the Heavens, and all the Powers therein,

to Thee Cherubim and Seraphim continually do cry:

Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God the Sa baoth;

Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty of Thy Glory.

We therefore pray Thee, help Thy servants,

O Lord, save Thy people, and bless Thine heritage.

Glory to the Father, to the Son, to the Holy Spirit,

now and ever, and unto ages of ages, amen. Alleluia, alleluia, al leluia, glory to Thee, O God.

5. HAIL, BRIDE

Hail, Bride without the bridegroom, Alleluia

TEXT SOURCES:

STEVAN ST. MOKRANJAC, Complete Works, Volume 4,Sacred Music I LITURGY (1994) Liturgical text (2), translated by Mother Marija of Gradac.

STEVAN ST. MOKRANJAC, Complete Works, Volume 5, Sacred Music II (1995)

All other texts (1, 3, 4 & 5), translated by Archdeacon Radomir Rakić.

Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom, for Ca ntors

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THE FOLLOWING NOTES ARE EXCERPTS FROM THE INTRODUCTORY TEXTS TO STEVAN ST. MOKRANJAC,

COMPLETE WORKS, VOLUMES 4 & 5,

BY VLASTIMIR PERIČIĆ

AND VOJISLAV ILIĆ,

TRANSLATED BY KARIN

RADOVANOVIĆ AND

DANICA ŠĆEKIĆ.

THE LORD’S PRAYER, COMPOSED IN 1912

The LORD’S PRAYER (Oče naš ₎

is in fact the part of a Liturgy, although Stevan Mokranjac has not composed this version while working on his Liturgy, but much later.

It was not created according to the traditional church melodies, li ke the rest of the Liturgy, but is his own composition. It represent one of his last sacred compositions, as it has been written by the already aili ng master during his recovery (July 1912) in the hotel “Zlatorog”, in the vicin ity of Lake of Bohinj (now in the Republic of Slovenia).

DIVINE LITURGY OF

ST JOHN CHRYSOSTOM,

COMPOSED IN 1894-95

Among Mokranjac’s nest religious works - in addition to his Requiem, Hymns for Good Friday, Akathistos to the Mother of God, Stasis - is denitely his Divine Liturg y after the Serbian Folk Chant. The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, “in terms of its depth, expression, polyphonic and formal values can stand equal to the best works of Palestrina”.

With its expressiveness, unusual melodies, beauty

of shading, tonal colouring, Mokranjac’s Liturgy is

rmly linked with the Serbian folk tradition of church singi ng - Octoechos. It is an expression of the Serbian Orthodox religious heritage. Its rich, broad-reaching, strong ha rmonies inspire spiritual joy. “Tru ly, Mokranjac’s Liturgy is

above all - in t he purity and beauty of style with which the inspiration of a master has produced a brilliant work of art - a monumental tonal construction, unique in Serbian music.”

The aura of venerable Serbian churches, the melodious

Octoechos, the religious symbolism of the Liturgy all enhance feelings of faith and love. One must indeed delve deep into the spiritual environment inhabited by Mokranjac, with his natural creative talent, in order to understand the grandeur of his Liturgy, its classical beauty and profound inspiration, a supreme achievement in Serbian choral l iterature. Mokranjac composed the Liturgy for use in Orthodox church services. It is an expression of the hearty,

broad and also warm feelings of the pious, God-fearing

Serbian folk. There is joy and light, darkness, sorrow and pain. It is rmly connected with the tradition of Serbian chant on which it is based.

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It is composed “tailored” -either from the beginning, middle or nal portions of the Octoechos and Veliko pojanje (Great Chant), or from the whole chants of individual modes.

Mokranjac’s Liturgy is thus based not only on the rst mode, but also from parts of the melodies in the Veliko pojanjeand the Octoechos. Just as the composer of the

Octoechos - Serbian church chant - remains anonymous, so are the “serene monks” who composed liturgical texts based on the Octoechos, thus creating a new tune - “liturgical” - of splendid spiritual sonority. Mokranjac enriched these lovely melodies with solemn harmonies of astounding beauty, producing a magnicent fresco of sound - the Liturgy - one of the most beautiful pieces of Orthodox church music.

