1. "Similarly to everything else in human life, customs continue to exist by changing themselves. Just as social, political and economic currents influence human life, so they frequently shape and reshape customs" (Rihtman-Augustin 1997:16).

2. Traditions are created, experienced, practiced and formed by the bearers of the culture - inhabitants of the Croatian islands. I start out from the viewpoint that "traditions do not simply and objectively exist 'out there,' but that they are constructed, created and appointed; the relationship between society and its cultural heritage is not natural but symbolic. This reasoning does not imply that traditions are less authentic, valued and valid, but simply that authenticity is not a feature of an object, nor a quality mark, but a result of successful legitimation" (Ronstrom, 1996:8).

3. Folklore festivals have been a long standing tradition in Croatia. From the 1930s to the 1950s, they had been gathering local participants and presenting traditional Croatian culture. The term 'folk music' in Croatia is closely related to the history of its practice at the festivals and other related public events. The establishment of regional festivals and the International Folklore Festival in Zagreb "has broached the contemporary questioning of folklore and folklorism, originality and authenticity, aesthetics of presentation, the relationship of traditional and contemporary values, freedom of creative expression, and the relation between expert and scholarly discourse" (Ceribasic 2003:405).

4. This project is closely related to applied ethnomusicology, a subject that has recently been the most vital current in ethnomusicology. How and to what degree the presence and activity of researcher in fact influence the progress of events and whether researchers presentation of the customs of the local community is appropriate to local community cultural norms are two questions that after watching the video clips I leave for you to answer.

5. Historical and current approaches to the musical life of Dalmatians were focus of the work of Jerko Bezic who comments on various approaches towards the music-life in Dalmatia. In the 16th century, the music event itself was the focus of interest (Hektorovic, Pribojevic). The first traces of written traditional music are dated from that period. The travelogues of 18th century gave good descriptions of the musical phenomena as a form of the ethnographic writing (Bajamonti, Karaman, Fortis, Lovric). The 19th and early 20th century is characterized by a relatively broad scope of investigation where researchers tried to "systematically collect traditional and other than popular vocal music and a number of instrumental melodies" (Bersa, Kuba, Kuhac) and started with categorization that primarily validated urban folk music (Dobronic). Soon after, this approach was restricted mainly to the old strata of Croatian traditional music (Zganec, Sirola, Stepanov, Rihtman). Thereupon, in the 1970s, approaches considered people's entire music-life (Bezic) and in the 1980s by acquiring certain anthropological horizons (Buble, Milin, Caleta) (Bezic 1996:75-88).

6. In one of the transcriptions of the singing in Pupnat, Stjepan Stepanov wrote: "They sing with strong and harsh voices. This is most likely the oldest way of singing that came from Hercegovina from where this people originally came to the island" (Stepanov 1960:38).

7. "A characteristic of the music-making of the Dalmatian island is their openness towards forms of musical expression which originate in other social communities, other regions, and even other lands" (Bezic 1999:165).

8. In the cycle of poems about the Turkish incursion into Europe, Kacic dedicated particular attention to two heroes, Albanian nobleman Skenderbeg and Hungarian nobleman Janos Hunyadi, who is depicted in folk songs as Janko Sibinjanin. (Primorac 2004:15). The song Zenidba Sibinjanin Janka, Kacic's book Razgovori ugodni naroda Slovinskoga ("Pleasant Conversations of the Slavic People") song number 43, is one of the most popular Kacic' songs (Bagur 2004: 42).

9. The author, Dinko Bekavac, published the song in the 1930ies.

10. Depicting a certain event by decasyllabic verses is still popular practice in traditional music practice of Croatia. Two main forms are long (decasyllabic) forms of epic song mostly performed by gusle players and short (decasyllabic) forms - becarac, sung by individuals or groups. The becarac, pjevanje na bas (singing with fifths ending), is considered as most popular traditional singing style in Croatia. That is also an integral part of the heritage that bonds the islanders with their hinterland ancestors who migrated to the islands before the Ottoman conquerors, seeking a better life.

11. Pjesma o caru Konstantinu Velikom i njegovoj majci Jeleni Krizarici ["Song of Konstantin the Great and his Mother Helen (of the Cross)"] - Kacic's book Razgovori ugodni naroda Slovinskoga ("Pleasant Conversations of the Slavic People") song number 3., written in octosyllabic verses is one of frequently sung Kacic' songs (Bagur 2004: 44).

