Жетварското пеење во Македонија

Harvest Singing in Macedonia (Жетварското пеење во Македонија), authored by Rodna Veličkovska and published in 2002 by the Institute of Folklore "Marko Cepenkov" in Skopje, is a scholarly exploration of traditional harvest songs in Macedonia, based on Veličkovska’s 1999 master’s thesis defended at the Faculty of Music Arts in Belgrade.

Addressing a gap in the study of this fading musical folklore, the book employs comparative-historical and descriptive methods to trace the development, transformations, and gradual disappearance of harvest singing, preserved primarily in rural and mountainous regions resistant to urban influences.

Drawing from 43 audio recordings (1957–1998) and the author’s fieldwork, it analyzes 120 songs from a corpus of approximately 400, selected for their two-voice (often drone-based) or monophonic styles and their performance during specific harvest activities (e.g., morning, noon, evening). The study uses formal-genetic, functional, and structural analyses to highlight melodic characteristics and contextual roles, with illustrative material notated in internationally recognized formats and mapped across Macedonia’s regions.

This work serves as a vital record of a diminishing cultural practice, emphasizing its diversity and historical significance.