FUNERAL SERVICE

(REQUIEM)

,

COMPOSED IN 1888

The FUNERAL SERVICE -REQUIEM (Opelo – Parastos) composed for a mixed c hoir, is found in the Mokranjac’s manuscript (autograph) under the tit le “Parastos - Pomen” (Slavonic = Panih ida), but with time the name “Opelo” has been assimi lated which, after all , originates from Mokranjac himself. Opelo II (F sharp minor) for a mixed choir was written for the

occasion of 100th anniversary of Vuk Karadzić’s birthday in 1888.

The difference, however, between the “Opelo” and the “Parastos” as church rituals is very big. The Opelo is longer and comprises more than 30 stichera (songs), whereas the Parastos has a bout 15 stichera only. Mokranjac has composed even shorter comprising only the Litany, No one is as holy, With the Saints, Spirits and Souls and Eternal memory, what is probably the reason for his putting the title of “Parastos” in his manuscript.

The main musical point of the Funeral service is No one is as holy (Njest svjat), which represents Mokranjac’s

masterpiece and is considered to be among the most beautiful pages of the Serbian music creations. That is why it is often performed separately as a concert piece.

With the Saints (So svjatimi) represents even more

expressively Mokranjac’s psychological, al most

programmatic interpretation of the verses. The same

applies to the nal Eternal memory (Vjecnaja pamjat), only that the version in F sharp mi nor has the advantage of already being thematic and tonal reprise of the initial Lord, have mercy (Gospodi pomi luj).

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WE PRAISE THEE

(TE DEUM)

,

COMPOSED IN 1904

WE PRAISE THEE (Tebe Boga hvalim), composed on the basis of the melody “Slavoslovije” ( Doxology) of the mode VI, ranks among Stevan Mokranjac’s best sacred compositions.

That is an Old Church Slavonic translation of a well-known old Christian hymn Te Deum laudamus, nowadays attributed to the 4th century St. Nicetas of Remesiana (Bela Palanka, Serbia). Mokranjac has

written thi s musical piece in the year of 1904 as an

integral part of a repertoire prepared for the coronation ritual of the Serbian king Petar I Karadjordjević. According to the church ritual, it is also performed during the religious

serv ices at New Year eve and the thanksgiving.

During the years, We Praise Thee has become a very

popular concert piece, thanks to the skilful ly written and extraordinar y sonorous and effective choral harmony.

HAIL, BRIDE (EXCERPT

FROM AKATHISTOS)

,

COMPOSED IN 1892

AKATHISTOS (Akatist)

- the song of praise to the Mother of Jesus; composed in 1892 is anot her one of Mokranjac’s masterpieces that enthuses the audience with crystal clear melodic lines and an expression of undisturbed serenity. In this case too, composer nds the appropriate

psychological expression for the modest worshiping by exclaiming “Radujsja, nevjesto nenevjestnaja” (Hail , Bride without bridegroom).

Kosta Manojlović, another Serbian eminent composer, once remarked “(the song) reminds one of the Sistine Madonna and Raffaello’s paintbrush”.

ALL COMPOSITIONS ARE PERFORMED USING SCORES APPEARING IN:

STEVAN ST. MOKRANJAC, Complete Works Volume 4, Sacred Music I, Liturgy (1994) & Volume 5, Sacred Music II (1995)

PUBLISHED BY:

Institute for Textbooks and Teaching Aids, Publishers • Belgrade, Serbia Nota • Publishing House For Music Editions, Knjazevac, Serbia

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STEVAN STOJANOVIĆ

MOKRANJAC

B. 9 JAN 1856 NEGOTIN, D. 30 SEP 1914 SKOPLJE

Stevan Stojanović Mokranjac is the most outstanding gure in Serbian music at the turn of the 19th and 20th centur ies. Mokranjac was born in

Negotin on Januar y 9, 1856, Completing grammar school in Belgrade, attracted by the positivist ideas exposed by Svetozar Marković, he enrolled at the Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics of the High School (later Belgrade

University). Having already shown an interest in music while in gram mar school, he joined the First Belgrade Choral Society. Seeing him as a successor to Kornelije Stanković, this society enabled him to go to study in Munich in 1879. In 1883 he had to discontinue his studies,

resuming them in 1884-85 in Rome, then in 1885-87 at the Leipzig conservatory.

