The music of Albania ( sq, Muzika Shqiptare) is associated with the country of

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and share ...

and Albanian communities.

Music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

has a long tradition in the country and is known for its regional diversity, from the

Ghegs The Ghegs (also spelled as Gegs; sq, Gegët) are one of two major dialectal subgroups of Albanians (the other being the Tosks) They are also differentiated by minor cultural, dialectal, social and religious characteristics. The Ghegs live in ...

in the North to the

Tosks Tosks ( sq, Toskët) are one of two major dialectal subgroups of Albanians (the other being the Ghegs) differentiated by their cultural, linguistic, social and religious characteristics. Territory ''Tosk'' may refer to the Tosk-speaking Alb ...

in the South. It is an integral part of the national identity, strongly influenced by the country's long and turbulent

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

, which forced

Albanians The Albanians (; sq, Shqiptarët ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Ser ...

to protect their culture from their overlords by living in rural and remote mountains. Diverse Albanian

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...

includes

monophonic Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction (often shortened to mono) is sound intended to be heard as if it were emanating from one position. This contrasts with stereophonic sound or ''stereo'', which uses two separate audio channels to reproduc ...

and

polyphonic Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice, monophony, or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords, ...

styles, responses, choral, instrumental and vocal music. Each region has a unique musical tradition that reflects its history,

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...

and

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

. Polyphonic singing and song forms are primarily found in South Albania, while in the North they are predominantly monophonic. Albanian iso-polyphony has been declared an

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The

Gjirokastër National Folklore Festival Gjirokastër National Folklore Festival () is an artistic festival taking place every five years at Gjirokastër Castle in Gjirokastër, southern Albania. The festival was first held in 1968 and is regarded as the most important event in Albanian c ...

, held every five years in

Gjirokastër Gjirokastër (, sq-definite, Gjirokastra) is a city in the Republic of Albania and the seat of Gjirokastër County and Gjirokastër Municipality. It is located in a valley between the Gjerë mountains and the Drino, at 300 metres above sea ...

, is an important venue exhibiting traditional Albanian music. Albanian music extends to ancient

Illyria In classical antiquity, Illyria (; grc, Ἰλλυρία, ''Illyría'' or , ''Illyrís''; la, Illyria, ''Illyricum'') was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by numerous tribes of people collectively known as the Illyr ...

and

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cu ...

, with influences from the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

and

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

. It is evident in archeological findings such as arenas, odeons, theatre buildings and amphitheatres, all over Albania. The remains of temples, libraries, sculptures and paintings of ancient dancers, singers and musical instruments, have been found in territories inhabited by the ancient Illyrians and ancient Greeks. Church singing was performed throughout early

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

in Albania by choirs or soloists in

ecclesiastical {{Short pages monitor Fustanela_001

Southern Albanian music is soft and gentle, and polyphonic in nature with similarities with Greek music on

polyphonic song of Epirus The polyphonic song of Epirus is a form of traditional folk polyphony practiced among Albanians, Aromanians, Greeks and formerly among ethnic Macedonians in southern Albania and northwestern Greece. The polyphonic song of Epirus is not to be confus ...

Vlorë Vlorë ( , ; sq-definite, Vlora) is the third most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Vlorë County and Vlorë Municipality. Located in southwestern Albania, Vlorë sprawls on the Bay of Vlorë and is surrounded by the foo ...

in the southwest has perhaps the most unusual 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 ''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentou ...

and

vibrato Vibrato ( Italian, from past participle of " vibrare", to vibrate) is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. Vibrato is typically characterised in terms ...

, 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 Melisma ( grc-gre, μέλισμα, , ; from grc, , melos, song, melody, label=none, plural: ''melismata'') is the singing of a single syllable of text while moving between several different notes in succession. Music sung in this style is refer ...

. The Tosk people are known for ensembles consisting of

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitch ...

s, lahutë (a kind of

lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lute" can ref ...

) and def.

Eli Fara Eli Fara (; born 21 May 1967) is an Albanian singer. Prior to 2000, she was awarded the Merited Artist of Albania by the Government of Albania. Life and career Fara was born on 21 May 1968 into an Albanian family of Aromanian descent in t ...

, a popular émigré performer, is from

Korçë Korçë (; sq-definite, Korça) is the eighth most populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Korçë County and Korçë Municipality. The total population is 75,994 (2011 census), in a total area of . It stands on a plateau som ...

, but the city of

Përmet Përmet (; sq-definite, Permeti) is a city and municipality in Gjirokastër County, southern Albania. The municipality of Përmet consists of the administrative units of Çarçovë, Frashër, Petran, Qendër Piskovë and Përmet. The total popul ...

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 descendants playing a part in most of the major music institutions in Tirana. Southern instrumental music includes the sedate kaba, an ensemble-driven by a clarinet or violin alongside accordions and llautës. The Albanian ''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."

