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In the Popara lullaby, I have created music and lyrics, deriving from the summer of 2022, and the first recording that I had made with Relja. I re-recorded Popara a year later, August 2023, changing tiny details, such as a few words in the lyrics and making the tempo slower. Popara lullaby is written in octosyllabic line which structurally belongs to newer forms of the gusle repertoire (Laić, 2014). Lyrics directly recall my favourite dish when I was a child. Popara is one of the most favourite baby foods, and it is traditionally made by dipping the (old) bread in hot milk. That dish also represents memories of my life and childhood – I remembered how my parents and grandparents made popara for me. In making the music, I relied on the sensory memories related to the smell and the foam of boiling milk, as well as crust of bread that differed in colour from the middle softer bread part. The memories of my feelings and early friendships were also a source. Additionally, at the time of my kindergarten, I felt proud while going alone to the nearest store around the corner, with my parents and grandparents’ permission, signalling that I was mature enough to buy the bread and milk by myself. It is also a food that represents two of most used and appreciated ingredients during post-war period, and I value them from this distance from a different angle. I enjoyed writing the lyrics as they had made me cheerful and positively emotional. The bread in the song is falling asleep tucked in milk. As the song goes on, and the bread starts to dream during sleep [Crossing the world, the whole worldwide], the bread discovers the great world in which I portrayed my own life, experiences before and while in Finland. The plot explores the idea of growth and following dreams in life, using a dish and a sensory memory as a personal and cultural standpoint for such an exploration. Just like how following those dreams and those beats alive within you, can lead you to meet those things in real life (that happened to me), and expand your world with new dimensions and realizations including friendships [From Serbia onto Finland, from Aruba, to India, friends abound, blissful joy surrounds].

I had a few consultations regarded playing, with my father Radovan, an experienced gusle player, as I wanted to invent a form of singing lullaby lyrics in a more repetitive way. At the end, I reverted to my first idea, which was to sing the lyrics as I would almost sing any other octosyllabic gusle song. The biggest changes in comparison to singing octosyllabic gusle song was my perception of the audience, and the approach to the function of lullabies I wanted to obtain by the performance. I was hesitant to take this song for the thesis purposes, as it felt too personal. However, as in other times when I overcame those moments with the support, as my thesis’ mentor had encouraged me to follow and embrace my artistry by telling me how the song made a big impression on her. With only that but perhaps enjoying the trust I felt throughout the process, I decided to share Popara as it reflects aspects I love.[3]

[3] I was even more pleased when I found, much later, that one of Bogdan’s favorite meals has become popara too.

To tap into the creative processes, in the last recording of this song, as there was one earlier in the summer of 2022, I sung the lullaby three times in total of 10 min 35 seconds, with all the breaks and rests in between. I later made a postproduction with Relja extracting the best takes from all three. The lullaby is recorded slightly above C.

1 - 2 - 3 (referring to verses) - notes 
            

1.     Fine, 1, good bridge, 2, second gusle part quite fine, 3, not bad

2.     Not bad, 1 (super), x no voice, gusle bridge fine, 2 (2. very well), 2bridge fine, 3, the ending gusle, you have to wait for it but it is there, maybe not the best from all

3.     -, 1, solid bridge the second time but a bit loud, 2, „Oh milina“ very well, great bridge!!

These are my notes sent to Relja from Helsinki, on October 18^th

Final
Bridge from the first, 2, bridge from the first, 2. time from the second („Oh milina ta toplina“ from the 3. and continue to 3. gusle bridge, 2, 3. gusle bridge that goes after the first line, and then, the very end 3 (no flageolet).

