Bokan Stanković’s album “Traditional Playing on the Ocarina from Lasovo and Eastern Serbia” represents a unique release dedicated to the almost forgotten tradition of ocarina playing in Eastern Serbia. The ocarina – a clay wind instrument of Italian origin – arrived in Serbia in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Because its playing technique resembles that of the frula (a traditional Serbian flute), it was accepted among folk musicians, although it never became widely widespread. As ethnologist and anthropologist Dr. Dejan Krstić points out, “since the ocarina is not an indigenous instrument in Serbia and appears only sporadically, Serbian ethnomusicology has not devoted much attention to it.” However, thanks to the research and work of Bokan Stanković, it has been discovered that the village of Lasovo in Eastern Serbia was an exceptionally important center for the making and playing of this instrument. The tradition of Lasovo ocarina players developed as distinctive and recognizable – “different in the instrument’s shape, its characteristics, sound, playing technique, and repertoire,” Krstić notes. During the 20th century, several dozen ocarina players were active in Lasovo, while today Bokan Stanković remains the last active heir of this tradition. As an outstanding connoisseur of the musical heritage of his region and of Eastern Serbia more broadly, he has preserved and expanded the repertoire performed on this instrument. The album contains 39 tracks, including field recordings of conversations about the tradition of Lasovo ocarina players, while the disc presents as many as 46 melodies of traditional circle dances (kolo) and songs – from Lasovo as well as from other parts of Eastern Serbia. The accompanying publication also brings a number of new insights about the ocarina and its players. “Information about more than thirty prominent ocarina players and makers from Lasovo clearly shows that this village was a unique and the largest center of this instrument not only in Eastern Serbia but in the entire country, and perhaps even in the Balkans,” Krstić emphasizes. In this region, the ocarina was an instrument of everyday life – played outdoors, in pastoral and agricultural surroundings, but also at gatherings and village dances. Its rich repertoire was strongly influenced by local brass bands, which brought a wide range of melodies into public musical life – from local songs to popular urban and radio melodies of the 20th century. The significance of this release is also highlighted in the review by ethnomusicologist Dr. Selena Rakočević, who emphasizes that this edition is an exceptional example of connecting music with scholarly interpretation: “This edition, with technically more than exemplary prepared musical recordings and an exceptionally informative accompanying booklet featuring the text by ethnologist Dr. Dejan Krstić, transcends the framework of a music release and becomes essential reading not only for admirers of Serbia’s traditional heritage, but also within the fields of ethnomusicology and ethnochoreology.” Thanks to this, the release “Ocarina in Lasovo and Crna Reka (Eastern Serbia)” represents one of the most important recent contributions to documenting and preserving Serbia’s intangible cultural heritage, as well as a precious sound record of a tradition that has almost disappeared today.

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