At this point Mokranjac began his long and varied music career in Belgrade. By 1884 he had already disting uished himself leading the Kornelije Stanković Choir, and from 1887 until the and of his li fe he was director of the First Belgrade Choral Society, which developed under his guidance into a rst-class ensemble. He toured with this society, giving concerts throughout Serbia, other South Slav lands and foreign countries, serving as a kind of cultural ambassador of Serbia (1893 - Dubrovnik , Cetinje; 1894 - Thessaloniki, Skoplje, Budapest; 1895 -Istanbul, Soa, Plovdiv; 1896

- St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kiev; 1899 - Berlin, Dresden, Leipzig; 1910 - Sarajevo, Split, Cetinje; 1911 - Trieste, Rijeka, Zag reb). Occasionally he di rected other choirs (Jaksić Typographers Chorus, Serbian-Jewish Chorus). His activities were diverse. From 1887 until 1900 he taught music at the First Belgrade Grammar School and after 1901 at the Faculty of Theology. In 1899 under the auspices of the First Belgrade Choral Society he co-founded the Serbian Music School in Belgrade, Serbia’s rst permanent music school, remaining its d irector and a teacher his whole life. With F. Mater, St. Dram and J. Svoboda, he started Serbia’s rst string quartet, which played a pioneer role from 1889 until 1893, cultivating chamber music in these parts of Europe. At the foundi ng meeting of the Serbian Musicians Society (1907) he was elected chairman. In 1906 he was especially honoured by being elected corresponding member of the Serbian Royal Academy (today the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts). In 1912 ill health obliged him gradually to abandon his duties as director of the First Belgrade Choral Society. He died during the night of September 29 and 30, 1914 in Skoplje where he had taken refuge with his family at the outbreak of the First World War.

With a few except ions (some solo songs, music for a play Ivko’s Saint’s Day, ve fugues

ABOUT THE COMPOSER

MOKRANJAC

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for string instru ments during his student days) Mokranjac’s entire opus consists of

choral music. In his fteen “Garlands of songs” (Rukoveti) he created a classic pattern for the artistic stylisation of folk songs and provided a rm basis for the national movement in Serbian music. The “garland” pattern also includes Coastal Melodies (Primorski napjevi), and partly the arrangements of Hungarian, Turkish, Russian and Romanian songs (some of these were written when the First Belgrade Choral Society was touring abroad).

Less important are his compositions setti ng verse to music. Of special interest is his witty choral scherzo Goatherd (Kozar), one of his nest achievements in the creative use of folk themes. Mokranjac devoted a large part of his opus to Orthodox religious music, based largely on the traditional chanting in Serbian churches. This includes his monumental Divine Liturgy of St. John

Chrysostom, Requiem, Akathistos, Two songs for

Good Friday, We Praise Te, Glorication of St. Sava, and other works comparable in qual ity to his best in secular music.

Closely associated with his composing was his

melographic work: recording the folk songs of Kosovo

(only a small par t published posthumously), a collection

of Folk Songs a nd Dances from Levach and two important

collections of church chants: Octoechos and Feast Chants. The forewords to the Folk Songs and Octoechos were the rst studies in Serbian ethnomusicology.

Yet, what is it t hat makes Mokranjac’s works seem so alive and fresh today, when many contemporary Serbian composers have been all but forgotten? The reason is not simply that almost his entire opus was inspired by the folk idiom (or traditional church music), as Mokranjac was not the only one to do this. Mokranjac plunged deeper into the spirit of the folk

melody, emphasizing through stylisation, the hidden

values of anonymous folk tradition. With a sure hand he selected from this treasury what was most valuable and what best reected the spirit and life of the people. Here one can notice traces of the realistic approach which were certainly not accidental, since Mokranjac’s early

stages are concurrent with the development of realism in Serbian literatu re. He clad folk motifs in robes of pure, rich choral harmony, framing them in a coherent formal structures. Thus, the “adaptation” of folk melodies became original compositions, and for several decades Mokranjac was a model for all contemporary Serbian composers attempting a national music idiom.

Such composers appeared

in later generations as well, and Mokranjac’s in uenced composers with simi lar aspirations among other Yugoslav peoples.

