UNESCO recognition of Istrian music scale celebrated 

Krk

ZAGREB, 20 Sept (Hina) – The gathering of sopile (shawm) players and singers in Dobrinj on the northern Adriatic island of Krk on 21 September will be the centrepiece event marking the 15th anniversary of the inscription of the Istrian music scale on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List, the organisers announced on Wednesday.

The event will also mark 20 years since the entry into force of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Croatia.

The Istrian scale is a type of two-part singing specific to Istria and the Kvarner region of the northern Croatian Adriatic, including the islands of Krk and Cres.

(Photo credit: Croq/CC BY-SA 3.0)

Its inscription on the UNESCO list in 2009 was partly thanks to the Association of Sopile Players of the Island of Krk.

The association was established in 1988 to bring together sopile players and music lovers to safeguard and promote local traditional music. It has between 100 and 150 members.

The genres encompass kanat and tarankanje, while techniques feature nasal tones, improvisation, variation, and resolving to unison or octaves. Instruments used include double reeds like sopele, shawms, bagpipes, as well as flutes and tambura lutes.

The Istrian scale was first identified by Ivan Matetić Ronjgov in the early 20th century, aiding his research and notation of Croatian music.