overview
The Republic of Albania, abbreviated as Albania, is located on the west coast of the Balkan Peninsula in southeastern Europe. Historians mostly believe that the ancestors of the Albanians were Illyrians. They had established a kingdom in the 3rd century BC. The Romans were determined to conquer the kingdom in order to rid themselves of the threat posed by the Illyrians to their trading fleet. In 167 BC, Albania was occupied. In the centuries that followed, the country was invaded repeatedly.
The Republic of Albania is located on the western coast of the Balkan Peninsula in Southeastern Europe
The most profound impact on Albania was the invasion of the Turks. The Turkish Ottoman military invasion began in 1385. At that time one Albanian prince had a dispute with another, and one of them wanted to resort to the Ottomans. In this way, the Ottomans were able to exercise their rule in Albania for a long time. The main resistance they encountered was the resistance led by George Castellotti, i.e. Skanderbebe. Skanderbeg was a well-known Albanian who was taken hostage by the Turkish sultan, received an Islamic education, served in the Turkish army, and received high military ranks. Later, after escaping from the army and returning to his homeland, he publicly renounced the Islamic faith, converted to Catholicism, and led the national resistance against the Turks, which fought for a quarter of a century. With his death in 1468, the last efforts against Islam in Albania came to an end. Since then, Albania has been under the jurisdiction of the Ottoman Empire. After the First Balkan War in 1912, Albania declared independence on November 28 with the support of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Albanian People's Republic was proclaimed on January 11, 1946. It was renamed the Socialist People's Republic of Albania on December 28, 1976 and the Republic of Albania on April 26, 1991.
Albanian folk bass polyphonic music was inscribed on the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2005
Introduction
Albanian folk bass polyphonic music was inscribed on the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2005. It is a traditional music from Europe and the United States and Albania. It is widely used in various social events, such as weddings, funerals, harvest celebrations, religious ceremonies and festivals.
Polyphonic music refers to a type of "multi-part music". A work that contains two or more independent melodies, which are harmoniously combined through technical processing, is called polyphonic music. Polyphonic music has a long history, with the earliest polyphonic music in medieval church chant, where monks chanted different melodies on different parts while singing carols. Relative to key music. Polyphonic music focuses on the melodic nature of each voice, and there is no distinction between the voices to contrast or complement each other. Polyphonic music was first produced in Western Europe in the 9th century, and Organon developed its earliest form to the second half of the 15th century ~ the 16th century to reach its peak, which can be described as its golden age, and the outstanding representative is the a cappella of Palestrina; in the 18th century, under the condition that the structure and technique of polyphonic music creation tend to be perfected, J.S. Bach developed the instrumental fugue form to the extreme, setting a model of instrumental polyphonic music technology; in the second half of the 18th century, the dominance of polyphonic music began to be gradually replaced by major key music. Important polyphonic genres include scripture songs, chantains, polyphonic masses, canon, polyphonic chansons, canzona, fugues, etc
Traditional Albanian polyphonic music can be divided into two main styles
Traditional Albanian polyphonic music can be divided into two main styles: the performance style of the Ghegs of Northern Albania, and the performance style of the Labs people who live in southern Albania. The main guide to the parallel polyphonic music of the Tosks and Lebs of Albania. The form to which the word "Iso" refers is related to the Byzantine church music "ison", specifically referring to the bass voice, that is, the polyphony of the backing voice. There are two ways in which this type of voice is performed: in the Tusquees, the word "sigh" is often used to keep the bass continuous, and in the Lace performance, the bass is sometimes sung in rhythmic tones to accompany the lyrics. The two-part, three-part, and four-part polyphony varies. Two-part parallel polyphony is the simplest form of Albanian polyphonic music and is prevalent throughout the region of Southern Albania. Parallel polyphony is mainly performed by men, but there are also a few female singers.
This kind of music is widely used in various social activities
Event format
This music is widely used in various social activities, such as the famous Albanian folk festival "Gjirokastra". As a singing form, Albanian polyphony consists of three parts: two solo parts, a melodic part and a counterpoint melody that accompanies the low part of the chorus. A less common four-part singing structure, which is only seen in the music of the Lebus. This format also consists of two solo sections, but is accompanied by a double bass voice, a chorus section and a solo section. The structure of the solo part varies depending on the way the bass is sung, but there is a great deal of variation between the two bass types, especially the sustain style, which is popular among all the performing groups of this genre.
Over the past few decades, increasing cultural tourism and the growing interest of research groups in this endemic national tradition have contributed to the revival of parallel polyphony in Albania.