   #copyright

Music of Albania

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Musical genres, styles,
eras and events

   Albanian drummers playing in the street of Prizren, Kosovo
   Enlarge
   Albanian drummers playing in the street of Prizren, Kosovo

   Albania is a Southeast European nation that was ruled by Enver Hoxha's
   communist government for much of the later part of the 20th century; it
   is now a democratic country. Even before Hoxha's reign began, Albania
   was long controlled by the Ottoman Empire and other conquering powers,
   leading to a diversity of influences that is common in the
   much-fragmented Balkan region and resulting in a diverse and unique
   musical sound. Albanians (and the ethnic-Albanian Kosovars of nearby
   Serbia) are commonly divided into three groupings: the northern Ghegs
   and southern Labs and Tosks. Turkish influence is strongest around the
   capital city, Tirana, while Shkodër has been long considered the centre
   for musical development in Albania.

   Music has always been a potent means of national expression for
   Albanians. Under Hoxha's regime, this was channeled into songs of
   patriotic devotion to the party; since the arrival of democracy in
   1991, lyrics have come to focus on long-suppressed traditions like
   gurbet (seeking work outside of Albania) and support for various
   political parties, candidates and ideas. Pop musicians have developed
   too, long banned under the socialists, with Ardit Gjebrea being
   foremost among them. Albanian popular music (këngë popullore) is
   generally based on Italian models.

   Folk music was encouraged to some degree under the socialist
   government, which promoted a quinquennial music festival at Gjirokastër
   provided that the musicians expressed frequent support for the party
   leaders. After the fall of socialism, Albanian Radio-Television
   launched a 1995 festival in Berat that has helped to continue musical
   traditions.

Characteristics

   Albania's political, military and cultural domination by outside
   elements has contributed to the country's modern music scene. Albanian
   music is a fusion of the musics of Southeastern Europe, especially that
   of the Ottoman Empire, which ruled Albania for more than 500 years.
   However, the Albanian people kept themselves culturally apart from the
   Ottomans, with many living in rural and remote mountains.

Folk music

   Albanian folk music falls into three sylistic groups, with other
   important music areas around Shkoder and Tirana; the major groupings
   are the Ghegs of the north and southern Labs and Tosks. The northern
   and southern traditions are contrasted by the "rugged and heroic" tone
   of the north and the "relaxed, gentle and exceptionally beautiful" form
   of the south. These disparate styles are unified by "the intensity that
   both performers and listeners give to their music as a medium for
   patriotic expression and as a vehicle carrying the narrative of oral
   history", as well as certain characteristics like the use of obscure
   rhythms such as 3/8, 5/8 and 10/8.

   Albanian folk songs can be divided into major groups, the heroic epics
   of the north, and the sweetly melodic lullabies, love songs, wedding
   music, work songs and other kinds of song. The music of various
   festivals and holidays is also an important part of Albanian folk song,
   especially those that celebrate St. Lazarus Day (the llazore), which
   inauguarates the springtime. Lullabies and laments are very important
   kinds of Albanian folk song, and are generally performed by solo women.

Halay

   Halay is a famous dance in the Middle East. It is a symbol for the
   tempestuous way of life in its place of origin, Anatolia. It is a
   national dance in Armenia and Turkey. The traditional form of the Halay
   dance is played on the Zurna, supported by a Davul. The dancers form a
   circle or line, while holding each other with the little finger. From
   Anatolia the Halay has spread to many other Regions, like Armenia or
   the Balkans.

Northern Albania

   The Ghegs from north of the Shkumbini River are known for a distinctive
   variety of sung epic poetry. Many of these are about Skanderbeg, a
   legendary 15th century warrior who led the struggle against the Turks,
   and the "constant Albanian themes of honour, hospitality, treachery and
   revenge". These traditions are a form of oral history for the Ghegs,
   and also "preserve and inculcate moral codes and social values",
   necessary in a society that, until the early 20th century, relied on
   blood feuds as its "primary means of law enforcement". Styles of epics
   include këngë trimash (songs of bravery), këngë kreshnikësh, ballads
   and maje krahi (cries). Major epics include Mujo and Halil and Halil
   and Hajrije.

