Albanian iso-polyphony

What it is

Iso-polyphony is singing in more than one melodic line at the same time. A group holds one long note, the iso, while solo voices move above it. The word iso is related to the Greek ison, the drone of Byzantine church music, and polyphony means several lines of melody at once. Singers often use plainer words for the drone: they hold the voice, make voice, or sing songs with a drone. At Albanian gatherings someone may call out, Beni iso, meaning do a drone.

Parts of a song

Researchers describe the music as building in layers. The leading voice is the marrës, the taker. The second is the kthyes, also called pritës, the turner. Next comes the iso, the held drone. In four-part songs a hedhësi, the launcher, joins last. A song may have two, three or four parts. Women alone sing the two-part songs. Men and women both sing three-part songs now, though tradition once kept them to men. Songs in four parts are a speciality of Labëria and count as the most elaborate form.

Where it is sung

Polyphonic song is part of life in all four southern Albanian regions: Lalëria in Myzeqe, Toskëria, Çamëria and Labëria. Singers use two Albanian musical dialects, Tosk and Lab. Labëria is especially known for many-part singing. Two-voice polyphony is found in many places, among them Gjirokastër, Dukat, Korçë, Librazhd, Pogradec, Kolonjë, Fier, Vlorë, Berat and Mallakastër. A related form of polyphonic singing is heard around Peshkopi, in Malësia, in parts of North Macedonia such as Tetovo, Kičevo and Gostivar, and among the Arbëreshë of Calabria.

Origins and debate

Many researchers trace the singing to the vajtim, the southern Albanian lament for the dead, which is sung by several voices. Some hold that polyphony in the Balkans is very old and reaches back to the Thraco-Illyrian era. Written evidence is scarce, so these views rest on study of the music still performed, not on documents. Features often cited are a pentatonic tonal structure, recitative passages, calls and shouts, and singing without instruments. The tradition is thought to have grown beside Byzantine church music while staying largely separate from it, carried by ordinary singers who did not read music.

Pleqërishte and the festival

One genre stands out. Pleqërishte is men's singing from Labëria, tied above all to Gjirokastër and its surroundings. The name carries two senses: of old men, and of the old time. The songs are slow, low and narrow in range. A third soloist, the hedhësi, gives the leading singer a chance to breathe. The group Pleqtë e Gjirokastrës is often described as the genre's last representative. Gjirokastër also holds the National Folklore Festival every five years in October, since 1968, where many polyphonic songs are performed.

How Albanian iso-polyphony is kept

A group of singers stands together, usually without instruments. The leading voice, the marrës, begins the words. The kthyes joins, then the drone singers hold the iso beneath. In four-part songs the hedhësi enters last, and after that the drone group repeats the leading singer's lines in different ways. Listeners and other singers may call out for a drone or urge the group to fill in. Two-part singing is done by women, three-part by men and women, and four-part by Labërian groups.

When and where

It is heard at Albanian occasions of music and singing through the year, rather than on one fixed date. The Gjirokastër National Folklore Festival, held every five years in October since 1968, gathers many polyphonic songs in one place.

The tradition belongs to southern Albania, where all four regions have polyphonic song: Lalëria in Myzeqe, Toskëria, Çamëria and Labëria. Labëria is the best known for it, and Gjirokastër is the city most closely tied to the pleqërishte genre. Related forms of polyphonic singing are found around Peshkopi, in Malësia, in parts of North Macedonia, and among the Arbëreshë of Calabria.

What Albanian iso-polyphony means

Those who keep it treat it as shared music rather than a solo performance. Voices support one another, and the held drone gives the melody a floor to stand on. Because researchers link the tradition to the vajtim, the lament for the dead, it carries weight in southern Albanian life. Singers describe it as something handed down through generations by ear, not written down, and it is still performed in villages and cities today.

Questions people ask about Albanian iso-polyphony

See also

TurbanCloth wound around the head, worn for faith, rank, shade and identitySembaA traditional style of music and partner dance from AngolaAgbadzaAn Ewe music and dance, born of war songs and kept for funerals, weddings and festivalsMusic of TuvaluRhythmic storytelling dances and choral singing from the Polynesian atolls of Tuvalu

Good reading and sources

• Albanian iso-polyphony on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.