Voices from the Past: Musical Tradition of Bosnia and Herzegovina Through the Research of Matija Murko

Matija Murko is one of the most significant foreign researchers of Bosnian folk music. In 1909, he conducted the first field research in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Since he was unable to obtain adequate recording equipment, Murko took notes in the field and kept detailed records of his observations. He received a grant from the Balkan Commission of the Royal Academy of Sciences in Vienna to study epic poetry in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina during the summers of 1912 and 1913. In 1912, he made the first phonograph recordings in northwestern Bosnia. The following year, in 1913, he continued his research in Sarajevo and western Herzegovina. He had planned to extend his work into the summer of 1914, but the outbreak of World War I prevented him from doing so. Murko later returned to Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1930 and 1931. During a well-organized three-month research period, he traveled to eastern Bosnia and Sarajevo. Murko’s recordings provide valuable insights into the performance of epic songs accompanied by the gusle and the two-stringed tambura, as well as sevdalinka songs performed with violin and saz accompaniment. This paper examines the significance of Murko’s research in Bosnia and Herzegovina, his methodological approach, and the field materials he collected.