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Welcome to my presentation, Ornamentation and Rhetoric in Sevdalinka’s Vocal

Tradition. Today, I’ll be likely introducing you to Sevdalinka, a Bosnian vocal genre with
deep poetic and emotional significance in the country.

In the time we have, we’ll explore an overview of Sevdalinka while considering the
overarching question: What makes it powerful as a rhetorical force? We’ll look at musical
characteristics, particularly ornamentation, making a brief comparison to Western Baroque
art music. To illustrate these ideas, we’ll also listen to some musical examples.

Overview of Sevdah
Colloquially referred to as 'Bosnian Blues,' sevdalinka is a defining element of Bosnian
cultural identity. Emerging after the Ottoman conquest of Bosnia in the late 15th century, it
was originally sung unaccompanied and in private, primarily by young women on their
secluded terraces. Over time, sevdah transitioned from an intimate tradition to a public, and
even highly commercialised, genre enjoyed by all.

In Bosnian, sevdah is both a song form and a "state of being"—a deeply felt condition of
longing, sorrow, and passionate love. The term comes from the Turkish sevda, which
originates from the Arabic sawda, meaning black bile. While its songs often explore themes
of melancholy and troubled love, sevdah as an urban tradition also reflects accounts of city
life, as well as expressions of national and city-specific pride.

Sevdah is a living oral tradition, with both old and new compositions continuously imagined
and reimagined. It expresses and preserves the collective experiences of the Bosnian people,
serving as a powerful storytelling medium that conveys their emotions, history, and cultural
identity across generations.

Timeline 1
One of the first questions that intrigued me when exploring the history of sevdah was: What
written documentation could possibly exist about its texts and music? I came to find that
there are traces of what would later be known as sevdalinka very early on.

The earliest known sevdalinka, Bolest Muje Carevića, is believed to date back to 1475. Then,
in 1574, an Italian traveler passing through Visoko documented one of the first well-recorded
references to sevdah: the case of Adil and Mara. Adil, a Muslim man from Klis, fell in love
with Mara Vornić, a Christian woman from Split. Their relationship was forbidden, and when
discovered, Mara’s family sent her to a convent, where she remained until her death. Grief-
stricken, Adil poured his sorrow into song. Locals called him an ašik, a singer-poet who
expresses suffering through verse and melody. The traveler described hearing “sad songs
sung by the locals” that left him melancholic—perhaps an early written account of Adil’s
mournful verses.
There were other accounts of travelers encountering this music throughout the centuries
including, Italian Alberto Fortis in 1774, who transcribed Hasanaginica (believed to have
been written 1646–1649), a ballad of love and loss which inspired Goethe in 1775 to translate
it into German. By the 18th century, manuscripts like Erlangen (1716–1733)
recorded sevdalinka. lyrics, while scholars such as Franjo Kuhač and Ludvig Kuba began
recording texts and possibly melodies.

The term sevdalinka was coined in 1890, which importantly reflects a growing consciousness
of the genre in Bosnian and in other societies during this time. Over the Austro Hungarian
period, instrumentation also evolved with the introduction of the accordion and the
harmonica, bringing brought European influences into its sound.

Timeline 2
The early 20th century marked a turning point in the evolvement of the sevdah. The first
sound recordings in 1906–1907 captured its melodies, ornamentation, and emotional depth.

Following World War II (1945–1990), sevdalinka entered its “Golden Age.” It became a
staple in kafanas (traditional Balkan cafés), gained widespread radio recognition, and saw
newly composed songs in its style. Musicians arranged sevdalinka for folk orchestras,
elevating its status in Yugoslav popular culture.

During and after the Yugoslav Wars, sevdalinka became a stronger symbol of Bosniak
identity while remaining cherished across ethnic groups. It also gained global recognition,
blending with jazz and reaching new audiences through festivals and reinterpretations.

Most recently, in 2024, sevdalinka received its highest honor—it was inscribed on
UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage, ensuring its preservation for
future generations.
Decoding the Key Musical Elements
Sevdalinka’s musical identity is rooted in a complex modal structure, distinct from Western
tonal music. Rather than functional harmony, its melodies follow a linear progression,
influenced by centuries of Islamic musical traditions.

A defining feature of Sevdah is its connection to the makam system—a tradition of melodic
modes used in Middle Eastern, Turkish, Persian, and Central Asian music. One of the most
common, Hicaz, carries a dramatic, melancholic quality, full of longing. Its lower tetrachord
consists of:

 The tonic
 A half-step up
 An augmented second (a whole-and-a-half step)
 Another half-step up

In C, this sounds like: C - Db - E - F - G - Ab - B - C. While Sevdalinka draws from over

200 makams, it also incorporates Mixolydian, major, and harmonic minor scales.

One of the most important hallmarks of the Sevdah sound is the augmented second interval.
Ethnomusicologist Vlado Milošević describes it as a moment that "strikes the listener’s ear
with extraordinary power." This interval unifies the melody, evoking melancholy, sorrow,
and erotic longing.

