Dina Bušić voice
Melita Ivković guitar
Miroslav Tadić guitar
Edin Karamazov guitar, saz
Yvette Holzwarth violin
Dina Bušić and Melita Ivković's ethnomusicological project, called Bërbili (Nightingale), strives to rediscover and revive the almost forgotten songs of the Arbanasi people from Zadar. Dina e Mel, in collaboration with experienced musical artists of shared musical sensibilities, including Edin Karamazov, Yvette Holzwarth and Miroslav Tadić, perform songs in the Arbanasi dialect (Albanian with elements of Italian and Croatian), which is considered one of the most endangered languages in Europe today. At the same time preserving the old and creating something uniquely new, their arrangements of the archaic compositions are painted with the various influences they brought to the project from their own destinies, life-long experience, and personal ethos.
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Arbëneši vendi tem (Arbanasi, my land)
text: Bruno Morović Grišpa
music: after Ernestu de Curtisu
arrangement: Melita Ivković
performers: Dina Bušić and Melita Ivković
Me ofičala / Jam Arbëneš (Officers / I am Arbanasi)
arrangement: Melita Ivković, based on traditional songs
performers: Dina Bušić and Melita Ivković
More vajzo (Come on, girl)
arrangement: Melita Ivković, based on a traditional song
performers: Dina Bušić and Melita Ivković
Kanga e Gjyles (Đula’s song)
composer: Melita Ivković, based on a traditional melody
performer: Melita Ivković
Ishjë një ditë të mojit majit (One Day in May)
arrangement: Melita Ivković, Edin Karamazov, based on an anonymous author
performers: Dina Bušić and Melita Ivković
Katibim
arrangement: Edin Karamazov, based on a traditional song
performers: Edin Karamazov and Melita Ivković
So edua nanen (I love my mother)
arrangement: Melita Ivković, based on a traditional song
performers: Dina Bušić and Melita Ivković
Netët (Nights)
music: Daro Kalmeta
text: Josip Vladović Relja
arrangement: Melita Ivković and Miroslav Tadić
performers: Dina Bušić, Melita Ivković, Miroslav Tadić and Yvette Holzwarth
Wayfaring Stranger
arrangement: Miroslav Tadić and Yvette Holzwarth, based on a traditional song
Pajduška
arrangement: Miroslav Tadić, based on a traditional song
performers: Miroslav Tadić and Yvette Holzwarth
Ni merje (Unrest)
arrangement: Melita Ivković, based on a traditional song
performers: Dina Bušić and Melita Ivković
Kanga e lüftes (War song)
arrangement: Melita Ivković, based on a traditional song
performers: Dina Bušić and Melita Ivković
Jano mori
arrangement: Edin Karamazov, based on a traditional song
performer: Edin Karamazov
Moj e bukura More (My beautiful More)
arrangement: Melita Ivković, Edin Karamazov, based on an anonymous author
performers: Dina Bušić, Melita Ivković and Edin Karamazov
Bërbili (Nightingale)
arrangement: Melita Ivković, based on traditional songs
performers: Dina Bušić, Melita Ivković, Miroslav Tadić and Yvette Holzwarth
Zogu i verës (Spring bird)
arrangement: Melita Ivković i Miroslav Tadić, based on a traditional song
performers: Dina Bušić, Melita Ivković, Miroslav Tadić, Edin Karamazov and Yvette Holzwarth
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Bërbili (Nightingale), an ethnomusicological project of the duo Dina e Mel – singer and musicologist Dina Bušić and guitarist Melita Ivković – is based on the forgotten songs of the Arbanasi community, who came to Zadar from the Skadar Lake area in the 18th century. The original musical heritage, collected and recorded by Dina Bušić during her ethnomusicological research, is revived by Dina e Mel on the album released in 2020 by Nota Bene Records, with guest musicians Miroslav Tadić (guitar), Yvette Holzwarth (violin) and Edin Karamazov (guitar and saz). The release received several expert reviews, in which it was praised as an authentic and original Mediterranean-Oriental musical story born from archaeology, i.e. ethnomusicological research of primary source material, which was then upgraded with new, diatinctive arrangements by the musicians who worked on it.