The religious music composed by Stevan St. Mokranjac

surpasses in quantity and possibly in quality his secular music. Of the 500 secular folk tunes that he noted down, he used 90 in his choral

compositions Garlands of songs (Rukoveti), whereas from his recordings of over 2,000 pieces of church music he created works of the highest order. His collection of religious music was published in the Octoechos (328 hymns) and Chants for Feast Days (over 1500 stichera, prokeimena, megalynaria, cherubika,

heirmoi and sessional hymns), while many works which

remained in a manuscript form were beatitudes, troparia and kontakia for particular church feasts.

In the Serbian church melodies that he recorded, Mokranjac “discovered, selected and enhanced the psychological ha rmonies buried deep in the soul of Serbian people, making it dicult to believe that these people could have created anythi ng of this order”.

Excerpts from the Stevan St. Mokranjac,

Complete Works by Vlastimir

Peričić and Vojislav Ilić

Translated by Karin Radovanović

and Danica Šćekić

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As in all other countries belonging to the so-called European periphery,

composers in Serbia faced the problem of asserting both their belonging to the European musical community and having specic

differences. The former had to be displayed by t heir musical craftsmansh ip and creative individual ity, while the latter were conveyed through the introduction of native folk elements as tokens of a specic identity.

Stevan Mokranjac (1856-1914) was the key-g ure among Serbian composers before World War I. On his numerous tours abroad (Thessaloniki, Budapest, Soa, Istanbul, Berlin, Dresden, Leipzig, Moscow), he received considerable appraisal for his choral works, which were primarily suites based on folk music (“Garlands of songs”). The most important part of Stevan Mokranjac’s output are his Garlands of songs and church music, both composed for a cappella choir (Serbian church music is traditionally vocal a cappella music), but he also composed some works for voice and piano, for strings and incidental music.

Mokranjac was only two years younger than Leos Janacek, but the Czech master outlived him by 14 years. Both of them studied for a while in Leipzig, though not at the same time (Janacek in 1879, Mokranjac in 1885-87). There is, however, a great difference

between their works, which is qu ite understandable when their native social and cultural milieus are taken into consideration.

The overall Czech musical culture that gave birth to Czech musical nationalism, provided strong support for Janacek as a composer. His predecessors - Bedrich Smetana, Antonin Dvorak and a number of other Czech composers - had successfu lly integrated their nationally orientated music into the European developments. During t hat time, Serbian musicians were stil l ghting to achieve European standards of music culture.

Russian composers are

deliberately not mentioned in relation to Stevan Mokranjac because their music - apart from church music - was little known in Serbia before World War I. It was only the next generation of composers that came under the inuence of Russian music, and that, via Prague. Some similarities in musical thin king between Mokranjac and the Russians could be explai ned by

common characteristics i n musical folklore, as well as essentially simi lar ideological frameworks.

Like Stevan Mokranjac, the young generation of Serbian composers studied abroad, mostly i n Germany, during the rst and second decades of 20th centu ry. Consequently, they adopted

a western (i.e. Central-European) stance in the evaluation of Mokranjac and other domestic composers. They called hi m the “Serbian Palestrina”. These composers high ly valued Mokranjac’s ability to select what was typical in folklore and to create organic forms on t he basis of folk music, and t hey particul arly praised the way he stylized folk melodies. They were also aware that Mokranjac had succeeded in penetrating the “laws” of latent harmony hidden in folk melodies and thus ful ly displayed their magic. On the other hand, some members of the generations of composers following Mokranjac, criticized him direct ly or indirect ly for the lack of a bolder, more elaborate approach to the use of folk melodies, for keeping to little more than simple harmonisations, and for restricti ng himself to choral a cappella music. By that, they essentially meant that Mokranjac ought to have composed elaborate instrumental and vocal-instrumental works, and not just clung to choral music,

despite his creative efforts. Mokranjac was respected as the father of Serbian national music. Mokranjac’s most talented successors knew that it was the historical task of their generation to attain international recognition of Serbian music, by leaning on Mokranjac’s heritage - by

MOKRANJAC

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using it as the basis for works that would explore wider formal conceptions and more modern forms of expression more closely resembling contemporary developments in European music.

We should note that

Mokranjac’s orientation to choral music was probably due to his position as a conductor of the renowned First Belgrade Choral Society, the choir which gave the rst per formances of all his compositions. It could be concluded that he simply was not attracted to orchestral sounds, preferring i nstead vocal expression.