Structurally, Sevdalinka often follows an AB form with repeated refrains. The lyrics are
strophic, and even in the cases where they do not rhyme, they relying on rhythm, repetition,
and parallel structure for musicality.

Rhythmically, Sevdalinka is fluid and expressive:

 It shifts between 2/2 and syncopated 4/4, sometimes hard to define.

 Parlando rubato allows flexible phrasing for emotional depth.
 Ornamentation and melismas stretch notes across syllables, amplifying expression.
Determining Ornamentation?
One of the biggest challenges in studying Sevdah’s vocal tradition is the lack of historical
resources. Unlike in Western Art Music, where treatises provide detailed guidance on
ornamentation and performance practice, there are no known historical writings that can
elucidate to us how Sevdah was traditionally sung. This means that much of what we
understand today comes from listening to recordings, and relying on modern interpretations
from the oldest and wisest of Sevdah practitioners.

That said, there is a ornamentation in Sevdah is definitely acknowledged in

contemporary culture. From what I’ve noticed, it is often simply referred to as ukrase—a
term that broadly encompasses “the fast and little notes” that embellish the melody. There is
also an implicit understanding that there are “good” and “bad” ways to sing Sevdah, though
these distinctions are often subjective and based on cultural intuition rather than formalised
rules.

By closely listening to Sevdah performances, we can begin to identify common

ornaments that appear repeatedly. These include melismas, microtonal inflections,
mordents, turns, and distinctive cadential treatments—all of which contribute to the
expressive depth of the genre.

Example #1
Here is an example of one of the most well-known Sevdalinke, with an unknown composer
and author. We’re going to listen to the first verse and refrain from a live recording made
last year. The text is simple and rhymed, yet it follows a relaxed, free-flowing
meter rather than a strict rhythmic structure.

Classifying Ornamentation in Sevdah

Here, I attempted to notate the melody, distinguishing the main notes from the
ornaments based on syllables and intuition. Some of the symbols represent specific
embellishments:

I found it incredibly challenging to capture the nuances of the human voice, which can be far
more subtle than notation allows. Through this exercise, I became especially aware of the
importance of natural timing—how each note must align with the right type of consonant or
vowel and falls on the appropriate syllable. This subtle interplay often determined whether
the melody felt natural or awkward when I tried it, affecting the overall expression. It made
me wonder: Are there common ornaments that singers apply instinctively, or is
ornamentation learned uniquely for each song? This brings us to a key question: What
distinguishes an ornamented melody—essential melodic material—from the ornaments
themselves, which serve as expressive embellishments? This distinction is crucial in
understanding both the structure and interpretation of Sevdah’s vocal lines.

Understanding this could offer deeper insight into the traditions and stylistic choices
within sevdah.
Example #2
Here is another song, composed and written in the early 20th century. I wanted to focus on
the cadence, as I’ve noticed a pattern in several recordings from the Golden Age. In faster
Sevdah pieces, the accompaniment often drops out at the final cadence, allowing the
singer to perform a flourish to conclude the phrase.

Comparison with Western Art Music: Crossovers?

The closest parallel to Sevdalinka is early Baroque monody, particularly
the stile rappresentativo style.

Both rely on a single melodic line with simple accompaniment. The melody follows the
text, shaped by rubato, pauses, and inflections rather than rigid phrasing, and is responsible
for conveying affect and emotional weight.

Both styles often express longing, melancholy, and love, using descending lines and
sighing figures to evoke deep emotion and ornamentation is very important to both. In
Sevdalinka, ornaments are passed down through oral tradition. In Baroque music, ornaments
follow rhetorical principles but allow for expressive freedom.

Improvisation is central to both. Sevdalinka exists entirely in the moment, while Baroque
musicians worked within a structured yet flexible framework.

And then there’s portamento—frequent, expressive slides in Sevdalinka, used more

sparingly in Baroque.

But above all, both traditions shape music around text, storytelling, and individuality—
proving that at its core, emotional expression in music transcends time and place.
What Makes Sevdah so Powerful?
A study found that for listeners, expressing emotions was the most important goal in sevdah,
followed by personal maturity in interpretation.

When listening, respondents primarily focused on melodic motion, lyrics, and the relationship
between the opening and chorus. Timing variations (rubato) were frequently noticed.

Lived experience and the ability to structure lyrics as a narrative were highly valued,
emphasizing the importance of emotional depth. Singing sevdah with ease is seen as a God-
given talent—felt and intuitively understood rather than taught.

Whether composed or improvised, ornamentation remains essential to sevdah, shaping its

expression and depth. Though instrumentation and performance styles have evolved, its core
remains unchanged, carrying the same emotions and stories through generations.

More than a musical tradition, sevdah is a reflection of lived experience—a way of

preserving and sharing emotion, history, and identity. As long as it continues to be sung and
reinterpreted, it will remain a vital part of cultural memory.