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It took me weeks to decide upon writing several words about Božo Potočnik. It is difficult for me because that man has special significance for me personally. I would like the text to reflect that significance and that is not an easy task, except maybe in a special moment of inspiration. No, I'm not having that moment now, I just realized that it would take too long to wait for that special moment. So, here goes... Subjective: I can say that in this line of work I'm in for more than 20 years, working as a music director in folklore ensembles, Božo was my role model since the very beginnings. And I mean a role model in the real and literal sense of the word; when I come across a dubious situation I think how he would approach that problem. Sometimes I send him an e-mail or phone him for advice because I know I will get a useful reply. And I'm not the only one. There's more of us. I've learned about the music, ways of using the tamburas, orchestration, setting up the sound of the entire folklore ensemble indirectly from his arrangements and listening to his work. I didn't have the luck to have him directly as my teacher. I'm holding up to his principles when it comes to the sensitive question of how far can one go in changing and adapting arrangements when adapting folklore for the stage without losing the essential folklore value and character (but also to be suitable for stage performance). I hope this will also be a sufficient explanation to all those who used to have remarks that some of my arrangements sound very similar to Božo's and also an explanation of my reluctance to start writing this text. If it weren't for Božo Potočnik, who knows how my tambura profile would look like. One of the key people responsible for the subsistence and evolution of tambura, Božo is one of the rare names we can call upon when we have to defend the dignity of tambura music and tamburaši against oftentimes well-founded objections that the tambura is an instrument of so-called musicians with limited abilities who are able to present their "art" only between tables in a pub or at wedding parties. There is a term "a moral vertical" and few people earn it in their area of expertise without a touch of irony. When someone spends his entire life with tambura music in its different forms, from artistic to folk, working closely with best musicians, but also teaching beginners in amateur groups, constantly improving and developing it, without turning off course either because of money or glory, then we should seriously consider treating him as a moral vertical. There is one important fact I must point out. We are all today (and it was similar in the past) aware of the aggressive expansion of low quality trash music from the East. There are numerous discussions about it literally everywhere. There have been cases when weapons were used to substantiate one's argument. We all know about that. One more aspect was present in the whole story before the war - if someone was against importing the trash from the East he could have been seriously politically threatened as an enemy of the so-called "brotherhood and unity". The size of the threat was proportional to the importance of the position of the one being threatened. And Božo Potočnik was at that time on the position very suitable to become the victim of those methods. He was working as a music editor for folk music on the former Television Zagreb. I'm not familiar with the details, but it's a fact that TV Zagreb never aired a video or an interview with turbo folk musicians or at that time - stars of the newly composed folk music. Thanks to Božo and his colleagues. I believe that today's editors have taken that as his legacy. With that attitude and with his general attitude towards music and his method of working among tamburaši it is clear that he has always stood for the dignity of music and musicians. His personal example shows that he really is a moral vertical. So, dear tamburaši, each time someone tells you that the prototypical tamburaš is a drunken primitive person playing a primitive instrument and starts adding several "pri...", you should know that Božo Potočnik, although a tamburaš, is not like that. On the contrary! If it weren't for Božo Potočnik, who knows how our tambura profile would look like. Other: I won't write the information about the date and place of birth, short biography, all the awards and similar, you can type in the name and surname of this esteemed artist at Google and you will get a pile of information. I personally find it interesting that the name Ladarice still remains a certain brand up to know and is proudly born by the female dancers-singers of Lado. There is a reason for that. Although that name by itself names the member of the ensemble Lado it is even more a brand created by Božo Potočnik together with his older brother Zlatko when they were as musicians and musical authorities playing in that professional folklore ensemble. Ladarice, in the more narrow sense of the word, were a female nonet composed of 9 dancers whose voices were arranged in a typical "Potočnikian" manner. One of the most recognizable parts of the nonet was its soloist, Božo's wife Anđela. Ladarice appeared as a group outside of the ensemble, they sang for years, appeared at festivals, had their own hit songs, sang different genres of music (I still remember being fascinated as a child with the vocal arrangement of a song "Dok sunce sja, tad čitav svijet za sreću zna"). In their time Ladarice were very popular and when kids would see any girls in national costumes they would shout: "Look, Mom, Ladarice!!!" They were also very esteemed among top musicians who often used their services and skills (e.g. Goran Bregović). Even today they are role models to their younger colleagues in Lado who proudly call themselves Ladarice. Now that is what I call a successful project! Congratulations to maestro Božo. I'm glad that even today this master often comes by to Lado where he has an excellent group of tamburaši with which he can bring to life all of his ideas and work, he can work on brushing up his older arrangements and he also passes on his knowledge to amateurs of the Trešnjevka tambura orchestra. Finally, I find it interesting that in these tambura circles where there is a lot of gossip, badmouthing and talking behind the back, I have never heard a single bad word against Božo. That is something not easy to achieve. People always talk about him with respect and reverence with only a trace of positive envy. Mario Pleše |
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