Laver Bariu Laver Bariu (; May 2, 1929 in Përmet – January 26, 2014), was an Albanian folk clarinetist This article lists notable musicians who have played the clarinet. Classical clarinetists * Laver Bariu * Ernest Ačkun * Luís Afonso * Cristian ...

and Remzi Lela are considered among the most influential Albanian

clarinetist This article lists notable musicians who have played the clarinet. Classical clarinetists * Laver Bariu * Ernest Ačkun * Luís Afonso * Cristiano Alves * Michel Arrignon * Dimitri Ashkenazy * Kinan Azmeh * Alexander Bader * Carl Baerma ...

s and best performers of the Albanian ''Kaba''. The ethnic

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

inhabitants of the country's southern parts, have a music very similar to the

music of Epirus The music of Epirus ( el, Μουσική της Ηπείρου), in Epirus (region), Epirus, northwestern Greece, present to varying degree in the rest of Greece and the islands, contains folk songs that are mostly Pentatonic scale, pentatonic an ...

in Greece.

Instrumentation

Instrumentation are an integral part of Albanian folk music, especially in the north. Those instruments can be divided into string,

wind Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few ...

and

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

categories. They vary from region to region and are used frequently throughout the entire country, performing both dance and instrumental polyphonic folk music. The

lahuta Lahuta may refer to: * Lahuta or gusle The gusle ( sr-cyrl, гусле) or lahuta ( sq, lahutë) is a single- stringed musical instrument (and musical style) traditionally used in the Dinarides region of Southeastern Europe (in the Balkans). ...

, a single-

stringed instrument String instruments, stringed instruments, or chordophones are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer plays or sounds the strings in some manner. Musicians play some string instruments by plucking the st ...

, is rooted in Albanian

epic poetry An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...

with emphasis on important historical and patriotic events from

. It is usually played only by men during winter evenings by the fireplace. The instrument is primarily widespread in the mountainous northern area of the country but can be also found in the center of the country. It is often made from a single wood block composed of various types of woods including

maple ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since h ...

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfam ...

and oak. The head of the lahuta is decorated with symbols of ancient cults such as the head of the capricorn, which is the symbol of the Helmet of Skanderbeg. Çiftelias

Çiftelia is a long necked stringed instrument and frequently used by

Gheg Albanian Gheg (also spelled Geg; Gheg Albanian: ''gegnishtja'', Standard sq, gegërishtja) is one of the two major varieties of Albanian, the other being Tosk. The geographic dividing line between the two varieties is the Shkumbin River, which winds ...

s in northeastern

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a international recognition of Kosovo, partiall ...

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = ...

and

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

. It is an integral part of northern traditional instrumental ensembles, commonly played in the context of northern wedding music. Fyell, also known as Zumare, is a similar instrument to a pennywhistle and is mostly played by shepherds in the north along with a shepherd's flute. The instrument contains five holes in each pipe and a bell. The melodies which are played with a fyell are

homophonic In music, homophony (;, Greek: ὁμόφωνος, ''homóphōnos'', from ὁμός, ''homós'', "same" and φωνή, ''phōnē'', "sound, tone") is a texture in which a primary part is supported by one or more additional strands that flesh ...

and sounds nasal as well as very strong and powerful.

Violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

a is usually used since the 19th century in both the northern and southern region. In the past, it was held in a vertical position like a violoncello or a lahuta but is not practised anymore. *

Clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitch ...

* Qypi * Surlja * Dajreja * Gajda * Lodra * Defi * Toubeleki * Albanian Bagpipe

Popular music

The city of Shkodra has long been one of the most important cultural centers of Albania, and its early 20th century music is considered one of the most sophisticated in the country. Traditional musicians from Shkodër include Bujar Qamili, Luçie Miloti, Xhevdet Hafizi and Bik Ndoja. Albania's capital, Tirana, is the home of popular music influenced by various different genres of music and is largely the result of the urbanization of Tirana as the capital city of Albania in the 1920'. It been popularised at home and in emigrant communities internationally by Merita Halili,

Parashqevi Simaku Parashqevi Simaku (born 1 September 1966, in Kavajë) is an Albanian singer noted for her work in the 1980s. She has won numerous awards and worked with some of the best composers and musicians in Albania. Simaku participated in Festivali i Kën ...

