Zoran Juranić: Songs from the Bottom of a Chest, for mezzo-soprano and guitar

According to the composer, Songs from the Bottom of a Chest for mezzo-soprano and guitar is a song cycle based on texts drawn from the rich poetic heritage of Dalmatian folk tradition. The first two songs, Mare moja, dušo moja (Mare, My Soul, My Beloved) and Ninaj, ninaj, zlato moje (Hush, Hush, My Precious One), originate from the Konavle region; Savila se tuga oko mene (Sorrow Has Wrapped Itself Around Me) comes from Prvić Luka, while Oj, pitomi sokole (O, Gentle Falcon) is a folk song from Split. Three of these texts were collected by Olinko Delorko, while the song from Prvić was documented by Krešimir Mlač. The work was premiered by mezzo-soprano Janja Vuletić and guitarist Maroje Brčić on 8 August 2020, during the 71st Dubrovnik Summer Festival, in the atrium of the Rector’s Palace. On that occasion, the composer wrote:

“The lapidary quality and expressive sincerity of these verses called for an appropriate musical counterpart which, although devoid of direct folkloric references, seeks to preserve the immediate communicative power of the original texts. This is achieved despite the work’s demanding texture and the more elaborate interplay between the guitar and vocal parts, all within the framework of an expanded tonal language.”

Consisting of four concise songs, the cycle is shaped by Zoran Juranić’s unmistakable compositional voice and suffused with an atmosphere of warmth and nostalgia. It was also featured in the composer’s 75th birthday concert, held on 26 October 2022 in the Revival Hall of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts (HAZU).

(Bojana Plećaš Kalebota, translated by Mia Pleša)

HDS, Cantus, 2026.
Edition numbers: Can. ‭411-3848
ISMN 979-0-801363-84-8