[{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/wiki.edu.vn\/en\/wiki24\/albanian-iso-polyphony-wikipedia\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/wiki.edu.vn\/en\/wiki24\/albanian-iso-polyphony-wikipedia\/","headline":"Albanian iso-polyphony – Wikipedia","name":"Albanian iso-polyphony – Wikipedia","description":"Traditional folk singing technique Albanian iso-polyphony is a traditional part of Albanian folk music and, as such, is included in","datePublished":"2018-10-03","dateModified":"2018-10-03","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/wiki.edu.vn\/en\/wiki24\/author\/lordneo\/#Person","name":"lordneo","url":"https:\/\/wiki.edu.vn\/en\/wiki24\/author\/lordneo\/","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c9645c498c9701c88b89b8537773dd7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c9645c498c9701c88b89b8537773dd7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Enzyklop\u00e4die","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/wiki.edu.vn\/wiki4\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/download.jpg","url":"https:\/\/wiki.edu.vn\/wiki4\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/download.jpg","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/wiki.edu.vn\/wiki4\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/download.jpg","url":"https:\/\/wiki.edu.vn\/wiki4\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/download.jpg","width":100,"height":100},"url":"https:\/\/wiki.edu.vn\/en\/wiki24\/albanian-iso-polyphony-wikipedia\/","about":["Wiki"],"wordCount":2646,"articleBody":"Traditional folk singing techniqueAlbanian iso-polyphony is a traditional part of Albanian folk music and, as such, is included in UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list.[1]All four regions of southern Albania\u2014Lal\u00ebria (Myzeqe), Tosk\u00ebria, \u00c7am\u00ebria, and Lab\u00ebria\u2014have polyphonic song as part of their culture. A related form of polyphonic singing is found in northern Albania, in the area of Peshkopi; Polog, Tetovo, Ki\u010devo and Gostivar in North Macedonia; and Mal\u00ebsia in northern Albania and southern Montenegro.[2]Lab\u00ebria is particular well known for multipart singing; songs can have two, three, or four parts. Two-part songs are sung only by women. Three-part songs can be sung by men and women. Four part songs are a Lab\u00ebrian specialty. Research has shown that four-part songs developed after three-part ones, and that they are the most complex form of polyphonic singing.[3]The Gjirokast\u00ebr National Folklore Festival, Albania, (Albanian: Festivali Folklorik Komb\u00ebtar), has been held every five years in the month of October since 1968, and it typically includes many polyphonic songs.[4]Table of ContentsGeographic distribution[edit]Evolution[edit]Pleq\u00ebrishte[edit]See also[edit]References[edit]Citations[edit]Literature[edit]Bibliography[edit]External links[edit]Pleq\u00ebrishte[edit]Geographic distribution[edit]The Albanian polyphonic traditional music is performed in two dialects of Albanian: Tosk and Lab. The Tosk musical dialect comprises the Albanian ethnographic regions of Tosk\u00ebria, Myzeqeja, and Cham\u00ebria, while the Lab musical dialect comprises Lab\u00ebria.Many scholars who have studied the Albanian iso-polyphony and in general the polyphonic music of the Balkans consider it an old tradition that dates back to the Thraco-Illyrian era. There is a lack of historical documentation of the Albanian polyphonic traditional music. However, since it is considered the product of oral transmission down many generations, scholars came to their conclusions by analyzing this musical tradition that continues to be performed in modern days. There are found many specific features of the Albanian polyphonic tradition that indicate its ancient origin: the pentatonic modal\/tonal structure, which is widely thought by scholars to represent an early beginning to the musical culture of a people; the presence of recitative vocals, because when the melody of the vocals is not developed, the tradition is thought to be in a more primitive phase; the presence of calls and shouts, which indicates a primitive phase of development in the musical culture of a people; the a cappella singing style, which suggests an old age of a musical tradition since it lacks of instrumental accompaniment.Although the region was under the dominion of the Byzantine Empire for many centuries, the Balkan polyphonic traditional music had a different development than medieval Byzantine music. The Balkan tradition was non-institutionalized and has been continually collectively formed, while the Byzantine music was created by individual composers and was institutionalized. The Balkan tradition has been transmitted orally down the generations, and its performers were common people musically illiterate, while the Byzantine music was widely documented, and has been performed by professionals who were trained and educated. The two musical traditions lived side by side for centuries, therefore they would have had a mutual influence on each other. However, it is thought that the interaction between the Albanian polyphonic traditional music and the Byzantine music has been relatively small.Evolution[edit]Albanian polyphonic traditional music is thought to have been composed in its beginnings of only two melodic lines: the taker (Albanian: marr\u00ebs – 1st voice) and the turner (Albanian: kthyes or prit\u00ebs – 2nd voice). The turner likely played initially a non-specific melodic role, a style that can still be found in the two-voiced polyphonic singing of the