This lullaby has been recorded as the last one in the group of four, on September 19^th, yet here presented as the first due to its historical aspect. The idea about this lullaby came while drafting my thesis in August of 2023, and coming across a paper suggested by my mentor Iva Nenić, Songs Intended for a Child and Children’s Songs in the Publications of Vuk Stefanović Karadžić by Tatjana Vujnović (2016). I was immediately drawn to this song, as it is written in decasyllabic meter, unusual for lullabies, but common to versification of epic songs that are a central part of gusle players’ repertoire. I found the song mysterious and intriguing: yet, there was none of the records of whether the song has been interpreted by other gusle players of the past. I wanted to research, and illuminate the possibility of epic lullabies, as there were a few similar decasyllabic songs mentioned in the same text. Whether this piece of poetry had the function of lullabies is under question, and it wasn’t possible to conclude about its place in the gusle musical practice, as well as of its past relation to the child-related folklore. After musing on this topic, I wanted to portray aspects such as heritage in a novel way, and to explore a possible connection between lullabies, epic poetry and the gusle players. The song was originally printed under the title "Dejan's mother" from the writings of Vuk Vrčević (Mladenović 1973: CCLXXI) in the first book of Serbian folk songs from the unpublished manuscripts of Vuk Stef. Karadžića (1973), edited by Živomir Mladenović and Vladan Nedić (Vujnović, 2016, p. 15). 

In terms of the lyrics, I have changed the name used in the song, from originally Dejan to Bogdan. Additionally, I have changed the title of the song from Dejan’s mother to be as the first line of the song Visoko li lete labudovi [As high swans are in flight], as it is typical for folk songs to be named after the first verse. I made the changes in order to invite others to adjust the song and personalize it by referring to their own child. The first time when I sing, the lyrics are based on a sung traditional epic poetry with the gusle accompaniment. I specifically wanted the children to hear that sonic spectrum of the gusle. I thought, one day when they hear older gusle players, they will already be familiar to ornaments, ranges of the voice, and melodic paths that gusle players usually create, based on their familiarity with this lullaby. However, I have implemented new ornaments, voice motifs and dynamics throughout the song, introducing nuances and soft sound[2] layers in the performance, using pizzicato technique, and singing the song for the second time with that kind of accompaniment. In contrast to the first time when I sing the lyrics, the second time using pizzicato technique had fostered expressiveness and affect, highlighting the emotion in singing. Yet, the imprint of the traditional epic culture is very much present through the decasyllabic versification, and different poetic devices and characteristic motives, evoking the pictures from other traditional epic poems I have sung along the years, about heroes and history. Although departing from traditional style, in this lullaby I feel great closeness to the core of the traditional gusle practice and a contemporary continuation of traditional expressiveness.
 [2] Also a male name.

Milo moje lullaby derives from the first recorded ideas, being made during the summer of 2022. The lullaby was originally in a different tonality (a few steps lower) and had a slightly darker tone. A year later, Relja and I decided to raise the pitch to A minor, re-record the voice in a softer way with complete lyrics, while Relja also added digital layers and effects. I composed the main melody and wrote most lyrics, reflecting on my impressions of Katarina and Nikola as the parents. I also used the word grumen (noble ore), a nickname my father Radovan chose for Bogdan (grumen đedov, grampa’s noble ore). A small part was written by my mother Snežana, such as in the third verse neka dragi Bog te čuva [may God be upon you].[4]
[4] Aside of her wish for Bogdan to be lead and protected by God, first three letters of Bogdan’s name, Bog, means God in Serbian, and his name patron indeed is Him. Furthermore, full name translates to gifted by God, so the lyrics greatly reflected on Bogdan.
 

I invited a well-known kaval player from Serbia, Miloš Nikolić, to be a part of the lullaby project, as a collaboration between the gusle and kaval has not been done before. This collaboration was very significant to me as Miloš’s work and artistry were a great inspiration throughout the years of being a traditional folk music performer. Collaboration with him felt just right for this particular song. Prior to Milos’s joining on August 16^th, 2023, we had already recorded and produced the majority of the song, voice and electronics. Gusle were recorded after the kaval, on the same day. Before Miloš joined, Relja and I had already planned the structure, and had written some parts for the kaval, yet there was a lot of space for Miloš to improvise, especially in the beginning of the song where we intended the kaval part to be in rubato. Miloš also added some ideas to other parts that we combined all together. We struggled to blend and add the gusle to this very song because of the tuning of the gusle. Trying to solve that, I used the gusle from my late singing teacher, Snežana Spasić[5], as her gusle had a more stable sound and tuning than mine. We carefully picked and processed those gusle sounds that built the desired spectrum. Recording that which occurred on August 16^th was observed by my mother Snežana, aunt Tatjana as well as my mentor Iva Nenić. Their presence and support provided an atmosphere in which I felt that the size of this project was much larger than me dedicating this to my nephew Bogdan.
[5] Snežana Spasić was a well-known traditional performer mostly covering heritage of South Serbia where she was born. She was my singing teacher for a brief period, yet her contribution was big in my artistry. A few years ago I ran a gusle workshop invited by her, in her music studio Naissa in Niš in which I was her student for her voice course but also, she was participating as a student in mine, wanting to learn the gusle. We ordered her gusle from my gusle maker, and I remember how excited and fulfilled she was prior and after she got them. Her gusle are not that typical as she wanted them to have ornaments of Pirot’s ćilim (a traditional woven rug) from her hometown, on the neck, as well as a fairy behind the gusle instead of usual religious motives. After her death, her husband, a writter Goran Stanković gave me her gusle knowing I will take a good care of them. I have never played on them, and I did had not planned on it, however, they happened to sound the best for this very moment. Through using Snežana’s instrument I later realised while recording in the studio, how much her care and love for me are still present, and I cherished that symbolic connection. 

