Minimalist Elements in Vladimir Tošić’s Atmospheric Music for Television. Case Study: „The Yellow House“

Minimalist intersections (2024) [pp. 229-252]

AUTHOR(S) / АУТОР(И): Nikoleta Dojčinović

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DOI: 10.46793/MinInters.229D

ABSTRACT / САЖЕТАК:

Audio-visual formats dictate the creation of applied music, especially when their themes are temporally and historically defined. The fundamental questions are whether and to what extent music composers, taking into consideration the various requirements, remain faithful to their established compositional styles.

Composer Vladimir Tošić has been creating music for television for the past twenty years. Most often, it involves music for television docudramas, such as Milunka Savić – Heroine of the Great War (2013), Serbia in the Great War (2014), Centenary of Serbian Military Aviation (2012), The Last Day of Zoran Đinđić (2006), and others, which were broadcast as part of the Radio-Television Serbia series Measures of Time.

Through an interview with Tošić and an analysis of his film music, I aim to determine whether the author has remained true to his trademark minimalist style or has also used other compositional styles and techniques. Special emphasis is placed on the use of minimalist musical segments, their construction, and narrative qualities. The exploration of the essence of Tošić’s minimalist film music, as well as Serbian music as a whole, also touches on the process of composition and the relationship between inspiration/movement/tempo/character and music/narrativity.

This chapter also highlights the value of film music, which is less frequently the focus of analysts and theorists, and its independent ‘life’ through CD and sheet music releases, as well as concert performances.

KEYWORDS / КЉУЧНЕ РЕЧИ:

docudrama/documentary narrative film, television music, musical narrativity, Vladimir Tošić, minimalism

REFERENCES / ЛИТЕРАТУРА:

