The whole world stopped in three tones

opus Borislav Bor Tamindžić, one of the most significant and prolific Montenegrin composers, although he is a significant representative of the national culture and identity of a nation, has not been sufficiently studied, nor has adequate attention been paid to him.

One of those who strives to shed light on, but also to remind, the composer whose creativity is based on traditional musical expression, is musicologist Dr. Jelena Jovanović Nikolić, who was the guest of the seventh session of the "Imaginarium" project on the topic "Image and Music".

He is with her Kristina Radovic, art historian and author of the aforementioned project, discussed the inextricable connection between painting and music, with special reference to Tamindžić, an author who left behind a rich and genre-diverse musical fund, numerous works of film, chamber, orchestral, choral and stage music.

Jovanović-Nikolić pointed out that with the project called "On the trail of Montenegrin composers - theater and film music by Borislav Bor Tamindžić", which was presented last year in the Cultural Center of Belgrade, in the Museum of Herzegovina in Trebinje and at the Academy of Music in Zagreb, she managed to with the works of Tamindžić, he met the audience in the mentioned cities, where for the first time it was talked about the composer who wanted and managed to explain with his works that "our three tones are not three tones, but the entire musical world and the entire range from which everything that has been created is created, and that on this our simple , to a narrow habitus he can confess, write everything he did".

She reminded that Tamindžić arranged for more than 50 plays, that he spent his entire working life in the Montenegrin National Theater, and that it is a great pity that he never finished the opera "False Emperor Šćepan Mali". Although he left behind a large number of works, there are very few preserved partitatura, and they are mostly choral compositions.

Tamindžić's works, inspired by traditional, archaic and poetic texts, were in the repertoire of numerous Montenegrin, Yugoslav and European soloists and ensembles, and as a prominent Montenegrin artist at the peak of his career, he was chosen by Živko Nikolić to compose music for the films "Beasts", " Jovan Lukin" and "Unseen miracle".

"Folklore of the Montenegrin region is the core of all the compositions in Tamindžić's oeuvre, which is perhaps the strongest link between him and the director Živko Nikolić", said Jovanović Nikolić, author of the book "Film Music of Borisval Tamindžić".

In the mentioned films, Tamindžić "through three tones presented the entire history of the village, but also of a life, the fate of people", and Nikolić complemented it with direction, facial expressions that spoke more than words.

Jovanović Nikolić recalled that Jelena Manja Radulović Vulić, a musicologist, founder and dean of the Academy of Music in Montenegro, was the first to shed more light on Tamindžić's opus, while Kristina Radović added that the aforementioned composer was also the choirmaster in "Zahumlje" in 1972.

Jelena Jovanović Nikolić is the author of the book "Music in the performances of the Montenegrin National Theater: Ways of Coding National Culture and Identity (1935-2015)" and co-author of the Monograph "The First Decade of the Montenegrin Symphony Orchestra".

In addition to introducing Tamindžić, Jovanović Nikolić also spoke about the importance of not only Montenegrin composers, but also those from abroad, such as Czechs and Italians, who had a great influence on the development of culture and music in Montenegro. Speaking about the combination of image and sound, she said that this thread is inextricable and reminded that images were the subject of reflection for many composers who, thanks to them, created some of the most important musical works.

Speaking about today's time and young generations, Jovanović Nikolić said that current fads have coincided with true values, that we are surrounded by instant consumerism, and that a large part of the media space is occupied by events that are often labeled as artistic, although the question arises as to whether it is really art. .

It is important, she said, to separate quality from what is not quality, because art is what transcends the present and lasts "for the ages".

On the question of whether art is more powerful than reality, Jelena Jovanović Nikolić pointed out that the term power in our country is mostly associated with things that are not powerful, but are more destructive to society as a whole.

"Art is a constant and without it there is no society and no nation," she said.

The event was organized by JU "Zahumlje" as part of the February repertoire of the Nikšić cultural scene.