The Influence of Institutionalized Standards on the Transformation of Folk Singing

Abstract

Srečanja ljudskih pevcev in godcev so danes ena izmed oblik predstavljanja, ohranjanja, poustvarjanja ljudskih pesmi in ljudskega petja. V več kot tridesetletnem obdobju so srečanja s svojimi institucionalno določenimi merili in navodili spremenila, marsikdaj pa tudi zaobrnila tok spreminjanja ljudskega petja. Dogajanje, povezano s srečanji, je zanimiv kazalnik spreminjanja načinov ljudskega petja, pesemskih vsebin, hkrati se s tem institucionalizira ljudsko petje, tako da se z merili postavlja nekakšna ločnica med ‘pravim’ in ‘nepravim’ ljudskim petjem.

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Organized gatherings of folk singers and musicians are one of the ways to present, preserve, and recreate folk songs and folk singing. In the course of over three decades, these events as well as the criteria and standards for them, devised by pertinent institutions, experienced a number of changes; occasionally they also reversed the changing process of folk singing. Events and circum­stances connected with these gatherings are an interest­ing indicator of changes that occur in folk singing and in content presented in songs. At the same time, they tend to institutionalize folk singing and, by way of introducing certain standards, create a dividing line between what is perceived as “true” folk singing and what is not.