   The most traditional variety of epic poetry is called Rapsodi Kreshnike
   (Poems of Heroes). These epic poems are sung, accompanied by a lahuta,
   a one-stringed fiddle. It is rarely performed in modern Albania, but is
   found in the northern highlands.

   Somewhat further south, around Dibër and Kërçovë in Macedonia, the
   lahuta is not used, replaced by the çifteli, a two-stringed instrument
   in which one string is used for the drone and one for the melody.
   Though men are the traditional performers, except for the Vajze të
   betuar, women have increasingly been taking part in epic balladry.

   Along with the def, çifteli and sharki are used in a style of dance and
   pastoral songs. Homemade wind instruments are traditionally used by
   shepherds in northern Albania; these include the zumarë, an unusual
   kind of clarinet. This shepherds' music is "melancholic and
   contemplative" in tone. The songs called maje-krahi are another
   important part of North Albanian folk song; these were originally used
   by mountaineers to communicate over wide distances, but are now seen as
   songs. Maje-krahi songs require the full range of the voice and are
   full of "melismatic nuances and falsetto cries".

Southern Albania

   Southern Albanian music is soft and gentle, and polyphonic in nature.
   Vlorë in the southwest has perhaps the most unique vocal traditions in
   the area, with four distinct parts (taker, thrower, turner and drone)
   that combine to create a complex and emotionally cathartic melody.
   Author Kim Burton has described the melodies as "decorated with
   falsetto and vibrato, sometimes interrupted by wild and mournful
   cries". This polyphonic vocal music is full of power that "stems from
   the tension between the immense emotional weight it carries, rooted in
   centuries of pride, poverty and oppression, and the strictly formal,
   almost ritualistic nature of its structure".

   South Albania is also known for funeral laments with a chorus and one
   to two soloists with overlapping, mournful voices. There is a prominent
   folk love song tradition in the south, in which performers use free
   rhythm and consonant harmonies, elaborated with ornamentation and
   melisma.

   The Tosk people are known for ensembles consisting of violins,
   clarinets, llautë (a kind of lute) and def. Eli Fara, a popular émigré
   performer, is from Korçë, but the city of Përmet is the centre for
   southern musical innovation, producing artists like Remzi Lela and
   Laver Bariu. Lela is of special note, having founded a musical dynasty
   that continues with his descendents playing a part in most of the major
   music institutions in Tirana.

   Southern instrumental music includes the sedate kaba, an
   ensemble-driven form driven by a clarinet or violin alongside
   accordions and llautës. The kaba is an improvised and melancholic style
   with melodies that Kim Burton describes as "both fresh and ancient",
   "ornamented with swoops, glides and growls of an almost vocal quality",
   exemplifying the "combination of passion with restraint that is the
   hallmark of Albanian culture."

   The ethnic Greek inhabitants of Dropulli, whose music is very similar
   to the music of Epirus in Greece. These Greek-Albanians have a rougher
   and more aggressive sound than other forms of Albanian music, and lack
   the polyphonic complexity, but otherwise the same scales and rhythmic
   patterns as the rest of the country.

Popular music

   The city of Shkodër has long been the cultural capital of Albania, and
   its music is considered the most sophisticated in the country. Bosnian
   sevdalinka is an important influence on music from the area, which is
   complex, with shifts through major and minor scales with an Turkish
   sound and a romantic and sophisticated tone. Traditional musicians from
   Shkodër include Bujar Qamili, Luçija Miloti, Xhevdet Hafizi and Bik
   Ndoja.

   Albania's capital, Tirana, is the home of popular music dominated by
   Romani influences and has been popularized at home and in emigrant
   communities internationally by Merita Halili, Parashqevi Simaku and
   Myslim Leli. In recent times, influences from Western Europe and the
   United States have led to the creation of bands that play rock, pop and
   hip hop among many other genres.

   The most successful Albanian pop artistes are Giovanni and Sebastian.
   They have had over twenty number one singles in their homeland. Whilst
   success outside of this country has been limited, Giovanni has enjoyed
   success with such artists as Barbara Streisand and Robin Gibb.
   Sebastian has produced a number of films, the most famous of which is
   the Albanian spoken remake of The Towering Inferno.

