Musicologica Olomucensia vol. 37(1), (2025):75-94 | DOI: 10.5507/mo.2025.014

"Expectance" by Ivana Govorčin: A Micro-Story, its Semantic and Sound Potential

Nataša Crnjanski
Music Department, Academy of Arts, University of Novi Sad, Serbia, ORCID: 0000-0003-2324-561X

The poem "Expectance" was written by Serbian author Mirjana Stefanović (1939-2021) and was published in 1967 in the collection Spring in Terazije. Almost sixty years later, young composer Ivana Govorčin brought these verses to life musically by using, among other things, marked sound signifiers which direct the listener's attention to the key points of the narrative flow. The starting point of analysis is the poem itself, in which elements such as a humorous-ironic attitude towards life, stylistic figures of gradation and contrast, issues of borders, motifs of time and transience, and the finality of life are highlighted. This paper will point out the sound configurations which the composer uses as amplifiers of these elements and marked parts within the text, playing with their sound and semantic potential. For this purpose, the semiotic theory will be used to show how music acts "through" and thus "for" the narrative.

Keywords: markedness; time; micro-story; signifier; transience; sigh gesture / pianto.

Accepted: February 27, 2026; Published: May 30, 2025  Show citation

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Crnjanski, N. (2025). "Expectance" by Ivana Govorčin: A Micro-Story, its Semantic and Sound Potential. Musicologica Olomucensia, 37(1), 75-94. doi: 10.5507/mo.2025.014
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