Two Istrian Vocal Groups Win Gold at Croatia Cantat Competition

The news in Croatian

1. vokalан
   koji se odnosi na pjevanje glasom ili na vokale ↩︎
2. natjecanje  (n.)
   organizirani događaj u kojem sudionici pokušavaju pobijediti jedni druge ↩︎
3. medalja  (f.)
   okrugla metalna nagrada koja se dodjeljuje pobjednicima natjecanja ↩︎
4. pobjeda  (f.)
   uspjeh u natjecanju ili borbi, stanje kada netko pobijedi ↩︎
5. nastupati
   izvoditi glazbeni ili scenski program pred publikom ↩︎
6. dirigent  (m.)
   osoba koja vodi orkestar ili zbor gestama ruku ↩︎

Translation

Text comprehension

Question 1: How many singers are in Klapa Fjok?

Question 2: From which town does the group Umole come?

Vocabulary

Croatian	English
vokalан	vocal
natjecanje  (n.)	competition
medalja  (f.)	medal
pobjeda  (f.)	victory
nastupati	to perform
dirigent  (m.)	conductor

Read the full story

Two vocal groups from Istria have claimed gold medals at the fourth international choral competition Croatia Cantat, held in Križevci on 24 October, with both of their conductors also receiving special recognition for their artistic work.

Klapa Fjok from Pula, formed as recently as mid-May 2026, won a gold plaque in the mixed music category (D) with 25.20 points out of 30. The group performed “Galiotovu pesan” by Krešimir Magdić, “Moj lipi anđele” by Hari Rončević — well known in Oliver Dragojević’s recording — and the traditional Dalmatian song “Daj mi, majko, granu bora” arranged by Joško Ćaleta.

Having won their category, Klapa Fjok advanced to a final round alongside three other category winners: KPZ Vita from Lendava in Slovenia, Ansambl Pučpuljike from Čakovec, and Ženska vokalna skupina Stridone from Štrigova. The overall prize went to the Slovenian group KPZ Vita. Notably, Klapa Fjok is made up of just four singers, making it the smallest ensemble in the competition. Their conductor, Tatjana Merkl, was awarded a special Croatia Cantat prize for conductors and directors. This was the group’s second international victory, following a first-place finish at the Chorus Inside Croatia competition in Portorož in August, where they scored 28 out of 30 points.

The second Istrian group, Umole from Pićan, competed for the second time at the event and again took gold, scoring 25.40 out of 30 in the folklore category (B). Their programme included “Sutra će te ponit” by Magdić, “Misečina udrila u vrata” by Lesić, and “Istarski tanac” composed by Branko Starc, who also served as one of the jury members and praised the group’s performance of his own piece.

Umole’s conductor, Jadranka Celić Bernaz, received a special award for artistic impression, which the jury grants to conductors recognised not only for what happens on stage in the moment, but for their overall artistic contribution. The group expressed particular thanks to the municipality of Pićan for financial support for the trip, and noted that while the competition season is now over, further events are planned before the end of the year.

The international jury comprised Tomislav Čekolj, Ozren Bogdanović, and Branko Starc from Croatia, Katja Krolo-Šarac from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Martina Prevejšek from Slovenia.