We celebrated our 10-year anniversary with a multimedia event at the Capitol Theatre in Windsor, on April 12, 2024. The event included the premiere of a short documentary film about Klapa Kartolina and a singing performance by our three ensembles: Kartolina, Fritule and Berekin. As part of the program, a video of the church choir of the Croatian parish of St. Francis of Assisi of Windsor was shown as well, with whom we are connected in many ways.
We named the event after one of the most known klapa songs “Ju te san se zajubijo”, which in our case, was klapa singing that we fell in love with, therefore we translated it into English to “For the Love of Song”.
The event was opened with greetings from the Ambassador of Croatia to Canada, Mr. Vice Skračić and the Consul General of Croatia to Canada, Mr. Ante Jović. They both delivered beautiful and heartfelt speeches and we were immensely honored by their presence. Their kind words motivate us to continue to work in preserving Croatian Cultural heritage.
The documentary film was a short retrospective of our work, in which our two videos premiered: Poljička (director and videographer Ivan Perić) and Hallelujah (director and videographer Reginald Tiessen). The video Poljička described the history and beauty of Poljica, a historic and independent principality that existed in the area between Split and Omiš from the 13th to the 19th century, where our own klapa story from the Croatian diaspora is interwoven through the video clip. The song plays a significant role in our work as the original musical composition of our director Višnja Tijardović and the video premiere was dedicated to the upcoming St. George day, the patron saint of Poljica. The lyrics were written by Mr. Ante Mekinić in 2003, and the music was composed in 2015, by Višnja Tijardović. The music is not written to be a typical klapa song with usual klapa chords and harmonies, it is more of a music ode, a hymn to Poljica with some other Dalmatian folk singing elements truer to the area. The video Hallelujah is an a cappella cover of Leonard Cohen’s famous song, where the arrangement and the third verse in the Croatian language are also the work of our director Višnja Tijardović. This video is an homage to the life and work of Leonard Cohen and in it you can see motifs influenced by his video works. Religious motifs in this video are inspired by the lyrics of the third verse, which is based on the author’s interpretation of Cohen’s struggle with faith in the song. Both music videos were filmed on locations in Croatia and Canada. It must be noted that the screened documentary is not the full and final version. We will still be working on it and adding more content; therefore, this version will not be publicly broadcasted yet.
After the screening, we had live performances by our three ensembles; Berekini singing Mala moja bi li pošla za me and Daleko me biser Jadrana, Fritule singing Murtilica lipo cviće and Kaleto moja draga, and Kartolina with Ju te san se zajubijo, Na Ciovu Šaldun, Kapetane moj and Šijavica. We really enjoyed performing in front of the audience that came not just from Windsor, but also from Ottawa, Toronto, and Detroit. The evening was concluded with a social gathering and a reception in the theatre cafe, where the patrons and the performers had the chance to mingle in a friendly and relaxing atmosphere.
This event and the project have been made possible through the support of the Central State Office for Croats Abroad. We are tremendously grateful for their support! We would also like to thank everyone who participated, contributed and supported us in making this project, firstly our families, and then; Reginald Tiessen, Elizabeth Graham, Ivan Perić, Josip Rogošić, Ante Mekinić, Goran Mikas, Mira and Ante Kuvačić, Don Ante Mateljan and the Cathedral of St. Domnius Split, St. Francis of Assisi Croatian Parish in Windsor, Windsor Shaar Hashomayim congregation, Windsor Airport Authority, Photo Studio Iris Ban and Antonio Stipinović.
Našu 10. obljetnicu proslavili smo multimedijskim događajem u kazalištu Capitol u Windsoru, 12. travnja 2024. Događaj je uključivao premijeru kratkog dokumentarnog filma o Klapi Kartolina te pjevački nastup naša tri ansambla: Kartolina, Fritule i Berekin. U sklopu programa prikazan je i glazbeni video crkvenog zbora hrvatske župe sv. Franje Asiškog iz Windsora, s kojim smo povezani na mnoge načine.
