SLOVENIAN MUSIC

NATIONAL ANTHEM

ZDRAVLJICAZdravljica (A Toast) was written in 1844, is a poem by the Slovene Romantic poet France Prešeren, considered the national poet of Slovenes. Since 27 September 1989, its 7th stanza has been the national anthem of Slovenia.

Zdravljica is a drinking song. In it, the poet declares his belief in a free-thinking Slovene and Slavic political awareness. The poem has been interpreted as a promotion of the idea of a unified Slovenia, which the March Revolution in 1848 elevated into a national political programme.

In 1, the censorship of the Austrian Empire did not allow for the poem to be printed. Later Prešeren himself intended to include it in his poem collection Poezije (Poems), and to that end omitted the third stanza in order to save the rest. However the censor (fellow-Slovene Franc Miklošič in Austrian service) saw in the fourth stanza an expression of pan-Slavic sentiment and therefore did not allow its publication either. Prešeren believed the poem would be mutilated without both the third and the fourth stanza and decided against including it in the Poezije. The integral version was first published after the March Revolution when the censorship was abolished. It was published on 26 April 1848 in the newspaper Kmetijske in rokodelske novice, edited by the conservative Slovene leader Janez Bleiweis.

HISTORYThe music of Slovenia is closely related to Austrian,Northern Italian and especially Istrian music because of its common history,land and littoral culture. In the minds of many foreigners, Slovenian folk music means a form of polka that is still popular today, especially among expatriates and their descendants in North America. However, there are many styles of Slovenian folk music beyond polka, kolo and waltz.

The Divje Babe flute, an artifact found in a cave near Cerkno, Slovenia, is possibly the oldest known musical instrument ever.

The history of modern Slovenian music can be traced back to the 5th century, when Christianity spread in Carantania. Liturgical hymns were introduced, and became the first plainchant to make a connection to the peoples' language.

POLKASlovenian-style polka is an American style of polka,usually associated with Cleveland and other Midwestern cities. It is also known as "Cleveland Style."

The Slovenian style polka band always includes a piano accordion, chromatic accordion, or the Diatonic button accordion (also called a "button box"). The other melody instrument is a saxophone or clarinet, and the rhythm instruments include drums, bass, and guitar or banjo. The Slovenian style polka in the United States of America came about when immigrants from Slovenia taught the old songs to their children. Those children, as adults, translated the old songs from the Slovene language into English, and arranged them in a polka beat. At first Slovenian style polka was just music for ethnic clubs and union halls, but the commercial success of Frankie Yankovic and other musicians soon introduced the genre to a wider audience. Dr. William Lausche incorporated the elements of classical music and early jazz at which point the style took on a type of swing that can be heard in his piano playing, even on some early Yankovic recordings.

SLOVENIAN PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

JAN PLESTENJAK

ROBERT PEŠUT

NEISHA

Nothing is impossible!Only You Can do it!

Petra Majdič!