12. The legend links Saint Helen with the findings of the Jesus' cross in Jerusalem. According to my informants, there is a legend about Sepurina cross as well. Legend has it that the Sepurina cross was unloaded by the sea right at the place where the church was erected afterwards.

13. A major part of popular church singing on the Dalmatian islands is connected with the Roman Catholic Western Christian liturgy that was conducted in Church Slavic (old Slavic) language, and in the ancient Croatian vernacular (Bezic 1999:166).

14. If one were obliged to select a single one of them as being most representative of the Mediterranean as far as the Croats are concerned, it would definitely be klapa singing - a coming together of the traditional and the popular with a tendency of spreading outside the imagined borders of the Mediterranean (Caleta 1997; 1999:193).

15. Omis Festival of Dalmatian Klapas, established in 1967, is an annual competition and the main promoter of klapa singing, a bond between amateurs singing and scholars directing (Caleta 1997; 2003:245).

16. The archaic Croatian language is called scavet, the word that came from Venetian (Veneto) schiavetto.

17. Glagolitic chant is the traditional liturgical and paraliturgical chant of the island of Krk, the islands and coastal region of Croatia, Dalmatia and Istria, where beside the priest and more gifted laymen a choir of all the present faithful takes part, too - partly in Old Church Slavonic and partly in the living vernacular language (Bezic 1973:319)

18. Researchers notice great similarity between the repertoires of Drvenik and Vinisce. At the same time, they emphasize the diversity in intensity of the performing styles. Singing and dancing from Vinisce is described as more harsh and stronger, while singing and dancing from Drvenik is considered more mellow and softer (Capalija 2000:268, Zebec 2000a:144-145).

19. Pjesma o kastelanskim vitezovima ("Song of the Knights of Kastela") - Kacic's book Razgovori ugodni naroda Slovinskoga ("Pleasant Conversations of the Slavic People") song number 105, is written in decasyllabic verses (Bagur 2004: 26).

20. Kacic songs performed in Novjansko kolo are known as curumbele. They are performed in pairs of male singing while dancing in small circle in the middle of the main Novjansko kolo (round dance). The style of singing is archaic two-part singing of narrow interval style with unison endings.

21. Pisma od kralja Vladimira ("Song of King Vladimir") - Kacic's book Razgovori ugodni naroda Slovinskoga  ("Pleasant Conversations of the Slavic People") song number 8, written in octosyllabic verses is probably the best known and most performed  Kacic' songs (Bagur 2004: 40).

22. It is a song of  Vladimir, king of the Duklja, imprisoned by Bulgarian-Macedonian king Samuilo.

23. Ane Lazo, the singer of the song, is the one of the last bearers of the repertory. The first verse of the song: Porasla je djetelina trava, sve skraj mora do Pavlina dvora. (The clover grew near the sea, beside the Pavle's home).

24. Individual examples of orally transmitted songs adopted in the musical world of the inhabitants of the Dalmatian islands  show the adaptation of the music-making of others (Bezic 1999:166).

25. According to Davor Dukic, Dinaric epic influence firmly intermingled with the balladic and lyric characteristics of Mediterranean oral literature in the coastal and island Adriatic regions, especially in Dalmatia. The existence of various genres and topics and transitional forms  of poetry is characteristic of the islands and coastal region (Dukic 1992:35).

26. The dance figure explains the Italian origin of the name for the dance.

27. Lindjo was the nickname of the lijerica player Nikola Lalo - Lindjo.  It the second part of 19 ct., Lindjo traveled and played lijerica  all over Primorje, Konavli and Zupa (Caleta 2001c:77).

28. According to Ivan Ivancan some of the features of poskocica  is reminiscent of those Mediterranean dances whose origins can be traced back to Spanish folk dances (Ivancan 1973:463).

29. To emphasize the intensity of their performance (to "raise the temperature"), some of the lijerica players harshly tap on the resonating box of the instrument with the tip of the bow.

30. The first public performance of Poloneza in the summer of 1964, in hotel Belleveue, was attended by hotel guests and locals (Vekaric 1975:127).  

