An informed performance of Nikola Resanovic's Collateral Damage (2000) through an understanding of Bosnian and Serbian folk music traditions

Abstract

Composer Nikola Resanovic was born in England in 1955 and has lived in the United States of America since 1966. Of Serbian heritage, Resanovic was raised in the Serbian diaspora community in America. Although a classical composer, Resanovic is influenced by the folk music of the Balkans, which features in a number of his works. Resanovic's clarinet concerto, titled Collateral Damage (2000), was composed in reaction to NATO's bombing of Serbia in 1999, which resulted in around 500 civilian deaths. The work is dedicated to the civilian victims of all modern wars. Of the three movements, the first and the third reveal influences from Bosnian and Serbian folk music traditions, respectively. I will be performing Collateral Damage in my final recital this year. This thesis aims to demonstrate my understanding of the specific Bosnian and Serbian folk music idioms which feature in the first and third movements, to inform and shape my interpretation of the music for performance. My performance of the first movement aims to depict the ornate melodic style of the Bosnian sevdalinka and I aim to display the ornamental style of the epic songs, the vivacity of the Serbian kolo folk dances and the rhythmic complexities of Serbian folk music in the third movement. Overall, I also aim to incite reflection from the audience about the tragedies of war.