In the last 20 years, Bosnia-Herzegovina has witnessed the creation of a grand narrative about the Srebrenica genocide. Affecting perceptions, renditions, and understandings of this event, this grand narrative promotes a specific meaning and interpretation of the war in Bosnia and of Bosniak suffering. Thanks to the grand narrative, particular tropes of the story of the Srebrenica genocide have come to the fore in its commemoration, also affecting the existing artistic memorial works. In this article, I trace the effects of the grand narrative on commemorative music dedicated to the Srebrenica genocide by focusing on the oratorio “Srebrenički Inferno.” By analyzing the oratorio in relation to the grand narrative, I argue that this musical piece is not only influenced by, but also helps to maintain and reinforce, this dominant story about the genocide that represents an important segment of politically advantageous official collective memory and history of the war and genocide among Bosniaks.

Author(s): Pitic, Badema | Advisor(s): Rice, Timothy | Abstract: This dissertation focuses on a repertoire of Western classical, neo-traditional, and religious music created in the past twenty years to commemorate the Srebrenica genocide, a massacre that occurred in July 1995 at the end of the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Drawing on more than seven months of fieldwork in Bosnia and the United States, I explore this commemorative repertoire as a demonstration of the interdependence of official and personal narratives of the genocide. Approaching works of commemorative music as performative narratives, I argue that this repertoire reflects and reinforces current projects of nation-building and identity construction among Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims) that are largely founded on interpretations of the war and sentiments of victimization. At the same time, this repertoire provides a means for genocide survivors to preserve and transmit their memories, to build transnational and translocal communities, and to experience emotional catharsis while making sense of the traumatic past. I address both the use of music by genocide survivors as a mnemonic medium and its appropriation by Bosniak political elites for rhetorical interpretation of the war and genocide, which affects inter-ethnic and inter-religious dynamics in Bosnia.