Ornamented singing in the folk songs of the Slovaks in Stará Pazova, Serbia

Abstract

The traditional songs of the Slovaks in Stará Pazova in Vojvodina, Serbia, have several peculiarities. Their ornamentation is unusual not only in comparison with the folk songs of the other Slovak localities in Vojvodina, but also with the repertoire of Slovak songs in present-day Slovakia. After an overview of the documentation of ornamented singing in this locality, the author proposes a typology of the ornaments and specifies three ornamented styles. She points out their diversity when rendered by the older and the younger generation and discusses the genesis of ornamented singing in the Slovak folk songs of this locality.