, and Myslim Lela. Other voices in contemporary Albanian music include

Vaçe Zela Vaçe Zela (; 7 April 19396 February 2014) was an Albanian singer and songwriter. She was a leading figure in the music industry and is considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century in Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia. Bor ...

and

Pavlina Nikaj Pavlina Nikaj (1931–2011) was an Albanian singer. Together with Anita Take and Pjetër Gjergji, she is considered the pioneer of the easy listening interpretation in Albania. Nikaj was born in Korçë, on 15 May 1931. She started her career as ...

of Tirana, and

Nexhmije Pagarusha Nexhmije Pagarusha (; 7 May 1933 – 7 February 2020) was a Kosovo-Albanian singer and actress, often referred to as the queen of Kosovan music. Pagarusha gained acclaim as a recording artist in Kosova and neighbouring countries for her distin ...

of Prishtina. Band of Freedom 1909

1930s Urban Song

The Albanian Urban Lyric Song is a tradition that started in Albania in the 18th century but culminated in the 1930s. These songs are a major part of Albania's music heritage, but have been little-studied by

ethnomusicologists Ethnomusicology is the study of music from the cultural and social aspects of the people who make it. It encompasses distinct theoretical and methodical approaches that emphasize cultural, social, material, cognitive, biological, and other dim ...

, who prefer to focus on the rural folk music that they see as being more authentically Albanian. Out of this

melting pot The melting pot is a monocultural metaphor for a heterogeneous society becoming more homogeneous, the different elements "melting together" with a common culture; an alternative being a homogeneous society becoming more heterogeneous throu ...

of local and imported styles came a kind of lyrical art song based in the cities of Shkodra,

Elbasan Elbasan ( ; sq-definite, Elbasani ) is the fourth most populous city of Albania and seat of Elbasan County and Elbasan Municipality. It lies to the north of the river Shkumbin between the Skanderbeg Mountains and the Myzeqe Plain in central ...

Berat Berat (; sq-definite, Berati) is the ninth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Berat County and Berat Municipality. By air, it is north of Gjirokastër, west of Korçë, south of Tirana, and east of Fier. Berat is located in ...

and Korça. Though similar traditions existed in other places, they were little recorded and remain largely unknown. Tefta Tashko Koço

By the end of the 19th century, Albanian

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...

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 like the Korçë-based Lira Chorus played a variety of European styles, including

march March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March ...

es and

waltz The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position. History There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the wa ...

es. 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. RoselaGjylbeguKM2009

In the early decade of the 1930s, urban art song had been incorporated into classical music, while the singer

Marie Kraja Marie Kraja or Marie Paluca (24 September 1911 – 21 November 1999) was an Albanian opera singer who is particularly known for her delivery of Albanian folk songs. Life Kraja was born in 1911 in Zadar, Kingdom of Dalmatia, then part of Aus ...

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 Tefta Tashko-Koço (; 2 November 191022 December 1947) was an Albanians, Albanian singer and soprano. She was a leading figure in the regional music industry and is considered one of the most influential personalities of the 20th century in the ...

1950s and beyond

Modern Albanian popular music uses instruments like the

çifteli The çifteli (çiftelia, qifteli or qyfteli , sq, "doubled" or "double stringed") is a plucked string instrument, with only two strings, played mainly by the Gheg people of northern and central Albania, Southern Montenegro, parts of North Mace ...

and sharki, which have been used in large bands since the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

to great popular acclaim; the same songs, accompanied by

and

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a ree ...

, are performed at small weddings and celebrations.

Tallava Tallava or Talava is a music genre originating from Albanian-speaking communities in Kosovo as well as in North Macedonia, with a presence in Albania. Having originated in the Roma community in Kosovo in the 1990s, it evokes regional Balkan musi ...

is a music genre originating in

, also popular in

and

, in the Albanian-speaking communities. Having originated in the Roma community in Kosovo in the 1990s, it is oriental-sounding, and perceived of as low-status. Nevertheless, it is becoming increasingly popular in Albania and North Macedonia. It is identified as part of the wider

Pop-folk Turbo-folk (sometimes referred as pop-folk or popular folk) is subgenre of contemporary pop music with its origins in Serbia, that initially developed during the 1980s and 1990s, with similar music styles in Bulgaria ( chalga), Romania ( mane ...

genre of the

Southeastern Europe Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe (SEE) is a geographical subregion of Europe, consisting primarily of the Balkans. Sovereign states and territories that are included in the region are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia (a ...

, which includes

Chalga Chalga (; often referred to as pop-folk, short for "popular folk" or ethno-pop, short for "ethnic pop") is a Bulgarian music genre. Chalga or pop-folk is essentially a folk-inspired dance music genre, with a blend of Bulgarian music (Bulgarian e ...

from Bulgaria,

Skiladiko Skiladiko or Skyladiko , ( gr, Σκυλάδικο), is a derogatory term to describe a branch of laiko music and some of the current nightclubs in Greece in which this music is performed. It also refers to the so-called "decadent" form of laiko ...

from Greece, Manele from Romania and Turbo-folk from Serbia.

Albanian music in North Macedonia and Kosovo

has been home to many important Albanian musicians, and the same can be said for North Macedonia. Prior to the

Kosovo War The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the war ...

