Paloke Kurti
Encyclopedia
Palokë Kurti was an Albania
n composer, performer, and singer. A native of Shkodër
, he was a musical amateur who composed the Unity of Albania March (Bashkimi Shqipnis) in 1881.
Kurti took his first piano lessons by Italian musician Giovanni Canale. During his youth he was in contact with the aheng groups from which he learned their way of singing and also how to compose verses on bejtexhi style. He took his first music lessons from Giovanni Canale. He joined the Shkodra band in 1878 and two years later became its bandmaster. After the Bashkimi Shqipnis March he also composed several marches, polkas and mazurkas in the Mittel European tradition. However the compositions related to national music are the ones that will make him important in the history of music of Albania.
Kurti composed two potpourri
s on Shkodrane urban popular songs called "The Musical Entertainment of our Forefathers", the second of which in F Major. In this potpourri he uses an entirely diatonic modal language and a tonal harmony (unlike in Potpourri 1 which uses non-diatonic modes of the makam
type). According to Koco he is doing this on purpose so that the local music was purged by Oriental sounds, but sounded more Western.
Kurti composed the songs and also wrote the texts of the songs. Several songs that have been composed by Kurti have survived but many survive without attribution.
He was exiled for two years, probably for political reasons. After his return to Shkodër in the 1890s his main occupation was composing. He was exiled two more times the last time to Corfu
in 1919. Exhausted, he died in 1920 and his burial was followed by a multitude of people form his native town.
His value remains for a very skillful and mastery combination of oriental and western music.
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
n composer, performer, and singer. A native of Shkodër
Shkodër
Shkodër , is a city located on Lake of Shkoder in northwestern Albania in the District of Shkodër, of which it is the capital. It is one of the oldest and most historic towns in Albania, as well as an important cultural and economic centre. Shkodër's estimated population is 90,000; if the...
, he was a musical amateur who composed the Unity of Albania March (Bashkimi Shqipnis) in 1881.
Kurti took his first piano lessons by Italian musician Giovanni Canale. During his youth he was in contact with the aheng groups from which he learned their way of singing and also how to compose verses on bejtexhi style. He took his first music lessons from Giovanni Canale. He joined the Shkodra band in 1878 and two years later became its bandmaster. After the Bashkimi Shqipnis March he also composed several marches, polkas and mazurkas in the Mittel European tradition. However the compositions related to national music are the ones that will make him important in the history of music of Albania.
Kurti composed two potpourri
Potpourri (music)
Potpourri or Pot-Pourri is a kind of musical form structured as ABCDEF..., the same as medley or, sometimes, fantasia. It is often used in light, easy-going and popular types of music....
s on Shkodrane urban popular songs called "The Musical Entertainment of our Forefathers", the second of which in F Major. In this potpourri he uses an entirely diatonic modal language and a tonal harmony (unlike in Potpourri 1 which uses non-diatonic modes of the makam
Makam
Makam In Turkish classical music, a system of melody types called makam provides a complex set of rules for composing and performance...
type). According to Koco he is doing this on purpose so that the local music was purged by Oriental sounds, but sounded more Western.
Kurti composed the songs and also wrote the texts of the songs. Several songs that have been composed by Kurti have survived but many survive without attribution.
He was exiled for two years, probably for political reasons. After his return to Shkodër in the 1890s his main occupation was composing. He was exiled two more times the last time to Corfu
Corfu
Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...
in 1919. Exhausted, he died in 1920 and his burial was followed by a multitude of people form his native town.
His value remains for a very skillful and mastery combination of oriental and western music.