In the center of Tirana is the Natural History Museum, the
Statue of Skanderbeg, Et'hem Bey Mosque, and the opera house. We had the privilege
of attending a cultural event at the opera house this week.
We went to see a ballet, which I thought was going to be
more like women and men in tight pink suites on their tippy toes dancing to
classical music. I was completely wrong. The dancers were all dressed in
traditional Albanian garb and the music was traditional also. The music was performed
by a live group.
They used instruments such as the bouzouki, buzuq, tambora,
and sargija. These are all stringed instrument almost like a small guitar or
banjo. There were drums like the davul and dayereh which kept very specific rhythms
to Albanian music. There were reed instruments like the clarinet, which would
execute extremely melodic solos. The other reed instruments would play a
different melody giving the music a polyphonic sound at times. The director
himself was playing an accordion. He would lead and direct the music using his
head and facial expressions toward the band members. The music was mysterious,
inspiring, and extremely enjoyable. It made me want to dance, and sing; we all
clapped at various times during the performance.
The dancing was extremely impressive. There were many group
numbers in which the men and women would dance to their respective roles. There
were many traditional circle dances. Normally everyone would dance separate,
boys and girls, but there would always be one or two couples dancing together.
There were various numbers that told a story of love and adventure. The dances
were full of energy and the dancers and band members had smiles on the entire
time.
There were a few vocal pieces. One of which was an accapella
number. I was extremely impressed by the sound of the group. In the U.S. our
music is divided into whole and half steps. In Albania they have quarter steps
making their music sound very mysterious and intriguing. I absolutely love the
performance.
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