Multipart singing on the Balkans and in the Mediterranean

Multipart music represents one of the most fascinating phenomena in European folk music. Therefore it has been a favoured object of research particularly in the national framework for a long time. Regional studies, which extend outside of the political boundaries, are, however, rare and sporadic. Since, as a rule, the regional and the politi-cal boundaries in Europe do not coincide, there exists an almost untouched area for re-search in European folk music. Therefore due to the search for specific characteristics of European identity at this time, the establishment of a "Research centre of European multipart music" as an international network of specialists seems to have become more than necessary. Because of the great diversity of the various characteristics of European multipart mu-sic, a thorough examination can only be made through a concentration on specific topics and areas. The first step will consequently be devoted to the remarkable features of multipart singing on the Balkans and in the Mediterranean. The examination of the sing-ers` association with time, space, improvisation, sound, voice (both in the physical and the musical sense) etc. as well as the comparison with the sacred music and with the secular classical music in Europe in a historical perspective and in the present context will be given special importance. The expected new results and new information could lead to the reassessment of many aspects of the history of European multipart music.

Multipart music, one of the most fascinating phenomena in European folk music, has been a favoured object of research particularly in the national framework for a long time. Regional studies, which extend outside of the political boundaries, have been, however, rare and sporadic. Since, as a rule, the regional and the political boundaries in Europe do not coincide, there existed an almost untouched area for investigation in European folk music. That leaded to the establishment of a "Research centre for European multipart music" in Vienna as an international network of specialists, which had become more than necessary in a time of the search for specific characteristics of European identity. Because of the great diversity of the various characteristics of European multipart music, a thorough examination can only be made through a concentration on specific topics and areas. Following these analyses the Institute for Folk Music Research and Ethnomusicology at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna initiated the project devoted to the remarkable features of multipart singing on the Balkans and in the European Mediterranean. The insight that this tradition does not exist in the African and the Near East Mediterranean made it easier to concentrate on the South European area. The inclusion of the Balkan countries in the project was over and above fundamental to perceive them as part of Europe, which is still not quite natural. The overview, achieved for the first time, brought insights related to both the regional traditions and larger areas. So, for instance, the importance of religious music for multipart singing in the West has no equivalent in the East - a fact that naturally has to do with the political situation and the respective roles of the churches. The extraordinary significance of fraternities for `Western` multipart singing also explains why it is mostly men who appear as `song carriers` while in the East this role is mainly assumed by women. On the other hand the `harmonic`, `Western` singing belongs since for a long time to several traditions in the Balkans. As a counter, especially dissonant sounds, typical for the multipart singing traditions in the Balkans are anchored also for example in the traditions of Central Italy. The inclusion of the singer groups in the project through concerts and informal get-togethers was important among others to tackle also the diverse imaginations of the `tradition carriers` regarding the multipart singing. This is one of the approaches which open the very promising perspectives to the reassessment of different aspects of the history of European multipart music.