1930s art song

   The urban art songs of 1930s Albania can be traced back to the 19th
   century folk music of Albanian cities. These songs are a major part of
   Albania's music heritage, but have been little-studied by
   ethnomusicologists, who prefer to focus on the rural folk music that
   they see as being more authentically Albanian. Urban art songs are
   strongly influenced by the music of the Ottoman authorities who
   controlled Albania for a very long time, introducing elements of
   Turkish music, especially the Ottoman modal scales, to local folk
   styles. The northern part of Albania took more readily to Turkish music
   because both traditions use monophony, while the south of Albania has
   long been based on polyphony and a Greek modal system.

   Out of this melting pot of local and imported styles came a kind of
   lyrical art song based in the cities of Shkodra, Elbasan, Berat and
   Korça. Though similar traditions existed in other places, they were
   little recorded and remain largely unknown. By the end of the 19th
   century, Albanian nationalism was inspiring many to attempt to remove
   the elements of Turkish music from Albanian culture, a desire that was
   intensified following independence in 1912; bands that formed during
   this era played a variety of European styles, including marches and
   waltzes. Urban song in the early 20th century could be divided into two
   styles: the historic or nationalistic style, and the lyrical style. The
   lyrical style included a wide array of lullabies and other forms, as
   well as love songs.

   By the end of the 1930s, urban art song had been incorporated into
   classical music, while the singer Marie Kraja made a popular career out
   of art songs; she was one of Albania's first popular singers. The first
   recordings, however, of urban art song came as early as 1937, with the
   orchestral sounds of Tefta Tashko-Koço.

1950s and beyond

   Modern Albanian popular music uses instruments like the çifteli and
   sharki, which have been used in large bands since the Second World War
   to great popular acclaim; the same songs, accompanied by clarinet and
   accordion, are performed at small weddings and celebrations.

Albanian music in Macedonia and Kosovo

   Kosovo is an UN-Administrated part of Serbia with predominantly
   Albanian residents. There are also many Albanians in the Republic of
   Macedonia, especially around Lake Presp and Lake Ohrid. Prior to the
   Kosovo War, there was a thriving music industry in Kosovo, as well as
   in Macedonia. The Macedonian band Vëllezërit Aliu became well- known
   for the traditional vocal duets accompanied by drum box, electric bass,
   synthesizer and clarinet or saxophone.

   The Kosovar music industry was home to many famous musicians, often
   Roma, including Pristina's Mazllum Shaqiri and the more romantic, more
   elaborate Qamil i Vogël of Djakovica.

Classical music

   One pivotal composer in modern Albanian classical music was Mart Gjoka,
   who composed several vocal and instrumental music which uses elements
   of urban art song and the folk melodies of the northern highlands;
   Gjoka's work in the early 1920s marks the beginning of professional
   Albanian classical music. Later, the Albanian-American emigres Fan S.
   Noli and Murat Shendu achieved some renown, with Noli using urban folk
   songs in his Byzantine Overture and is also known for a symphonic poem
   called Scanderberg. Shehu spent much of his life in prison for his
   religious beliefs, but managed to compose melodramas like The Siege of
   Shkodër, The Red Scarf and Rozafa, which helped launch the field of
   Albanian opera. Other famous art composers include Thoma Nassi, Kristo
   Kono and Frano Ndoja. Preng Jakova became well-known for operas like
   Scanderbeg and Mrika, which were influenced by traditional Italian
   opera, the belcanto style and Albanian folk song. Undoubtedly the most
   famous Albanian composer, however, was Cesk Zadeja, known as the Father
   of Albanian classical music; he composed in many styles, from
   symphonies to ballets, beginning in 1956, and also helped found the
   Music Conservatory of Tirana, the Theatre of Opera and Ballet, and the
   Assembly of Songs and Dances.

   Later in the 20th century, Albanian composers came to focus on ballets,
   opera and other styles; these included Tonin Harapi, Nikolla Zoraqi,
   Thoma Gaqi, Feim Ibrahimi and Shpetim Kushta. Since the fall of the
   Communist regime, new composers like Aleksander Peii, Sokol Shupo,
   Endri Sina and Vasil Tole have arisen, as have new music institutions
   like the Society of Music Professionals and the Society of New Albanian
   Music.
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Albania"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