  • Battista, Ivana Keser. 2013. Film esej [Film essay]. Zagreb: Leykam international.
  • Dojčinović, Nikoleta. 2023. Narativna uloga muzike u televizijskim serijama: Srbija 2000–2020 [Narrative Role of Music in Television Shows in Serbia 2000–2020]. Doctoral dissertation. Belgrade: University of Arts, Interdisciplinary Studies – Art and Media Theory. https://nardus.mpn.gov.rs/handle/123456789/22211.
  • Evans, Tristian. 2015. Shared Meanings in the Film Music of Philip Glass: Music, Multimedia and Postminimalism. Farnham, Burlington: Ashgate.
  • Lipkin Steven N., Derek Paget and Jane Roscoe. 2006. “Docudrama and Mock-Documentary: Defining Terms, Proposing Canons”. In Docufictions: Essays on the Intersection of Documentary and Fictional Filmmaking, edited by Gary D. Rhodes and John Parris Springer. Jefferson NC and London: McFarland, 11–26.
  • Martinović, Žarko. 2020. “Godarovi filmski eseji” [Godard’s film essays]. Matica, no. 84, pp. 341-376. Podgorica: Matica crnogorska.
  • Novaković, Monika. 2024. “Towards a Study of Incidental Music Through the Lens of Applied Musicology”. Arts 13 (6): 164. https://doi.org/10.3390/arts13060164
  • Patrick, Nicodemus Adai and John Iwuh. 2022. “Reading the docufiction script: Harnessing the thin line between facts and fiction”. Journal of Screenwriting, Issue Textual Perspectives: Screenwriting Styles, Modes and Languages 13: 375–387.
  • Sutherland, Heather. 2009. “BBC. The BBC: A Public Service Sound?” In Sound and Music in Film and Visual Media, edited by Graeme Harper, 533–554. New York, London: Bloomsbury.
  • Todorović, Stojan. 2008. “Kladovčanin autor pesme Tamo daleko” [A Man from Kladovo Authored the Song Far Away]. Politika, 7 March 2008. https://www.politika.rs/sr/clanak/35510/Kladovcanin-autor-pesme-Tamo-daleko.
  • Tošić, Vladimir. 2001. OPUS 4. Dokumenti [OPUS 4. Documents]. Belgrade: Students’ Cultural Centre.
  • Tošić, Vladimir. 2017. Redukcionistički pristup konstitucije muzičkog dela [Reductionist Principle of the Construction of Musical Work]. Belgrade: Faculty of Music.
  • Tošić, Vladimir. 2018. Reči o muzici [Words on Music]. Belgrade: Faculty of Music.
  • Tošić, Vladimir. 2024. An interview with Nikoleta Dojčinović. 14 May, Audio, 17’43”. 
  • Vuković, Marija. 2020. “Sa beogradskih scena – Autorski koncert Vladimira Tošića” [From Belgrade Concert Scenes – The Evening of Vladimir Tošić’s Music]. 26 October 2020. https://www.rts.rs/lat/radio/radio-beograd-3/4123311/sa-beogradskih-scena–autorski-koncert-vladimira-tosica.html.
  • Wood, Simon. 2009. “Video Game Music. High Scores: Making Sense of Music and Video Games”. In Sound and Music in Film and Visual media, edited by Graeme Harper. New York and London: Bloomsbury, 129–148.
  • Zarić, Slađana. 2024. E-mail correspondence with Nikoleta Dojčinović (1–15 Sept 2024).
Filmography
  • Zarić, Slađana. 2005. Peti oktobar [Fifth October – How Milošević Was Ousted]. Duration: 58:21. Premiered on 5 October 2005, on RTS1. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FbzR_AgyJk.
  • Zarić, Slađana, Tanja Fero. 2006. Slavko Ćuruvija – Kad režim strelja [Slavko Ćuruvija: When the Regime Executes]. Duration: 37:41 (first part) and 40:21 (second part). Premiered on RTS1. Available at: https://rtsplaneta.rs/sr_lat/video/272490/slavko-curuvija-kad-rezim-strela-1-deo (Part 1) and https://rtsplaneta.rs/sr_lat/video/272493/slavko-curuvija-kad-rezim-strela-2-deo. (Part 2).
  • Zarić, Slađana. 2006. Poslednji dan Zorana Đinđića [The Last Day of Zoran Đinđić]. Duration: 54:10. Premiered on 12 March 2006, on RTS1. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_TzYExNVDk.
  • Zarić, Slađana. 2012. Vek odvažnih – sto godina srpskog vojnog vazduhoplovstva [A Century of the Brave – One Hundred Years of Serbian Military Aviation]. Duration: 95:53. Premiered on 3 December 2012. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbrtQLNlaqs.
  • Zarić, Slađana. 2012. Na raskrscima istorije – Dva veka moderne srpske diplomatije [At the Crossroads of History – Two Centuries of Modern Serbian Diplomacy]. Duration: 90:07. Premiered on 23 December 2012, on RTS2. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxEognZAMuI.
  • Zarić, Slađana. 2013. Milunka Savić – heroina Velikog rata [Milunka Savić – Heroine of the Great War]. Duration: 59:29. Premiered on 7 October 2013, on RTS1. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdsaddmOnGs.
  • Zarić, Slađana. 2014. Srbija u Velikom ratu [Serbia in the Great War]. Duration: 97:46. Premiered on 15 December 2014, on RTS1. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ft9hkMvEgcY, and with English subtitles at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6QSVwSGRf4.
  • Zarić, Slađana. 2015. Let u smrt [Flight to Death]. Duration: 29:22. Premiered on 24 March 2015, on RTS1. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOzv9cbhfzE.
  • Zarić, Slađana. 2016. Srbi na Krfu – sto godina od albanske golgote [Serbs in Corfu – One Hundred Years Since the Albanian Golgotha]. Duration: 98:52. Premiered on 18 April 2016, on RTS1. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gMd758zbnY.
  • Zarić, Slađana. 2017. Zaboravljeni admiral – Ernest Trubridž [The Forgotten Admiral – Ernest Trubridge]. Duration: 56:58. Premiered on 22 June 2017, on RTS2. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68WMMFeS4mk.
  • Zarić, Slađana. 2017. Zločin bez kazne [Crime Without Punishment – The Suffering of Serbs in the Middle Podrinje]. Duration: 62:01. Premiered on 5 October 2017, on RTS1. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPmU1bSzwug.
  • Zarić, Slađana. 2018. Dijanina deca [Dijana’s Children]. Duration: 92:28. Premiered on 23 May 2018, on RTS1. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffEQUlKLgiM.
  • Zarić, Slađana. 2018. Stvaranje Kraljevine SHS [The Creation of the Kingdom of SCS]. Duration: 89:33. Premiered on 1 December 2018, on RTS1. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5dADSXHK0M.
  • Zarić, Slađana. 2019. Ratne priče sa Košara [War Stories from Košare]. Duration: 1:46:46. Premiered on 9 April 2019, on RTS1. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtjXfop64d8, and with English subtitles at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULb6rrN0wCs.
  • Zarić, Slađana. 2019. Ratne priče sa Paštrika [War Stories from Paštrik]. Duration: 79:09. Premiered on 26 May 2019, on RTS1. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRcUil6VqZI, and with English subtitles at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBGz9W4hk2U.
  • Zarić, Slađana. 2021. Koridor 92 [Corridor 92]. Duration: 99:22. Premiered on 22 January 2021, on RTS1. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8fh819qtv0.
  • Zarić, Slađana. 2021. Čovek koji je Hitleru rekao NE [The Man Who Said NO to Hitler]. Duration: 63:24. Premiered on 25 March 2021, on RTS1. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6WSsAMXehM.
  • Zarić, Slađana. 2022. Dosije Kosovo – 98 [The Kosovo Dossier – 98]. Duration: 96:28. Premiered on 25 March 2022, on RTS1. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pxeE5Cb5eU.
  • Zarić, Slađana. 2022. Dosije Kosovo – Račak [The Dossier Kosovo – Račak]. Duration: 95:35. Premiered on 21 April 2022, on RTS1. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwFEEfj6xJ4.
  • Zarić, Slađana. 2023. Dosije Kosovo – Žuta kuća [The Dossier Kosovo – The Yellow House]. Duration: 94:58. Premiered on 23 March 2023, on RTS1. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UW5vPjMlA4A.
  • Zarić, Slađana. 2024. Dosije Kosovo – Pogrom [The Dossier Kosovo – Pogrom]. Duration: 98:36. Premiered on 17 March 2024, on RTS1. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iV8UNy88cao.
  • Zarić, Slađana. 2024. Mare salutis – more spasa [Mare Salutis – The Sea of Salvation]. Duration: 30:42. Premiered on 11 June 2024, on RTS1. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjD9DSdCjZ8.
Sound Examples