Događaj smo nazvali po jednoj od najpoznatijih klapskih pjesama “Ju te san se zajubijo”, što je u našem slučaju klapsko pjevanje u koje smo se zaljubili pa smo je na engleski preveli u “Za ljubav pjesme”.
Večer je otvorena pozdravnim riječima veleposlanika RH u Kanadi g. Vice Skračića i generalnog konzula RH u Kanadi g. Ante Jovića. Obojica su održali lijepe i srdačne govore i bili smo neizmjerno počašćeni njihovim prisustvom. Njihove lijepe riječi motiviraju nas da nastavimo raditi na očuvanju hrvatske kulturne baštine.
Dokumentarni film je bio kratka retrospektiva našeg rada u kojoj su premijerno prikazana naša dva spota: Poljička (redatelj i snimatelj Ivan Perić) i Hallelujah (redatelj i snimatelj Reginald Tiessen). Video Poljička opisuje povijest i ljepotu Poljica, povijesne i samostalne knežije koja je postojala na području između Splita i Omiša od 13. do 19. stoljeća, gdje se kroz video isprepliće naša klapska priča iz hrvatskog iseljeništva. Pjesma ima značajnu ulogu u našem radu kao originalna glazbena skladba naše voditeljice Višnje Tijardović, a premijera spota bila je posvećena nadolazećem blagdanu Svetog Jurja, zaštitnika Poljica. Stihove je napisao g. Ante Mekinić 2003. godine, a glazbu je 2015. godine skladala Višnja Tijardović. Glazba nije napisana kao tipična klapska pjesma s uobičajenim klapskim akordima i harmonijama, to je više glazbena oda, himna Poljicima s nekim drugim elementima dalmatinskog pučkog pjevanja bližim tom kraju. Spot Hallelujah je a cappella obrada poznate pjesme Leonarda Cohena, gdje je aranžman i treća kitica na hrvatskom jeziku također djelo naše voditeljice Višnje Tijardović. Ovaj video spot je hommage životu i radu Leonarda Cohena i u njemu se vide motivi nadahnuti njegovim video uradcima. Religiozni motivi su potaknuti stihovima treće kitice, koja se temelji na autoričinoj interpretaciji Cohenove osobne borbe sa definicijom vjere kroz stihove pjesme. Oba video spota su snimana na lokacijama u Hrvatskoj i Kanadi. Mora se napomenuti da prikazani dokumentarac nije potpuna i konačna verzija. I dalje ćemo raditi na njemu i dodavati još sadržaja; stoga ova verzija još neće biti javno prikazana u cijelosti.
Nakon projekcije filma imali smo nastupe uživo naša tri ansambla; Berekini su pjevali Mala moja bi li pošla za me i Daleko me biser Jadrana, Fritule su pjevale Murtilica lipo cviće i Kaleto moja draga, a Kartolina, Ju te san se zajubijo, Na Ciovu Šaldun, Kapetane moj i Šijavicu. Zaista smo uživali nastupati pred publikom koja nije došla samo iz Windsora, već i iz Ottawe, Toronta i Detroita. Večer je zaključena druženjem i domjenkom u kazališnoj kavani, gdje su se posjetitelji i izvođači imali priliku družiti u prijateljskoj i opuštajućoj atmosferi.
Ovaj događaj i projekt ostvareni su uz potporu Središnjeg državnog ureda za Hrvate izvan Republike Hrvatske. Neizmjerno smo im zahvalni na podršci! Također se zahvaljujemo svima koji su sudjelovali, dali doprinos i podršku u realizaciji ovog projekta, prvenstveno našim obiteljima, a zatim; Reginald Tiessen, Elizabeth Graham, Ivan Perić, Josip Rogošić, Ante Mekinić, Goran Mikas, Mira i Ante Kuvačić, don Ante Mateljan i katedrala svetog Dujma Split, hrvatska župa svetog Franje Asiškog u Windsoru, kongregacija Windsor Shaar Hashomayim, Windsor Airport Authority, Foto studio Iris Ban i Antonio Stipinović.