women in Gjirokast\u00ebr. It is thought that over time the turner have gradually become more precisely defined melodically; the tradition of two-voiced (taker and turner) in which the turner plays a clearly defined melodic role is found today among the men of Dukat. Although it is typical in Gjirokaster and Dukat, two voice iso-polyphony can be found in many Albania areas, such as in  Korc\u00eb, Librazhd, Pogradec, Kolonj\u00eb, Fier, Shpat i Sip\u00ebrm of Elbasan, Myzeqe, Vlor\u00eb, Berat, Mallakast\u00ebr, Gjirokast\u00ebr, Lunxh\u00ebri, as well as in Albanian speaking areas of Zajas, Ki\u010devo and Tetovo. The two voice iso-polyphony can also be found in the Arb\u00ebresh\u00eb of Calabria. According to scholar Vasil Tole thinking about the two voice polyphony as a first stage of the development of the iso-polyphony is incorrect, because the two voices actually play three voices, so the two voice iso-poliphony is a “hidden” way of a three voice iso-polyphony.The next melodic line to evolve into Albanian traditional polyphony is thought to have been the drone (Albanian: iso), which seems to have adapted naturally to the two previous melodic lines, giving rise to the three-voiced polyphony. The introduction of the drone was a significant artistic achievement because it brought the diversification and the enrichment of the harmonic interplay between melodic lines. The drone is very common in today’s Albanian polyphonic tradition, and it is rare to find varieties without it nowadays. Although currently the three voice iso-polyphony can be found in mixed gender musical groups, traditionally it was sung only by men. The areas where the three voice polyphony is typical are those of Skrapar, Gramsh, Devoll, Gjirokast\u00ebr, Kolonj\u00eb, Sarand\u00eb, and Vlor\u00eb.The last melodic line to evolve into Albanian traditional polyphony was the launcher (Albanian: hedh\u00ebsi – 3rd voice), which gave rise to the four-voiced polyphony. The introduction of the launcher marked an increasing artistic sophistication, however it did not essentially change the vocal harmony and interplay. Being completely absent in Tosk\u00ebria, Myzeqeja, and Cham\u00ebria, the four-voiced polyphony exists only in Lab\u00ebria, where it is found along with the more common three-voiced style. The consolidation of the four voice method iso-polyphony is due to Ne\u00e7o Muko in his recordings in the 1920s-1930s.Pleq\u00ebrishte[edit]Pleq\u00ebrishte is a genre of Albanian folk iso-polyphony sung by men in Lab\u00ebria and is principally identified with the city of Gjirokast\u00ebr and its environs. The genre is characterized by a slow tempo, low pitch and small range.Pleq\u00ebrishte means both “of old men” and “of the old time” in reference to the mode of singing and the lyrical themes of part of their songs respectively. In relation to these subjects pleq\u00ebrishte songs are also called lasht\u00ebrishte (“of the ancient time”), a term used exclusively in Gjirokast\u00ebr.[15] These specific topics have largely fallen into public disuse over the years but remain thematically notable.Songs of the genre adhere to a slow tempo and low pitch with little vocal variation as opposed to genres such as djemurishte (“of young men”) in particular.[16]As all fourth-part genres they feature a third soloist (hedh\u00ebs). While in other four-part genres the hedh\u00ebs mainly assumes the role of secondary drone a minor third above the keynote, in pleq\u00ebrishte the hedh\u00ebs relieves the first soloist (marr\u00ebs) and allows him to take a breathing break.[15] Each rendition begins with the singing of the first lines by the marr\u00ebs and the introduction of the second soloist (kthyes) and finally the hedh\u00ebs. After the hedh\u00ebs, the marr\u00ebs’s lyrics are repeated by the drone group in various forms and manners.Pleq\u00ebrishte songs are exemplified in the repertory of the folk group Pleqt\u00eb e Gjirokastr\u00ebs sometimes regarded as the “last representative” of the genre.[15][17] One of the best-known songs of the genre and most notable renditions of the group is Doli shkurti, hyri marsi, which details a battle between \u00c7er\u00e7iz Topulli and Ottoman troops in 1908 in the village of Mashkullor\u00eb near Gjirokast\u00ebr.See also[edit]References[edit]Citations[edit]^ “UNESCO Culture Sector – Intangible Heritage – 2003 Convention”. Unesco.org. Retrieved 2013-09-22.^ Ardian Ahmedaja, Gerlinde Haid (2008). European voices: Multipart singing in the Balkans and the Mediterranean, Volume 1, p. 210, 243-44. ISBN\u00a09783205780908.^ Ahmedaja, Haid (2008), p.214-215^ Ahmedaja, Haid (2008), p.241^ a b c Ahmedaja, Ardian; Haid, Gerlinde (2008). European Voices: Multipart singing in the Balkans and the Mediterranean. B\u00f6hlau Verlag Wien. pp.\u00a0218\u20139. ISBN\u00a09783205780908. Retrieved 1 March 2013.^ Stockmann, Doris; Erich Stockmann (1963). “Die vokale Mehrstimmigkeit in S\u00fcd-Albanien”. Les Colloques de Wegimont. Cercle Internationale d’\u00c9tudes Ethno-musicologiques. 171: 104.^ Tole, Vasil. “Inventory of performers on iso-polyphony” (PDF). UNESCO. p.\u00a0121. Retrieved 1 March 2012.Literature[edit]Tole, Vasil (2014), Enciklopedia e iso-polifonis\u00eb popullore shqiptare (in Albanian)Bibliography[edit]External links[edit]Pleq\u00ebrishte[edit]"},{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https:\/\/wiki.edu.vn\/en\/wiki24\/#breadcrumbitem","name":"Enzyklop\u00e4die"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https:\/\/wiki.edu.vn\/en\/wiki24\/albanian-iso-polyphony-wikipedia\/#breadcrumbitem","name":"Albanian iso-polyphony – Wikipedia"}}]}]