Over 18 and 19 March, Vranje (Republic of Serbia), a UNESCO Creative City of Music will be organizing its “Urban songs from Vranje” Festival to celebrate and promote its musical heritage with a focus on traditional urban songs.
Indeed, since the second half of the 19th century, urban songs have continuously been at the core of Vranje’s musical and cultural heritage, whose traditional a capella vocal and instrumental arrangements have been listed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Urban songs are characterized by a distinctive melody, combining gentle yet abrupt leaps, with the singer’s subtle voice.
The Festival, organized by the Cultural Educational Center of Vranje with the support of the local government, will be held at the “Bora Stankovic” Theater and will comprise a number of activities, such as presentations on the history of Vranje’s songs and traditional instruments, various music concerts with vocal soloists, group performances from the National Orchestra and clarinet and kaval representations. The event will be an occasion for the audience to discover or develop their interest in the city’s urban traditional music, as well as an opportunity for professionals of the sector to share good practices and extend their knowledge and techniques.
Through this Festival, Vranje contributes to the UNESCO Creative Cities Network’s mission and objectives by fostering communication between musicians and by encouraging them to transmit their passion to a large audience. Such an initiative enables the city of Vranje to protect and promote its Intangible Cultural Heritage while demonstrating the importance of music in maintaining a strong, culturally rich local community.
To discover more about Vranje’s Music Festival, please visit the link below: https://www.vranje.org.rs/vest.php?id=19249&oblast=vesti