Svekrvice – Žegar, HR

KUD Žegar Živi
Pocima: Zorka Seka Usljebrka,
Prate: Milja Radmilović, Vojislav Radmilović, Milica Milić, Radojka Radmilović


The historical Village of Žegar located in the mountains of North Dalmatia in the region of Bukovica (currently Croatia) consists of 4 smaller villages: Žegarian Kastel, Nadvoda, Komazeci, and Bogatnik. It is inhabited by Dalmatian Serbs. The rough climate of the mountains complemented by the picturesque gorges of the Zrmanja River for ages has provided shelter to its inhabitants, at the same time isolating them from the outside world. For generations, the people of Žegar cultivate various archaic musical traditions: groktalica, kantalica, samacko pjevanie, pjevanje na bas.

Pjevanje na bas: a traditional singing style with a 2-piece harmony. It is practiced across the Balkans with different regional variants. It uses intervals of the third, quart, and fifth which resemble a medieval organum.

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About us – Balkan Polyphony is a field research project that collects traditional music from the Balkan area. We are not interested in any ideologies, we don’t take sides in any historical conflicts. What interests us is traditional culture and its musical intricacies.