Polyphony - Balkan Region

Balkan Region

Polyphonic singing in the Balkans is traditional folk singing of this part of southern Europe. It is also called ancient, archaic or old -style singing.

  • Byzantine chant
  • Ojkanje singing, in Croatia
  • Ganga singing, in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Epirote singing, in northern Greece and southern Albania (see below)
  • Iso-polyphony in southern Albania (see below)
  • Gusle singing, in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Albania
  • Lazarice singing, in Serbia
  • Woman choirs of Shopi and Pirin, in Bulgaria

Incipient polyphony (previously primitive polyphony) includes antiphony and call and response, drones, and parallel intervals.

The polyphonic singing tradition of Epirus is a form of traditional folk polyphony practiced among Albanians, Greeks, Aromanians and Macedonian Slavs in southern Albania and northwestern Greece. This type of folk vocal tradition is also found in the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria. Albanian polyphonic singing can be divided into two major stylistic groups as performed by the Tosks and Labs of southern Albania. The drone is performed in two ways: among the Tosks, it is always continuous and sung on the syllable ā€˜eā€™, using staggered breathing; while among the Labs, the drone is sometimes sung as a rhythmic tone, performed to the text of the song. It can be differentiated between two-, three- and four-voice polyphony.

The phenomenon of Albanian folk iso-polyphony (Albanian iso-polyphony) has been proclaimed by UNESCO a "Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity". The term "iso" refers to the drone, which accompanies the iso-polyphonic singing and is related to the ison of Byzantine church music, where the drone group accompanies the song.

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