The word and music of epic song: From syncretism to sung poetry

Abstract

This study concerns the relationship between verbal and musical components of Serbian epic songs with rhythm seen as a morphological dominant. My aim is to enrich the musicological inquiry of this issue and provide a contribution that complements existing folkloristic and philological research outcomes. In terms of methodology, the study promotes the necessity of recording the performers? recited versions of songs for the purposes of investigating the relationships between verbal and musical communication, as well as an interdisciplinary approach to these issues. Two paradigmatic examples are examined, each performed by the guslar representative of his respective period of guslar practice: Tanasije Vucic (1883-1937) and Bosko Vujacic (b. 1947). The observed periods span less than one century, yielding an insignificant passage of time in terms of epic historicism, but nonetheless indicate significant differences between these two guslars? sung and narrated rhythms. Compared to Vujacic, Vucic?s singing demonstrates a considerably smaller range of the absolute duration of the sung syllables (and therefore of an entire verse), and subsequently a much stricter syllabicity. Furthermore, Vucic?s singing reflects the ideal type of ?isochronous pulse in duple meter? in a rather high degree, while Vujacic more consistently refers to narration, whereas the trochaic tendency is noticeable only at the initial part of the verse. The connections between these focused individual styles are discussed through the lens of guslars? transition from amateur to professional capacity and the changed function of epics. Considering the consequences of the policy of invalid representation and experiencing epic song as poetry (void of musical component), and on the other hand, the effects of the strategy insistent on ?citatory? (verbatim) treatment of poetic templates that leads to suppressing poetic creativity, I intend to draw attention of the responsible authorities in the areas of education, culture, and science. This is of particular importance in the context of ongoing endeavors towards preservation of singing with gusle as part of Serbian inherent cultural heritage.