KLAPA MOTOVUN ~ London visit ... 2010, inc interview

Klapa Motovun (Croatia acapella group) Popular form of music from the coastal area of Croatia.

Klapa Motovun is an a cappella group that has taken this form of singing to a high level. They come from the beautiful hilltop town of Motovun in Istria not far from the Italian border.

Klapa is a form of cappella singing, normally unaccompanied male singers, with strong 'story telling' themes. It has grown out of folk music and liturgical church singing. Croats at almost any gathering are likely to break into klapa singing and it is unusual for an evening in a bar not to end with klapa.

Klapa singing as we know it now dates from about 50 years ago. Indeed, in origin the art was to be as delicate and 'piano' as possible and it was music-making for the pleasure of those singing and a few of those round them. Over the last 50 years klapa singing has become louder and more suitable for public performances.

The musical texture typical of the klapa groups is that of a vocal quartet with two top parts (tenors) singing in parallel thirds and being referred to as 'primo' and 'shekondo'. The bass was 'bash' who provided the firm bass line while the baritone, usually the most skilled of the
four, was supposed to listen to the rest and fill in the harmony by supplying the notes that would fit between the bash and the shekondo.

Brought to the UK by The British Croatian Society

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Music

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