Bërbili

Situated at the nexus of the Romantic and Slavic worlds, yet with their roots in Albania, the songs of the Arbanasi people convey a sense of this meeting of cultures and a yearning for a lost homeland. Croatian musicians Dina Bušić and Melita Ivković have breathed new life into a musical tradition that, like the language itself, is at a critical juncture between survival or death.

The overall sound of this recording is sparse yet intimate, giving it an undiluted feel and bringing the listener closer to the story of those 17th-century Albanian Catholics who fled persecution to settle in Croatia and Italy. The Arbanasi dialect reflects these journeys, mirrored again in the instrumentation of this album: saz (long-necked lute) and classical guitar linking the voice to both East and West. Indeed, the Turkish melody ‘Kƒtibim’ is used in the title-track, while others appear to draw from the tarantella tradition of southern Italy. The overriding sensation from these songs is one of nostalgia tinged with regret. Even the more hopeful sounding ‘So Edua Nanën’ is really a nursery rhyme, indicating a certain pining inherent in Arbanasi music, or at least in the curation of this fascinating album.