Ajdin Asllan - Valle Devolliçe 1923
Muzike Shqiptare e Drejtuar Prej Ajdin Asllan (Leskoviku)" reads the label to this slightly mysterious and certainly scarce 12″ 78rpm record on the American Mi-Re Rekord label. The sentence means, "Albanian Music Directed by Ajdin Asllan, of Leskoviku," and from there we can begin to delve into the music, and the record's origins. The piece, a duet featuring clarinet and lute (quite probably the Albanian llaute) is "Valle Devollice Me Gérneté" which translates in English to "Dance from Devoll, with clarinet." The Devoll River runs through southeastern Albania, very close to the Greek border, and through the Devoll District. The style of clarinet playing you'll hear on this piece, played by Mr. Asllan, is very similar to the style of playing in Epirus, the mountainous, sparsely populated, northern region of Greece which borders Albania. The boundaries of classical Epirus originally contained parts of southern Albania, so therefore it's no surprise to hear a direct similarity. In fact, the primary instrument in Epirotic folk music is the clarinet. In Greek Epirus, in turn, there's a strong history of vocal polyphony, similar to the kind associated with Albania. This is further proof, if we needed any, that political boundaries are so often meaningless when it comes to folkloric, musical traditions. In the case of "Valle Devollice," the interesting rhythms played on the llaute by an uncredited musician sound distinctly Albanian, not Greek-Epirotic. It's a jam, plain and <b>...</b>
Ajdin Asllan -- Valle Devollice albanian music muzik shqiptare
