Neço Muko (October 21, 1899 – 1934), also known as Neço Muko Himarjoti, was an

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

singer and composer. His musical style created a new genre of Albanian iso-polyphony music called ''avaz himariot'', or ''avaz himariotçe'', that became identified with the music of his home region

Himarë Himarë ( sq-definite, Himara; , ''Chimara'' or Χειμάρρα, ''Cheimarra'') is a Municipalities of Albania, municipality and region in Vlorë County, southern Albania. The municipality has a total area of and consists of the administrative ...

Life and work

Muko was born on October 21, 1899, in

, southern

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

(then

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

). After attending primary school, he travelled to the

Kingdom of Greece The Kingdom of Greece (, Romanization, romanized: ''Vasíleion tis Elládos'', pronounced ) was the Greece, Greek Nation state, nation-state established in 1832 and was the successor state to the First Hellenic Republic. It was internationally ...

to study in a technical institute. He returned to Albania in 1916, during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Muko learned by himself to play the violin and the mandolin and, in 1923, he started composing

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

s. In 1924, he moved to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, but in 1926 returned to Albania. In the town of

Sarandë Sarandë (; sq-definite, Saranda; ) is a List of cities and towns in Albania, city in the Republic of Albania and the seat of Sarandë Municipality. Geographically, the city is located on an open sea gulf of the Ionian Sea within the Mediterrane ...

, he founded a choral group named ''Pif-Paf''. In 1929 and 1930, he travelled again to

with his group to make recordings for

Pathé Records Pathé Records was an international record company and label and producer of phonographs, based in France, and active from the 1890s through the 1930s. Early years The Pathé record business was founded by brothers Charles and Émile Pathé, ...

, in which Albanian students studying in France took part. The group was composed by Koço Çakalli (marrës-1st voice), Pano Kokëveshi (kthyes-2nd voice), Neço Muko (hedhës-3rd voice as well a reciter of poetry), as well as a young Tefta Tashko-Koço. The recordings of the group increased his popularity in

southern Albania Southern Albania () is one of the three NUTS-2 Regions of Albania. It consists of five counties: Berat, Fier, Gjirokastër, Korçë and Vlorë. Combined, they have a population of 700,000 as of the 2023 census. The southwestern part of the c ...

and helped him establish his new genre the ''avaz himariot'' or ''avaz himariotçe''. Muko's best known song is ''Vajza e Valëve'' (), the poetical composition of which increased his reputation even more. In the 1920s, he also composed songs for well-known singers of Albanian urban music such as

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 ...

and Tefta Tashko-Koço. In 1932 Muko was diagnosed with

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

of which he died, two years later, on 12 December 1934.

Sources

Literature

** {{DEFAULTSORT:Muko, Neco 1899 births 1934 deaths People from Himara 20th-century Albanian male singers 20th-century Albanian musicians