, there was a thriving music industry in Kosovo, which reached new heights in recent years. The Kosovar music industry was home to many famous musicians, including the famous

, Ismet Peja and the romantic, more elaborate Qamili i Vogël of Gjakova. The Macedonian band Vëllezërit Aliu became well- known for the traditional vocal duets accompanied by drum box, electric bass, synthesizer and clarinet or saxophone. '' Gjurmët'' is one of the most famous and influential 1980s rock bands from

Pristina Pristina, ; sr, / (, ) is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. The city's municipal boundaries in District of Pristina, Pristina District form the largest urban center in Kosovo. After Tirana, Pristina has the second largest population o ...

Rock

Rock arrived in Albania, particularly in

, in 1950 with an American and British influence. The first distinctively Albanian rock band was Blue Star, founded in

Classical music

Opera

Palokë Kurti is usually said to be among the founders of Albanian opera. A native of Shkodër, he was a musical amateur who composed the Unity of Albania March (Bashkimi Shqipnis) in 1881. Another composer and also a priest, Martin Gjoka is also considered to be one of the most important founders of Albanian classical music. Gjoka is said to be the first Albanian musician who showed great interest in traditional Albanian folk music considerably that of the deep mountainous areas of the

north North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

of Albania that was less influenced by foreign music. During his lifetime, he composed several vocal and instrumental music using elements of urban art song and the folk melodies of the north. In the 19th and 20th century, Fan S. Noli and

Mikel Koliqi Mikel Koliqi (September 29, 1900 – January 28, 1997) was an Albanian cardinal and priest of the Roman Catholic Church. He was born and died in Shkodër (Shkodra), Albania. At the Time of his death he was the Oldest Member of the College of ...

contributed to the development of classical music culture in Albania. They achieved prominence, with Noli using urban folk songs in his ''

Overture'' and is also known for a symphonic poem called '' Scanderberg''. Koliqi spent much of his life in prison for his religious beliefs, but managed to compose

melodrama A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exce ...

s such as '' The Siege of Shkodër'', ''The Red Scarf'' and '' Rozafa''. Other pivotal composers in modern Albanian classical music were Thoma Nassi, Kristo Kono, Frano Ndoja and Lec Kurti who composed "Arbereshja" in 1915. Prenk Jakova became well known for operas including ''Scanderbeg'' and ''Mrika'', which were influenced by traditional

Italian opera Italian opera is both the art of opera in Italy and opera in the Italian language. Opera was born in Italy around the year 1600 and Italian opera has continued to play a dominant role in the history of the form until the present day. Many famous ...

, the belcanto style and Albanian folk music. Çesk Zadeja 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 middle of the 20th century, Albanian composers came to focus on

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form ...

s, opera and other styles; these included Tonin Harapi, Tish Daija, Nikolla Zoraqi, Thoma Gaqi, Feim Ibrahimi, Shpëtim Kushta and many others. Since the fall of the communism in Albania in the 21st century, composers like Aleksandër Peçi, ethnologist musician Ramadan Sokoli, Sokol Shup, Endri Sina, Pëllumb Vorpsi and Vasil Tole have arisen, as have new music institutions like the Society of Music Professionals and the Society of New Albanian Music. The contemporary opera artists such as Inva Mula, Ermonela Jaho and

Saimir Pirgu Saimir Pirgu (born 23 September 1981 in Elbasan) is an Albanian international opera singer (tenor). In 2014 he was awarded the Italian citizenship by the President of the Italian Republic Giorgio Napolitano. Biography He graduated in singing a ...

have achieved international recognition for their music.

Contemporary music

In Albania, the most prominent rock bands and individuals only appeared after 1990 as rock music was prohibited. However, youth groups found ways to listen it through clandestine channels.Miranda Vickers, James Pettifer
Albania: from anarchy to a Balkan identity
page 121 "...in the 1970s Beatles songs could only be heard in clandestine condition..." Furthermore, electronic music has become a mainstream music genre in Albania. Albanian artists and renowned DJs such as DJ Aldo, Vin Veli, DJ Sardi, Dj Tedd and others are successfully collaborating mainly with Italian and Romanian artists, while showcasing themselves in renown clubs in Tirana and in annual music festivals along the

Albanian Riviera The Albanian Riviera ( sq, Riviera shqiptare, ), also popularly known as Bregu, is a coastline along the Northeastern Ionian Sea in the Mediterranean Sea encompassing the districts of Sarandë and Vlorë in Southwestern Albania. It forms an impo ...

such as Turtle Fest and Soundwave Albania.

External links

Audio clip: traditional Albanian music.

Musée d'ethnographie de Genève The ' ("Geneva Ethnography Museum") is one of the most important ethnographic museums in Switzerland. History The MEG, or Geneva Museum of Ethnography, was founded on 25 September 1901, on the initiative of Professor Eugène Pittard (1867-1962), ...

. Accessed November 25, 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Music Of Albania Southern European music