Paper short abstract:

The framework for the present research is the structural and functional analysis of the music used in carol customs in Slovenia. The research led to the conclusion that the image of music in carol customs reflects the general transformations in (traditional) music.

Paper long abstract:

The framework for the present research is the structural and functional analysis of the music as an integral part of carol customs in Slovenia. But it must be taken into consideration that after the Second World War (and especially after 1950) carol singing events were politically restricted and consequently became very rare and were more or less carried out in secret. People started to abandon the custom when the regime's negative attitude towards religion and activities related to religion intensified. The Slovenian Institute of Ethnomusicology recorded carol songs and tunes equally as the other traditional musical repertoire. It was only after 2001 that the focus of ethnomusicologists turned towards recording and observing music as part of the wider social and cultural events of carol singing, which started to re-emerge in reconstructions from the late 1980s onwards, as a result of the changing socio-political climate and the regime's fading authority. The presented research is based on the material recorded between 2001 and 2014, and on the methodological level it is treated within the classification of musical practices based on performers and genre. In a wider framework, the research addresses the issue of the place and the role music has in carol customs and compares specific aspects to modern musical forms. This led to the conclusion that the image of music and its transformation forms in carol customs reflect general transformations in (traditional) music.