Istrian scale

Istrian scale
Istrian mode on C.[1] [heptatonic] Playⓘ
Stylistic originsCroatian music
Cultural originsIstria and Kvarner
Two-part singing and playing in the Istrian scale
CountryCroatia
Reference00231
RegionEurope and North America
Inscription history
Inscription2009 (4th session)
ListRepresentative
Sopilas: small/thin/high and great/fat/low (Playⓘ)
Istrian scale in Schubert's Symphony No. 8 in B minor (1922), 1st mvt., bars 13–20 (Playⓘ); flat fifth marked with asterisk[1]

"Istrian scale" refers both to a "unique"[2] musical scale and to the folk music genres from Istria and Kvarner which use that scale.[3] It is named for the Istrian peninsula. Istrian folk music is based on a distinctive six-tone musical scale (the so-called Istrian scale), and the peninsula's two-part, slightly nasal singing. The two-part singing and playing in the Istrian scale, a traditional singing practice characteristic of the Istrian region and the north Adriatic coastal area and islands, was inscribed in UNESCO's List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2009.[4]

Genres include kanat and tarankanje; techniques include nasal tone, variation and improvisation, and resolution to the unison or octave; and instruments include double reeds such as sopele, shawms, bagpipes, and other instruments such as flutes and tambura lutes.[3] It was first named by Ivan Matetić Ronjgov early in the twentieth century,[2] assisting his study and notation of Croatian music.

  1. ^ a b Van der Merwe, Peter (2005). Roots of the Classical, p.227-8. ISBN 978-0-19-816647-4.
  2. ^ a b Thammy Evans, Rudolf Abraham (2013). Istria: Croatian Peninsula, Rijeka, Slovenian Adriatic, p.17. ISBN 9781841624457.
  3. ^ a b "Two-part singing and playing in the Istrian scale", UNESCO.org.
  4. ^ Antos, Zvjezdana; Fromm, Annette B.; and Golding, Viv (2017). Museums and Innovations, p.78. Cambridge Scholars. ISBN 9781443862561. Cites: [1].