Mokranjac on repeat: Reaffirming musical canon through sound recordings (PGP-RTB/RTS discography)

Abstract

Starting with the hypothesis that sound recordings published by the Serbian/ Yugoslav record label PGP-RTB/RTS dominated programmes of the Radio Television Belgrade/Radio Television Serbia during most of the twentieth century (while declining in this century), and that decisions made within the label on which composers’ works were going to be (repeatedly) present in its catalogue consequently had significant impact on overall music and media culture in Serbia/Yugoslavia, our goal was to examine how the central composer figure of Serbian music, Stevan Stojanović Mokranjac, was represented in this catalogue. Research methods were based primarily on analysis of archive material gathered in documentation of the label itself, data on recordings available via online music databases, and recordings themselves, while relying on theoretical notions of canon in music, with the accent on the performing canon. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. 177004: Serbian Musical Identities within Local and Global Frameworks: Traditions, Changes, Challenges]

Keywords

• musical canon
• performing canon
• stevan stojanović mokranjac
• pgp-rtb/rts
• discography
• rtb/rts choir