Traditional Songs and Music of the Korce Region of Albania

This book is concerned with the repertory of traditional urban song and music of the Korce area in general and more specifically the karakteristike (characteristic) or ‘distinctive’ song associated with Korce city, Albania. The first half of the 20th century marked the climax of an evolution which started in the mid-19th century with the oral tradition of urban song in Korce. While the translation of ‘Kenga Karakteristike Korcare’ into ‘Korcare Distinctive Song’ seems to be an odd name for a genre, it is, however, a translation as close as possible to the original Albanian, denoting the characteristic songs of Korce. The term ‘characteristic’ implies peculiar or specific songs, different not only from the traditional urban song of Korce, but also from any kind of song, whether folk, popular, traditional urban or art, composed and performed among the Korce people. The book also introduces the Korcare urban song and urban lyric song, as well as the Saze music, which were introduced during the Ottoman domination of the Balkans.