A major piece of music with the ultimate recommendation for every world music festival. (...) This long-prepared and meticulously executed album surpasses by far the standards of Croatian discography. Ilko Čulić
This is the music of living experience, instead of vague or assumed musical past. (...) It features good songs, the music of the living people, a powerful and faithful interpretation that transcends centuries, at the same time remaining extremely intimate. Miljenko Jergović
Tunes from the Arbanasi kitchens and courtyards transformed into pieces for the concert hall. Emily Gray
Dina e Mel have performed in ten European countries – France, Germany, Italy, Hungary, Kosovo, Albania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia – at festivals such as the Osor Musical Evenings, EXIT, BALKAN:MOST, and the International Folklore Festival Zagreb, and at venues such as the Croatian Music Institute, the Klovićevi Dvori Gallery, the Hrvatski Dom Split, the Altes Pfandhaus Köln, the National Library of Kosovo, and the Music Academy in Tirana. They participated in the Most – Balkan Music Export Programme, they performed at the European Council of Music in Budapest, and recorded a concert for the Croatian Radio and Television show Sunny Side of Prisavlje.
A classically trained musician, Dina Bušić (Zadar, 1979) graduated in musicology from the Academy of Music in Zagreb in 2004. She sang in various Zadar and Zagreb ensembles from an early age, and studied solo singing with Stojan Stojanov Gančev. She worked as a music critic, show author and editor, music history professor, music producer and artistic director of projects in the field of classical music, devoting large part of her career to the development of musical life in her hometown of Zadar. She is the author and editor of monographs about the Zadar Chamber Orchestra and the Blagoje Bersa Music School, as well as of numerous editions of various Croatian musical events.
Melita Ivković (Zadar, 1976) graduated in guitar from the Academy of Music, University of Zagreb, in 1998 under Ante Čagalj. She is active as a concert artist, producer and artistic director of music events, guitar teacher, composer, arranger for the guitar, and author of texts on music. As a concert artist and member of the Zagreb Guitar Quartet for 30 years, she has performed in around 500 concerts in 30 countries on four continents – in the USA, Canada, Russia, China, India, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, and throughout Europe: in London, Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Dublin, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Brussels, Prague, Ljubljana, Sarajevo, Athens, etc.
An advocate of the new, rare and unusual, Edin Karamazov (Zenica, 1965) follows a unique artistic vision, combining the spirit of bold exploration with the task of expanding the limits of technique and repertoire for guitar and lute. He won the prestigious Edison Award (2002), the Premio Cubadisco (2009), the Brit Award (2007), the Premio Goffredo Petrassi (2011), the Diapason d'Or (2003), as well as several other awards, and was nominated for a Grammy Award (2001). Krzystof Penderecki, Arvo Pärt, Erkki-Sven Tüür, Peter Sculthorpe, as well as guitar composers Leo Brouwer, Dušan Bogdanović and Nikita Koshkin composed guitar and lute pieces for Edin Karamazov.
A versatile musician, Yvette Cornelia Holzwarth (violin, voice, composition, and poetry) has been broadening her musical experience and education for decades, since she was only three years old. In addition to classical music, she is proficient in Balkan, Arabic, Scandinavian, pop, jazz and experimental music. Yvette collaborates with many different musicians, such as Ariana Grande, Kamasi Washington, Van Dyke Parks, Gaby Moreno and many others, and frequently performs throughout North and South America, Asia and Europe. A significant part of her work is devoted to collaborating with artists from the fields of theatre, literature, modern ballet, film and fine arts.
Guitarist, composer, improviser and music educator Miroslav Tadić has been combining and blending numerous musical influences for decades, including Baroque and Classical music, Balkan folk music, flamenco, jazz, blues and rock. He has collaborated with numerous musicians from all over the world, including the London Symphony Orchestra, the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, Howard Levy, Joachim Kühn, Markus Stockhausen, Dušan Bogdanović, Vlatko Stefanovski, the Teofilović Brothers, Božo Vrećo, Merima Ključo, Tamara Obrovac, Matija Dedić, Rambo Amadeus, Wadada Leo Smith, Jack Bruce, Theodosii Spassov, Kudsi Erguner, Djivan Gasparyan, Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri, and Ustad Ashish Khan. Tadić’s numerous recordings have been released by CMP Records, Enja, MA Recordings, Sony Classical, Croatia Records, etc. Tadić is Head of Guitar studies at the prestigious California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles.
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Photo (c) Elmendina Arapi