Rovinj blog #2

Did you know music is connecting the places we call home? 

 I have to share this incredible and recent  discovery 💡 ! 

 Three hours of googling, searching for facts we connected the dots….thank you Petra for kickstarting this, the facts blew our minds and left us speechless.

 The true story goes like this …

 The city of Pula put on a free Goran Karan concert at the Pula’s Fortress known as Kaštel. 

 Let me briefly introduce you to Goran Karan…

Goran Karan is a Croatian vocalist. He specializes in songs influenced by Dalmatian folk music and is known for his powerful and refined tenor voice. Karan's collaboration with composer Zdenko Runjić led to some of his most acclaimed work, which won him several awards. He is well known across Europe and has performed all around the world. 

 Here is a link to one of his performances that highlights his talents:

 O sole mio https://g.co/kgs/ttsyT6

 So, we all know Nebojsa loves to sing and play the guitar. I love Goran’s songs and through that combination our kids got to learn a number of his songs listening to Dad practicing and Mum singing along.

 We attended the concert in Pula the other day, had a great time. Petra recorded a number of videos and posted them on IG. Goran’s official site picked up a few and posted on his official IG site. Petra got notified, felt excited and started searching more about his life, music, etc. 

 She came across a fact that Goran did a collaboration with New Zealand band ‘The Shades’ to honour the life of a young 15 years old girl that lost her life in Zagreb 2020 Earthquake. 

 Here is a link to the video featuring The Shades singing alongside Goran Karan with the music video shot in New Zealand at Karekare beach and Croatia! Crazy right!? 

 https://youtu.be/-cqJccaL2EE?si=dHLCq45fwjhEDEk1

 Here is a link to the article about the collaboration between Croatian singer and the Tongan-Samoan quartet from New Zealand. 

 https://www.croatiaweek.com/video-goran-karan-and-new-zealand-vocal-group-the-shades-with-song-dedicated-to-zagreb-earthquake-victim/

 The search about The Shades continued and we then discovered they performed a month ago in Vela Luka at the remembrance concert celebrating Oliver Dragojević music. 

 Let me quickly introduce you to Oliver:

Oliver Dragojević was a Croatian singer and composer, who was considered one of the most enduring musical stars and cultural icons in Croatia with a discography that spanned nearly five decades. His style blended traditional klapa melodies of Dalmatia, a coastal region in native Croatia, with jazz motifs wrapped up in a modern production. 

Oliver died five years ago, yet every year his birth town is filled with thousands of people to celebrate his life. There is no one like him that I know of who has touched so many people across many generations with his love for Dalmatia and his music that connects people. 

 Performing at this annual event in Vela Luka  is a massive deal, and it’s incredible to see that The Shades performed in Croatian alongside some of the top Croatian artists of today! Their pronunciation is second to none, left us speechless, and how cool that NZ got a shout out, all the way over here in Croatia! 

 If you want to watch The Shades perform at the tribute concert here is the link and fast forward to 1.51.50! 

 https://www.youtube.com/live/9aBobVPR6tU?si=D2Vlq5hLK8QB63wl

 Let me now introduce you to The Shades ….

 An upcoming quartet of beautiful Tongan and Samoan voices, fusing their classical training with genre’s such as Musical Theatre, Opera, Gospel and popular music. The Shades consist of two Samoans Samson Setu and Ipu Laga’aia and two Tongans Taka Vuni and Manase Latu, who together create a strong, well-blended sound with a feel for humour and a love of laughter. Born and raised in Auckland, each have come from humble pacific homes where music was in every facet of their upbringing. Though music and singing came very natural to them, they have had years of training to shape them into the artists they are today. Between the four, they have been awarded various scholarships, chosen for prestigious programs, such as Dame Kiri programme, and have excelled in many competitions. 

 And then there is more….

 A number of years ago Nebojsa joined a klapa band and sang a-cappella with two out of the four The Shades performers. They performed together the song Ti Samo Ti that features in their album Gratitude! Can you believe it?!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_c26QKFLwQ&list=OLAK5uy_lKs8tI4i_PgFPzwMla6yUTJJlbbt4J8o4&index=5

 (A-cappella music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this fashion). 

 My reflection 

 The world is seriously such a small place and music with its magical power connects people to their roots and tells life stories about happiness, love, sadness, joy…

 A fun fact!

 Through all this discovery work it came to our attention that a Māori Kapa Haka group also performed to the Croatian President in a private function only a couple of weeks ago too! 

 I feel if we continue googling we will find out we are all related to one another! 

 And to finish this blog, a funny story about Petra mixing the Croatian and English language:

 Croatian websites end in .hr ( HR = Hrvatska = Croatia). Well, a funny part is that she pronounces .hr as English pronunciation of Human Resources - clearly her job is ingrained into her mind! 

 Finally, seeing Petra singing along makes our hearts melt, a kiwi born girl genuinely enjoys being here and connecting to her roots❤️. 

P.S. I recommend clicking on View original post below to view the blog on the website. This way you can also leave a comment should you wish.

GORAN KARAN CONCERT PULA 2023