One of the best interpreters of the Sevdalinka, the Bosnian Amira Medunjanin, organized a concert of memory within the Ohrid Summer Festival last night.
The church “St. Sophia” was too tight to receive the numerous audience that came to enjoy the angelic voice of Medunjanin, which with great ease chased the modern and traditional performing Bosnian Sevdalinka, but also Macedonian and Serbian songs.
“Moj dilbere”, “Sve pticice zapjejale”, “O golube, moj golbe”, “Sto te nema”, “Ah sta cemo ljubav kriti”, “Tvojte oci leno mori”, “Jovka Kumanovka” was only part of the repertoire which kept the audience two hours in the church, and at the end of the concert, the pleasant atmosphere was rounded up with the song “What was lovely” which the members of the Amir Trio performed in memory of their colleague Oliver Dragojevic, who died recently.
Visitors to the concert sang together with the artists, returned to the emotions, and there were also those who released after a tear, impressed by the performance of the Sevdalinka, but also touched by the contents of the songs. The remarkable vocal for which among the audience could be heard singing as a celebrity, after the concert ended, she said she bypassed the entire planet thanks to her performances, but nowhere did she feel so beautiful as in Ohrid and Macedonia. Evidence of this was also her tears in the emotional interpretation of the last night’s program.
– I really have some connection with this country. According to the origins, I have nothing, but I am convinced that in the previous life I have lived here, in this space. Music and people are amazing. Such a big heart, a man can hardly find elsewhere. And when I received the first invitation to visit Macedonia, I cried out of luck as a little child. I’ve been singing Macedonian songs all my life, but I can not come here. That first visit was a magic. And here I am, again here. The intersection, as well as the previous time I visited “Ohrid Summer”, is huge. But the most important thing is that so many people came and everything was nice to us all, some sang with us, and some also released a tear. It’s invaluable. For me, it’s a matter of worth living and singing, said Medunjanin.
This unique vocalist is one of the most active promoters of the musical heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Her rich discography, released in collaboration with world-renowned publishing houses, is constantly receiving great criticism, and music journalist Garth Cartwright calls her “Bosnian Billie Holiday”, alluding to the way Amira Medunjanin “plays” with the Sevdah, finding a new context and form in the tradition of more than a hundred years old.
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