Svibno Folk Singers

a section of the Svibno Educational Society, 21 members; artistic director: Tatjana Kavšek
Proposed by: Radeče Centre for Culture, Tourism and Recreation (KTRC Radeče)

The Svibno group of folksingers is made up of local residents who are almost entirely from farming backgrounds, and of their grown-up sons and daughters who drive to practice from their homes in Radeče. The group's first steps were somewhat tentatively taken. It grew from the study groups under the mentorship of Jože Prah. They began by collecting folksong lyrics. The oldest member, Ana, was a particularly careful transcriber, encouraging many others to raid their memory, visit their elderly relatives and neighbours, learn songs and transcribe the lyrics. They were very unsure at their first public performances, since they hardly dared think that their activities could mean something to people who had no connection with the village. But they took heart from the first enthusiastic responses and embarked on their work with a greater sense of purpose.

Their enthusiasm for folksong became infectious. School teachers also began to look for counting and other children's songs. The children learned them and were soon appearing alongside the adults. This is not the only form of inter-generational learning and cooperation in Svibno. The activities of the older residents also attracted the middle-aged generation, the grown-up sons and daughters who live in Radeče and the surrounding area, where they found work and now regularly drive to practice and take part enthusiastically in the life of the village.

The revival of intangible cultural heritage outgrew the bounds of the study groups several years ago. The folksingers now operate under the auspices of Svibno Educational Society as an independent section, but they have retained all the positive aspects of a learning group that does something worthwhile for its local area. It is not just that the singers live in that area, but that the area lives in them. In memory of their late member, Ana, they organise the ‘Ana's Song' event every year under the village linden tree. They collaborate with all the societies within and outside the village, and also enhance many other events organised by Radeče Centre for Culture, Tourism and Recreation with their simple singing.

They also organise heritage-preservation workshops; these are organised so as to pass on to younger generations an almost forgotten body of knowledge. So, at workshops at Magolnik, they discovered the secrets of the shepherd's life, learned together and presented what they had learned to the public. They are happy to be able to show others what they know. ‘Lifelong learning has become a permanent feature of this part of the Zasavje region,' says Jože Prah, mentor of the first study groups from which the Svibno Folk Singers grew and without which life in this area would now be unimaginable.