Sedmina: ROJSTVO IDOLA (THE BIRTH OF AN IDOL)

The poetry of Veno Dolenc, France Prešeren, François Villon, translated into Slovenian by Oton Župančič, and the Slovenian traditional song Igraj v kolu, jabolko (Dance, my apple) are performed by: Klarisa M. Jovanović (vocals), Veno Dolenc (vocals, 6-string and 12-string acoustic guitar, harmonica), Jean-Pierre Babatunde (percussions), Slavko Meglič (double bass), Mitja Perko (classical guitar), Boris Kovač (flute, alto sax and soprano sax, keyboards, sampler), Marko Igličar (brač), Miran Hadži-Veljković (viola), Pavel Rakar (cello), Irena Dolžan (soloist in the choir) in Aida Vidan (harmonium). The music is composed by Veno Dolenc. You can recognise, within the musical fabric of this CD, elements of medieval and renaissance music, traces of rock and the influence of traditional music from central and eastern Europe. The composer's approach to the poet's texts, the style of performance, the sound and atmosphere (the tracks were recorded in a church) add a sense of the sacred to the songs … The arrangements for cello, wind instruments, keyboards and choir, as well as for percussions in the songs Balada o obešencih and Druidi are by Boris Kovač. Sound engineer: Boris Kovač. Produced by Boris Kovač.

"... I think this creativity is the result of an uncommon fidelity, the rare poetic feeling and the philosophy of its author, who is just the right person to perform this music, together with the enthusiasm and sensitivity of the DUMA group and the overall impression given by the matchless and graceful traditional vocals of Klarisa Jovanović. Their authentic, solemn and even sacral approach to mysteries of art seem quite exotic at a time when everything new and modern goes straight out of style, in a culture of commercialisation and pragmatism. And a virtue, I would say ..."

Boris Kovač

"The digital re-release of these dark yet charming acoustic elegies that silently and unobserved found their way into the record shops sometime around 1993, in cassette format only and with the title Duma - Rojstvo Idola (the Birth of an Idol), reminds us most of all of the filigree-fine work of Villon's Ballads of the Hanged Men. A suitable gift for the gothic minded of all types, it will best please those with a classical education, a refined ear and a collector's inclination."

Mladina

"An excellent album released in cassette form only back in 1993 with the title Duma, it is now available as a compact disc, which given the richness of its sound and the polished production, was something it deserved from the very beginning. Veno Dolenc and Klarisa M. Jovanović recorded some of the tracks in a church together with numerous collaborators (Boris Kovač the arranger and producer from Vojvodina playing an important role), which adds a sense of the sacred and exalted to an already intimate interpretation that demands careful listening. This atmosphere renders the Ballads of the Hanged Men superbly, a distinguished setting to music of the poems by the French poet François Villon to which Dolenc has added the Our Father in Old Church Slavonic and the almost unearthly sounding Ptica (Bird), which brings together a passage from the eighty-first psalm and the mysterious lyrics of Dolenc."

Vikend