 

Ratna uspavanka [Action lullaby]

Photo shoot with Bogdan

I arranged Bogdan’s first photo shoot on July 25^th, 2023, in my hometown Kraljevo with a long-term collaborator Marko Živković. I bought a very nice white outfit in Helsinki, and we used Relja’s children’s gusle, originally made as a present for his second birthday. The very connection of both clothes and the instrument felt very appealing and symbolically tied to my artistic project. Along with Marko, we also had my mother Snežana, myself, and Nataša, the wife of a photographer, joined the photographing session. All three of us engaged Bogdan when, and where needed, with children’s music, our movements and talk. Bogdan was patient and behaving as a true model. Under the lights and with all the attention on him, he was collaborating to such a degree that there was clear that he enjoyed posing for the camera. Being a curious and fast toddler, it was striking to see him in action, as if he knew what to do. Seeing him holding the gusle, and realizing that the project is including his own presence in this way, made me truly happy and encouraged me to believe that the personal aspect and the future ’life’ of the music I’ve created go along. That day was one of my best memories throughout this project.

The very decision to record the gusle lullabies occurred at the beginning of summer of 2022. year. I called my cousin Relja Jakovljević, a son of my aunt Tatjana, to ask him about collaborating on the project. Relja, only 17 at the time, already had a lot of experience with electronic music, digital beats, and songs based in the Western culture musical idioms. At that moment he had just enrolled BA studies of composition at Faculty of music in Belgrade. Given that I admire the way he hears music, as well as our successful collaborations in the past, we decided to work on the lullabies together, and that he should take the role of a producer. The recording of the first three gusle lullabies had occurred in three stages at As Studioton in Belgrade, where Relja works. My initial idea within the first recording period, from 11^th to 18^th of August 2022, was to create a few lullabies as a present for Bogdan’s first birthday coming next month. Given that I was going back to Helsinki soon, I did not manage to make lullabies at the time. However, we had created a great material, comprised of around eight recorded gusle lullaby ideas, more or less still structurally open towards searching for the right sound solutions, and accompaniment. The following year, 14^th to 16^th of August 2023, I went back to the studio, and re-recorded two lullabies from the previous year, Milo moje, and Popara, [Milk toast] which I liked after the first ideas and impressions settled. A month later, September 19^th, 2023, I had recorded the third lullaby inspired by the literature material that I had read for my thesis in August 2022.

The process of recording was half-prepared, and half-improvised in all three recording periods. I opted not to use Western notation in creating lullabies, as my usual approach to the gusle culture and storytelling relies on the aurality. On the other hand, Relja worked in Ableton live music program to which I am familiar working with as well. In all those, Relja gave tremendous artistic input by utilizing his recording, composition and production skills, and helping me move through new musical areas. His ideas introduced various sound colours, effects and rhythms that further inspired the entire process. The majority of those aspects won’t be elaborated in this paper, due to also my decision to show lullabies where I am the only one singing and playing, yet this explorative approach influenced sound base for all lullabies presented here. Lastly, we had the fourth additional planned recording on September 15^th, 2023, that had occurred at Relja’s house in the city of Kraljevo, in which Bogdan was recorded talking with his parents Nikola, and Katarina, as well as with his uncle Relja. Postproduction happened both in live communication and remotely, starting from the first recordings in August 2022 until October 2023.