It is also possible that he was so impressed by Alessandro Parisotti’s lectures on vocal polyphony in Rome (1884-85) that he decided to devote his talent and skills to that genre. According to some scholars, Mokranjac produced the ki nd of music that the Serbian audience demanded and was receptive to.

Mokranjac’s predecessors were usually designated as folklorists, along with some of his minor successors, and strangely enough, though only exceptionally, so was Mokranjac himself. The

reason for the latter stemmed from the ambivalence

regarding the evaluation of Mokranjac’s choral suites either as a series of harmonised folk songs or as “real”, fully artistic compositions. The dominant view today is that Mokranjac was an exquisite composer who devoted his talent to a modest medium, but who knew how to compose works characterized by the use of rened harmonies, formal perfection, and a bala nced use of homophony and counterpoint.

Serbian composers active in the rst decades of the century often stressed t he importance of founding a national musical style based on typically Serbian folk

music, which remained free from foreign inuences. The several centuries of occupation under Ottoman rule had led to the penetration of some oriental - Turkish but also Gypsy - elements into Serbian folk music, leaving only rural areas untouched. Therefore pure folklore was sought from rural areas that had conserved archaic and authentic features. It was generally assumed that Stevan Mokranjac knew how to choose genuine folk melodies, the best example being his tenth Garland_{, but}

it is noteworthy that the two most popular tunes from that work, belong to Mokranjac’s own invention.

For Stevan Mokranjac and his predecessors, it was common practice to i ntroduce authentic folk tunes, more or less

modied, into their works, but sometimes they wrote tunes that, while being their own, had a folk-like character. Many composers built their own collections of folk music that they brought from

vil lages. This method was seen as a problem by composers of the following generation, who became aware that under the inuence of Smetana’s works a certain transposition or

composing “in the spirit of folk music” was more appreciated than the use of citations. Excerpts from

“The National Idea in Serbian Music of the 20th Century ” 2002 by Melita Milin, Musicologist (Belgrade, Serbia)

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SANJA DRLJAČA

, CONDUCTOR AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

A distinguished music teacher, Sanja started her career in Bosnia. She taught accordion, piano and choral singi ng in no less than four primary and secondary music schools, while she became the rst accordion teacher in the Secondary Music School in Sarajevo. During this period Sanja composed and wrote songs for children, winn ing twice the rst prize at

Children’s music festivals. The pinnacle of her career, at the pre-war time, was her appointment as the conductor of women’s vocal octet ‘Collegium Artisticum’ of Sarajevo, as part of the ‘Sarajevo’s Winter ’ following the Winter Olympiad in 1984. With the octet she toured extensively throughout Europe and former

Yugoslavia, and recorded songs for the lm ‘ My brother

Aleksa’ in 1991.

Sanja left Bosnia as a refugee in 1993, and post-war she led many choirs: in Germany the church choir of the St. Luke the Apostle, in Melbourne children’s choir at the Serbian Orthodox Church ‘St. Stephen the A rchdeacon’, where she has been the

conductor of the church choir ‘ Kornelije Stanković ’ since its founding in 2000.

In 2004 Sanja took the choir ‘ Lazarica’ from St Lazarus Serbian Orthodox Church in Alexandria (Sydney) on a tour of Serbia. It was the rst visit to Serbia by a community choir from Australia. In February 2000 Sanja co-founded the community female choir ‘ Balkan Voices’, which over the years

transformed into the mixed choir under the name of Serbian Choral Society. Sanja conducted choir

workshops at The Boite Singers’ Festival in 2008 and 2009.

For her outstanding voluntary contribution to the Serbian community of Victoria, Sanja received the Victorian Government’s prestigious Multicultural Awards for Excellence - the Meritorious Service to the Community Award in 2014.

Sanja continues her professional career as

music educator in Australia through her own music school ‘Collegium Artisticum’ in

Dandenong (Melbourne), where she teaches performance on various musical instruments to

AMEB grade students.

SAVA DJUKIC

, BARITONE

Born in Melbourne, Sava has worked as a professional musician for over 15 years. He has a Bachelor of Music and a Diploma of Education, and has been a high school music teacher in Australia and New Zealand for the past 10 years. His Musical Theatre credits include several minor and chorus roles, but a career highlight was playing a lead role as ‘Caiaphas’ in Jesus Christ Superstar in New Zealand. He has musical ly directed numerous shows, been an orchestral and concert band conductor, as well as directed several sacred and secular choirs both a cappella and accompanied.

