Lepi Yuro
Lepi Juro (as it is commonly transcribed), a pearl of Croatian folklore, was one of Luciano Berio’s best loved songs. It was sung by Sandra Mantovani in performances of Questo vuol dire che…
In Berio’s archives, there exist numerous versions with different harmonic settings. The manuscript reproduced here is a sketch for a version for viola, intended for Berio’s friend Aldo Bennici, who often performed it as an encore. On the back of this sheet of music, perhaps not coincidentally, there appears the transcription of the beginning of Hatikvah, the Israeli national anthem, whose origins hark back to the many vicissitudes of a melody which migrated through historic lands such as Moldavia, Bohemia, Romania, with possible roots in the Italian melody called «La Mantovana».
recto
verso
