Vranje's many joys

In Vranje, there is a small group of dedicated and talented musicians in a band called "Izvor". Sometime this spring I emailed them to see if they had any concerts I could come to in Serbia but better than that, their manager, Zoran, gave me an invitation to visit them in Vranje during a small festival and also attend a rehearsal. In all things, Zoran and his wife Katerina, have acted as my tour guides and organizers of all things musical for my time here. They have been most kind! The band itself is also very good. They could easily entertain listeners in the states for a relaxing evening of listening music or a lively night of dance tunes. As Vranje is central between the central Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Kosovan and Metohian regions, its musical heritage is quite diverse. Historically, of course it also has Ottoman Turkish and Austro-Hungarian influence as well. More of the former as it was under that empire for many centuries, but the latter also through its neighbors to the north. As a result of its centrality to these many styles of music and diverse instruments, Izvor, the traditional group here, plays quite a range of songs and dances. Their singer, Ivana, has the most extrordinary voice, like a nightengale singing in the songs of old! She has won many awards throughout the country. While she is my age, she began singing as a child and has been continuing to sing ever since.

The festival opened with a amateur frula competition. It is the quater finals for the region. Frulas are small wooden whistles that are common throughout this area of the world. They are very versatile in the hands of a master and still can sound pleasant in the hands of an newer player. Papa, you would really have enjoyed this! They played a range of central Serbian kolos to some tunes particular to this southern region.

Last night, we, the band and I that is, all went out to a summer concert of Stari Gradski songs held at the local historical building which used to be the seat of a local turkish pasha. It even includes the second building behind the main one, his personal harem. Now the harem is a restaurant with the most beautiful decorations inside and the front building is the local museum.

Today we head out to the countryside for a tour of the local mountains. Vranje is situated inbetween several small mountain ranges (about 1000-1200meters) and has a large number of springs, both hot and cold. Tonight, they have arranged for me to attend the rehearsal of the local dance troupe. The same one that performed yesterday at Sv. Troitsa's festival. So exciting!

Tomorow I head north. I am not sure exactly where yet, but by the weekend I should be in Beograd.