Nurija Šahinpašić – folk singer from Pljevlja

Abstract

The collection of musical and dance recordings from the Folk Archive of the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina includes 265 songs recorded by academician Cvjetko Rihtman and Mustafa A. Mulalić. These recordings were made as part of the Institute for the Study of Folklore’s activities at the National Museum, based on the singing of the Sandžak singer Nurija Šahinpašić from Pljevlja. Additionally, Mustafa A. Mulalić recorded Nurija Šahinpašić’s biography and preserved it in the archive of folk traditions at the National Museum. Nurija was the older brother of the much more famous singer and collector of folk songs, Hamdija Šahinpašić. However, due to his modest nature he has remained largely unknown to contemporary researchers. His repertoire is both rich and valuable, as it includes not only well-known songs that are still commonly sung today but also those that are rarely heard. The collection’s added value lies in the fact that it primarily features rare versions of these songs. However, a significant limitation is the lack of audio recordings, which prevents a full understanding of the musical and stylistic qualities of Šahinpašić’s interpretation.