Folke Rabe – Thanks for lending me the music

Folke Rabe, Various Artists

Folke Rabe‘s (1935–2017) symphonic work Så att denna sång inte dör (So that this song shall not die) is based on his own field recordings of folk music in the Bosnian mountain village of Kuti in 1963. Rabe’s original recordings are presented here together with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra’s premiere of the work in 1999.

The rumour had spread in the village, that foreigners had come who wanted to hear music, so for the next hour people gathered… Everyone in the village seemed to be either playing or singing – or both. The large room in Omer’s brother’s house was 6 x 3.5 m, and 40–50 people crowded there. Those who couldn’t get a seat walked around in the snow outside and sang. What we were to be part of was a ‘sijelo’; a village gathering with music.

The quote is taken from a radio script that is part of Rabe’s collection at the Centre for Swedish Folk Music and Jazz Research.
“The music recorded in Kuti is an interesting example of a musical journey from the small village in southeastern Bosnia to the Stockholm Concert Hall, via the Research Centre, and back”, writes Dan Lundberg, musicologist, author, and director general of the Swedish Performing Arts Agency, in the informative booklet for the CD edition of this album.

The village of Kuti was completely destroyed in the Bosnian War in the 1990’s, and now lives on only in the people’s memories – and in the documented songs on this album.


Recorded by Folke Rabe in Kuti, 10 March 1963 [1–32] and in Sarajevo, 11 March 1963 [33]
Recorded live by Swedish Radio in Stockholm Concert Hall, 28 October 1999 [34]
Mastered by Torbjörn Ivarsson, April 2022
Liner notes by Dan Lundberg
Translation by Fred Lane
Cover art by Dejan Slavuljica
Graphic design by Sofia Berry
Executive producer Marie Wisén.
Supervisor Prof. Jasmina Talam

Tracks [1–33] and photos from Folke Rabe’s collection at the Centre for Swedish Folk Music and Jazz Research.
A collaboration between Caprice Music and the Academy of Music, University of Sarajevo.
With gratitude to the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra.
Published with support from Riksantikvarieämbetet/The Swedish National Heritage Board.

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Show playlist

    • 1.
      Što si me majko rodila / Why, mother, did you give birth to me? Music: Traditional

    • 2.
      Nit’ ja spavam, nit’ ja drijemam / I can't sleep, I can't take a nap Music: Traditional

    • 3.
      Kolo / Round dance (1) Music: Traditional

    • 4.
      Sastale se i Spreča i Jala / The rivers Spreča and Jala meet each other Music: Traditional

    • 5.
      Šargija playing Music: Traditional

    • 6.
      Kolo/Round dance (2) Music: Traditional

    • 7.
      Alaj sam se rakije natuko / I drank a lot of schnapps Music: Traditional

    • 8.
      Kladilo se momče i djevojče / A boy and a maiden were betting Music: Traditional

    • 9.
      Oj, dobro nam jutro osvanulo / Hey, lovely morning is here! Music: Traditional

    • 10.
      Bosno moja / My Bosnia Music: Traditional

    • 11.
      Polyphonic male song, older rural tradition Music: Traditional

    • 12.
      Ej, ljubim žene / Hey, I love women! Music: Traditional

    • 13.
      Curin prozor kraj prozora moga / The girl’s window is next to my window Music: Traditional

    • 14.
      Pjevaj pobro i pomalo troši / Sing my brother, and don’t spend a lot of money! Music: Traditional

    • 15.
      Mene majka jednu ima / My mother has only one daughter Music: Traditional

    • 16.
      Lolina me milovala ruka / My darling’s hand caressed me Music: Traditional

    • 17.
      Sve bi na me dozvolila ti si / You let me do everything Music: Traditional

    • 18.
      Violino moji teški jade / Violin, my serious pain Music: Traditional

    • 19.
      Teško kenjcu s konj’ma putujući / It is difficult for a donkey to travel with horses Music: Traditional

    • 20.
      A song about the hero Miloš Zekić Music: Traditional

    • 21.
      Teraj mala volove sa brega / Maiden, take the bulls off the hill Music: Traditional

    • 22.
      Pjevaj seko nemoj da te molim / Sing my sister, don’t let me beg you! Music: Traditional

    • 23.
      Kad mladi vojnik na straži stoji / When a young soldier is on guard Music: Traditional

    • 24.
      Sarajka devojka majci plakala / A maiden from Sarajevo cried to her mother Music: Traditional

    • 25.
      Kad baraba zapjeva u Sali / When a merrymaker starts to sing in the hall Music: Traditional

    • 26.
      Ja u vojsku, hoćeš i ti brate / I’m in the army, will you join too, my brother? Music: Traditional

    • 27.
      Pivo age pile na Novome / Masters drink beer in Novi Music: Traditional

    • 28.
      Ružo moja kalemljena / My grafted rose Music: Traditional

    • 29.
      Kad ja pođoh u mejhanu / When I went to the pub Music: Traditional

    • 30.
      Rodi majko još jednu ko mene / Mother, give birth to another daughter like me Music: Traditional

    • 31.
      Kad sarhoši iz mejhane pođu / When the drunkards leave the pub Music: Traditional

    • 32.
      Lolina me zanimala šala / I wondered how my darling was making jokes Music: Traditional

    • 33.
      Ezan / Adhan Music: Traditional

    • 34.
      Så att denna sång inte dör / So That This Song Shall Not Die Music: Folke Rabe

  • Total playtime

Available on CD and on all major digital stores and streaming services.

CAP 21939 // Folk // Releasedate: 8 September, 2023