Since 2011, Sava has been singi ng with SUADE, Australia’s top male a

cappella group, which tours internationally and national ly.

Performers

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ALAN DE NIESE

, PRESENTER

Alan de Niese was born in Sri Lanka to a family of singers and musicians. He has sung in The Melbourne Chorale, Victoria Chorale and The de Niese Family Choir , as well

as performed as a soloist. Alan has also been cantor at various Catholic churches and parishes in Melbourne. He is currently radio presenter of “Wednesday Night at the Opera” on 3MBS 103.5 FM, and monthly guest on Chris Gaf fney’s

long-standing program “Great Voices” on 3CR 855 AM..

SERBIAN CHORAL SOCIETY

THE CHOIR

Serbian Choral Society (in Serbian - Srpsko Pevačko Društvo) is an independent Serbian community choir based in Melbourne. It is an ‘a cappella’ ensemble, keen on achieving high artistic value in their performances.

The choir tends to perform at various events within Serbian and other ethnic communities at least 4 to 5 ti mes per year. The SCS maintains a v igorous cooperation with Serbian and other ethnic choirs, artistic and folk groups. In addition, the choir part icipates in other non-ethnic based events, like festivals, eisteddfods and memorial services.

Chronologically, the choir had seen three distinct periods in their work, spanning more

than 15 years of community involvement.

Early Period

The choir was founded by its conductor and arti stic di rector Sanja Drljaca in February 2000. At the time, it was born as a female octet under the name of Balkan Voices (in Serbian - Balkanski Glasovi). Balkan Voices had many performances, mostly within the Serbian community, but also in independent events. The most notable was their rst annual concert held in September 2003.

Sometime af ter the annual concert, due to long term health problems of several members, there was a pause in the choir performance activity for several years.

Mixed Choir

The choir was formally reborn by popular demand in March 2010, again as Balkan Voices. This time the group was formed as a mixed choir, including male voices for the rst time. The new Balkan Voices performed on various

occasions in front of Serbian and Australian audiences at multicultural events.

Choral Society

The new chapter in life of the choir began in September 2013, when the choir formally incorporated as an association under the new name - Serbian Choral Society Inc, and with new goals for themselves.

The Choir performs a variety of Serbian music - sacred and secular compositions by Serbian composers,

traditional and folk songs, but the repertoire is not conned only to Serbian music; it

includes songs from other nations which shared t he same geographic space in the Balkans, and beyond. This was demonstrated on many occasions, particula rly at the annual concert in Nov 2013. Recent past performances of the choir include:

• Serbian Orthodox Metropolitanate Day Celebrations 2012 & 2015, • SCS St Sava Ball Jan 2015, • Greek and Antiochian

Orthodox Paschal concerts ‘Arise, O God’, 2x in 2015, • Memorial Serv ices 100 years

since World War I 2014 & 2015,

• Music & Art from the Heart festivals, 2014 & 2015,

• Pan-Orthodox Divine Liturgies, 2x in 2014,

• Greek Orthodox Charismas Carrols, 2014,

• Concerts of Serbian Folk dance group KU D Kolo, 2013 & 2014,

• Maslenitsa - Slavic Pancake Festival, 2013 & 2014,

• Melbourne Eisteddfod Choral Festival, 2013 & 2014,

• SCS - Annual Concert, at Melba Hall Nov 2013,

• Multicultural Church Music Festivals 2012 & 2013,

• Concert of Slavic Dance & Music, 2012.

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SOPRANOS

Vesna Dulović Zorica Golijanin Ksenija Janković Aleksandra Katanović Dragica Kesić Ivana Lazarević Nevena Orlić Djurdja Pavasović

ALTOS

Floarea Cveta Dimitrovici Dubravka Lazarević Olivera Stojić Gordana Vučurević

TENORS

Goran Gajić Tijana Jarić Predrag Jorgović Biljana Klarić Tatjana Petrović

BASSES

Siniša Duboka Aleksandar Kovač Vukan Mišić Igor Orlić Tamara Prošić Rade Vlajić Milan Vučetić CONTACT DETAILS

For further information about

Serbian Choral Society please visit: www.serbianchoralsociety.org.au or contact

[email protected]

SERBIAN CHORAL SOCIETY INC, REG.NO. A0059927Z