Muzika Za Viganj / Dalmation Sojourn
for symphony orchestra (1989)

Listen to an excerpt (318K MP3)

12 minutes

Composed in 1989, Dalmatian Sojourn is dedicated to the memory of my father who was born in the small town of Viganj on the Adriatic coast of Croatia. I was particularly concerned to capture the essence of the Dalmatian folk idiom, and while not using an actual folk song, I based the principal theme on the character of the dance music played at the end of the harvest season when the peasants do a kind of circle dance. Additionally, the mood of the music is intended to capture the two basic aspects of my father’s personality - one the hand, movement, colour and exuberance signifying his joy of life, and on the other, sustained cantabile melodies to characterise the melancholic, nostalgic side of his demeanour.

© 2001 Philip Bracanin