The overall aim was to create a spacious sound adapted for bedtime, preferably a softer layer of sounds, lyrics based on the sleep-related motives, and touch of personal addressing or wishing to Bogdan, as well as on the reflections on the world of childhood. The process felt as crafting especially in finding the line between the preconceived thoughts on how the Balkan traditional or western lullabies should sound with what the role of the gusle will be. It was important to me that I have agency in the ideas and sounds I do. I did not want to be creatively influenced or blocked by any existing cultural frameworks. I wanted sounds to have a lot of explorative, light, emotional and fun moments, to channel these to the other people. Many things occurred as an inspiration that came in that moment. Perhaps if I were to do the lullabies again, they would be different. It is important to underline that the lullaby project did not occur because I am a woman and by some ‘natural’ dispositions related to gender, which would fall into the trap of essentialism. My inspiration came from my connection to the project itself and how I relate to lullabies, my family stories, Bogdan, and young children. It occurred from a different spot of a genuine curiosity, not yet explored by me earlier. Lack of references regarding gusle lullabies offered space to move as an artist, but also engendered a sense of responsibility and doubt. A question of, to what scale and in which way electronics will support the lullabies was also coming up. The range we chose during the process was wide, from lullabies sounding as any Western or digitally supported lullabies with some elements of the gusle (used more as the cello rather than in a traditional way), pentatonic harmonies, those that greatly differ from traditional lyrics, to those that did not seem to differ much from the original gusle repertoire and style. Some persistent thoughts include what the audience, and other parents might think, as well as the conventional gusle audience. Yet, the most important thing was my personal focus on my nephew Bogdan and on what he might enjoy as expression created by me and my cousin Relja, as a joyful contribution to the toddler’s life. Nevertheless, all three ‘possible’ audiences seemed to be holding different views and perspectives on the lullabies presented in the upcoming chapter.

In the chapter bellow, three lullabies dedicated to Bogdan are described and interpreted. First two ere Visoko li lete labudovi [As high swans are in flight], and Popara [Milk toast],are comprised of singing with the gusle accompaniment, while the third Milo moje [My Dearest] also has the electronic sounds included, and also feature a guest Miloš Nikolić, a kaval player from Serbia. The songs were made to soothe Bogdan, but I also had in mind a wider young audience, as well as a complex history of the gusle, and my own contribution to ongoing change of this musical culture. Furthermore, in the chapter bellow, Ratna uspavanka [Action lullaby] can be found which does not belong to group of lullabies dedicated to Bogdan. However, Action lullaby represents my first attempt of working with the format of lullaby that occurred two years prior, so it seemed apt to include it as a document of the earliest phase of the creative process.

The action lullaby came as an addition to all lullabies above, made two years prior to the ‘official’ start of my lullaby project, in August of 2020. It is also created in collaboration with Relja Jakovljević and recorded in our home studio in Kraljevo. It made sense to add this lullaby after reading a literature on lullabies, as it can be related to the research on the smaller portion of lullabies that in various world cultures might have different functions than a soothing one. I wrote the lyrics and composed the main melody for this lullaby, while the rest was made with Relja. It is originally a part of a Serbian film, yet not released. The film is a second edition of the film The impure blood, directed by Stojan Stojičić, it recalled The First World War in Serbia to some degree, and the director wanted to include a music that will go along the portraying of mothers protecting their children during the war time. This lullaby was inspired by epic drama, and the plot of the first movie based on novel written by Bora Stanković, a famous Serbian writer. Beside recalling the atmosphere of the epic poetry, I especially enjoy the inclusion of digitally processed sounds, and the solo gusle portion that captures the gusle sound and ideational world in its full capacity, even if just instrumentally applied. Through this lullaby, I found empowering the feeling that it is possible to portray collective thoughts or great historical events with ease and a degree of artistic freedom. A historical narrative in this case made my embodiment closer to the traditional gusle heritage regardless of sound aesthetics, although it maybe cannot be immediately heard as such by the audience.

Ratna uspavanka [Action lullaby]

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