A Play for Two

In Croatia, the folk art traditions of the Kvarner region, as well as of neighboring Istria and the Croatian littoral, are a rich and idiosyncratic combination of music, dance and song. 

Sopile (plural of sopila) are small wooden horns most closely identified with the Croatian island of Krk but used throughout the Kvarner region, comprised of the islands and shorelines of the Gulf of Kvarner, the body of water between the Istrian peninsula and the mainland Croatian littoral.

In Kvarner, Istria and the Croatian littoral, sopile are always played in pairs. The two sopile — a larger, fatter "male" instrument with a deeper tone and a smaller, thinner "female" instrument with a higher tone — are played together and to the same melody, except at high and low keys.

On Krk and surrounding islands, sopile were traditionally played during informal gatherings, often in the evenings when townspeople gathered together after mass. They were also played at weddings, masses and religious processions.