Vihor ruzu

A sad song with an upbeat tempo from the Bosnian sevdalinka tradition arranged in two voices to be sung by either same gender or mixed voices. Sevdalinka are love songs from an urban Muslim tradition that developed during the long Ottoman occupation of Bosnia.  Unaccompanied or with light accompaniment.

The wind blew across a field, under a tent where Mujo lay recovering from his wounds.
Seven wounds from seven friends, the eighth wound, his sweetheart was marrying another.
From all the wounds I could heal except the eighth. From that one, I can never heal.

Opsa

A lively dance/song from Serbia in two part harmony for same gender or mixed voices.
Can be sung a cappella, but works well with accompaniment as well.

Let’s dance the kolo, everyone loves it.
It moves so freely and easily, everyone can do it!

You can hear the girls shouting, “Opsa”.
The boys won’t be outdone, they want to dance faster, more together and better, until dawn.
Boys, girls, everyone dance the kolo, wind it around.
The instruments are playing and everyone is happy!

Karanfile


A hauntingly beautiful song from the urban muslim “sevdalinka” tradition of Bosnia in 2 part harmony for same or mixed voices. Can be sung unaccompanied and also nice with instruments: guitar, accordion, fiddle, winds, dubek all work well. Comes with pronunciation guide.

Oh carnation, my flower, and your many seeds. I plant you underneath the window of my sweetheart so when he lies down to sleep he will smell your beautiful fragrance.