31. Beside kumpanija the island of Korcula is known by another chain sword dance -  moreska. Moreska represent a conflict between Christians (white army) and Moors (black army) at the end of the 17th century. The conflict arises because of Bula - the captive fiancee of Osman - the white king. Moro, the black king, had fallen in love with Bula, abducted her, and then tried to gain her favors for himself. She remained faithful to Osman who attacked the Moors, defeated them and rescued Bula (Zebec 2001:124). The big brass band (limena glazba) plays moreska  accompaniment. The brass band music is another important foreign musical tradition tied to the island communities for more than a century.

32. The continuity of performance and the strong organization of the kumpanija itself contributed to the fact that the best pipers and drummers came from Blato.

33. The rounds of the faithful believers, submissive spirit, passional content and the bearing of the lace-covered cross, remind observers of the funeral processions (see Capo-Zmegac 1997:118).

34. The ancient layer of the Croatian traditional and popular church musical practice is marked by abundance of various styles, heterogeneous repertoire, which was the consequence of different living conditions, turbulent historical events, and the location of Croatia at the geographical, political and cultural meeting point of the Central European, Balkan and Mediterranean area (Ceribasic 2000: 27, Marosevic 2000:413).

35. Devotion of decorating Christ's grave is a custom on most of the islands. The erect graves, decorated by fresh flowers, are often guarded by the soldiers (zudije, soldati, grobari) uniformed in replicas of Roman soldier  outfits (as described in the Book of Matthew)  (Capo-Zmegac 1997:34-40).

36. Gospin plac from Hvar emerge in 15th century, that belongs to the so-called 'younger' type of Gospin plac laments, which are equivalent to those in the manuscripts discovered in Split, Budva and the islands of Brac, Korcula, Rab and Cres. The main characters of the Hvar variant are pisnik (poet) that narrates the story and leads the Passion, Gospoja  (Lady the Mother of Good), Isus i Ivan Evandjelist (Jesus and John the Evangelist). The lead singers sing Ladies, Jesus and Johns verses while the other's response regularly by the pisnik verses (Skunca 1981:71-74).

37. Besides the matching timbre and dynamic features of the voices, singing couples often collaborate in their private and social life. Mutual understanding is crucial factor in the process of learning and practicing of the singing of Gospin plac, especially in the lent period. (Petrovic 1991:64).

38. The-above mentioned dances and couple dances were introduced in various periods from foreign cultures mostly by "seafarers and sailors that sails the faraway seas although most of the dances origin is near Mediterranean cultural circle" (Sirola 1942:132).

39.  There are a number of studies dealing with kolende/koleda  as a ritual or a musical phenomenon. One of the more recent discussions of koleda is the study by Ivan Lozica entitled "Dosli smo vam kolendati" (Paganska bastina, 2002) which includes an extensive bibliography of works dealing with kolenda/koleda.

40. This long term project of the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies partially financed by the Ministry of Culture has resulted in, among other things, a CD "Hrvatska tradicijska glazba" (Croatian Traditional Music) and a book "Hrvatska tradicijska kultura na razmedji svjetova i epoha" (Croatian Traditional Culture at the Crossroads of Worlds and Periods) both published in year 2000.

41. Albert Storic, the son of Krsto Storic, the oldest koleda singer whose instructions were the basis of restoring the koleda tradition, was the person who gave me a floopy disc. Albert took on his father's role of leader and organizer, which he has been successfully fulfilling to this day.

42. S. Pettan (1997) explains this phenomenon: "While migrating from the Dinaric to either Panonnian or Adriatic zone (and not vice versa) people think they are moving from worse to better. The Panonnian and Adriatic soundscapes appear to them to be more refined, more modern, and more Western in comparison to their own heritage. As a result, parallel with the growth of tourism along the coast, one can predict further "Mediterranization" of Croatia. This "Mediterranization" will certainly emphasize Western values, at the expense of Croatia's Eastern cultural traits, here synonymous with the Dinaric heritage."

43. The text of the first verse: Mili Boze nesritna san bila, u kolu san bicvu izgubila (Dear God, I was unhappy, I lost my sock in kolo).

44. Singing in Kali belongs to the style of two-part narrow interval singing with seconds ending. Kantanje is common term for the archaic singing. The variety in the lenght and the pace of singing is described by the terms kanat na brzo (fast), kanat na kratko (short) or kanat na dugo (long).