Music of Afghanistan

Sornā and dohōl players, Herat, Afghanistan, 1977

The thought that immediately struck me when I dove head first into the music of Afghanistan without any expectations was that it sounds a lot like Indian music. The similarities range from common instrumentation to their system of composition and performance. They both use the kind of melodic type system called raga, they both incorporate improvisation as well as strict composition in performances, they both seem to have a great emphasis on rhythmic structure over melody, and so on. Several instruments found in both Afghan music and Indian music are very similar, and some even being shared between both such as the tabla drum. Initially I figured this would be primarily because of their geographical proximity to each other, both  located in a cultural region that ought to owe a great deal of its musical traditions to that of Persian modal music. The reason for their similar instrumentation could be attributed to Kabul's importance as a central trading hub of the Orient, meaning the people of Afghanistan would definitely be exposed to many of the instruments by means of the passing caravans.

From at least the During the 1860s, many of the professional royal court musicians had learned Hindustani classical music in India, and several were even descendents from India moved to Kabul. Possibly the most famous of them, often named the father of Afghan music, was Ustad Qasem. He supposedly earns this nickname for his pivotal roles in bringing about a new kind of Afghan music, although how this occurred I can not find any clear information on. It is, however, clear that this new music is in essence a style of Indian classical music with an Afghan flavour. It is said that he developed what is known as Kabuli ghazal, which in rough terms would be the equivalent of Persian and Afghan texts set to Hindustani classical music. Until the early 1900s, the Indian traditions remained mainly confined to the court King Amanullah, after which it began spreading to other cities. As it was subject to some of the earlier domestic radio broadcasts, it soon found its status as Afghan national music.

Diagram of the rubab.

Qasem was also an avid player of the national instrument of Afghanistan, the rubab. It is a lute-like instrument with three melody strings, three drone strings and several sympathetic strings. This is similar to the Indian sitar, and the rubab is often seen as a predecessor of the latter by a few hundred years. It seems to be featured in most of the recorded music I've listened to, and has a very pleasant sound. The sympathetic strings resonate to give it a slight metallic timbre, although not quite as sharp as that of the comparable sitar.  I would like to attribute the similarities between the Indian sitar and the Afghan rubab to their shared cultural heritage, likely an indication towards the idea that the music of Afghanistan and India has been similar in nature since long before recorded history.

There is one compilation of music that I found greatly interesting, called Afghanistan: Rediscovered Treasures (2007. Milan Records). Seemingly it is a collection of recorded modern performances of more traditional and tribal music, but the accompanying sleeve notes don't go into too much details about the compositions. Perhaps it is indicative of the Iranian influences? To my untrained ears, much of this music sounds a lot more like what one would typically consider Middle Eastern, occasionally even East European. There seems to be a lesser emphasis on rhythm, although the percussive membranophones are ever so present. The rhythmic patterns are shorter and more repetitive, with much less attention to the kind of elaborate cyclic structures otherwise found in music of Indian tradition and decent. Wind and bowed string instruments appear to be more prominent and play a greater role, while the drones and sympathetic string instruments have diminished in importance.

In the end, I have enjoyed the music I listened too, but at the same time I feel a slight disappointment in finding that Afghanistan does not have a very unique musical tradition of its own, but rather borrows much from other cultures. In addition to the influences that shine through so prominently, it's also a little saddening to find that like many Muslim nations, Afghanistan does not value music highly. It is mainly reserved for events, ofter religious in nature. I can definitely understand how this would inhibit the development of a rich tradition out of the plethora of cultural influences, through traders from all over the Orient, that must have had some impact on the history of Afghan music.

Music of Albania

Albanian dancers.

Albanian music traditions mainly date back to the early 20th century, when the Albanians declared

independence from the Ottoman empire upon which systems the local music had been founded previously.  Rural instrumental and vocal music was primarily based on local styles, performed by community members, while the urban music absorbed western art music as well as middle eastern music, and was often performed by professional ensembles. Later in the same century, the boundaries between rural and urban music would be blurred through the influence and spread of mass media and sponsored folk-ensembles.

Traditionally, women have had the larger repertoires, thematically concerned mostly with family life and surround events. On occasions such as births, weddings and circumcisions, female singers would perform associated ritual songs, and for the death of family members they would sing emotive laments. In the past, girls and women would sing to accompany work in the field or house, as well as for seasonal agricultural and pastoral events, although such practices have largely been abandoned. In contrast, men would have smaller repertoires of songs, dealing with important historical events or legendary heroes, such as the great warrior Skanderbeg who often appears in the epic-historical sung poems of the north.

Regional separation of Albania.

Albanians are generally separated into two major subgroups, the Ghegs who are north of Shkumbin river, and the Tosks south of it. They each have their own distinguished musical traditions, the north being predominantly monophonic while the south employs rich polyphonic styles.

In the north, the oldest styles of music are found in mountainous districts where both men and women sing loud and forceful music for the great outdoors, often in small ranges, and narrow, non-tempered intervals.  Women singers would often be very young, and performed metered music for dancing, often accompanied by the large frame drum, called def or daire. Men have their own distinctive styles, such as the kângë malësorçe or kângë majekrahi, used to communicate between mountain villages over large distances, not too dissimilar from alpine yodeling. Another common style of music for men was the kângë kreshnikësh or rapsodi, which were lengthy, epic-historical songs that would often include fantastical elements. Singers would accompany this with the single-stringed lute, lahüte, and was expected to demonstrate a manly and heroic demeanor representative of the lyrical subjects.

In lower-lying districts, closer to towns, features from middle-eastern music would be adopted, giving way for music of greater range of more complex forms, with lines resembling that of Ottoman melodic modes. This was accompanied by, most commonly, the çifteli, another lute-like instruments, but unlike the lahute it has two strings, one for melody and one for playing drones, and would also be used for dance melodies and virtuoso solo improvisations in addition to the role as accompaniment to sung poems.

In the south, polyphony is much more prevalent than in the north, quite possibly owing to singing's important role as a communal social activity. At gatherings, each adult is expected to participate in song by providing solo lines to multi-part songs, while others sing supporting lines or accompanying drones. Melodies are often of pentatonic quality, with diatonic ornamentation, and would always be performed vocally without instrumental accompaniment.

The two main types of polyphony employed in the south are both of iso-polyphonic nature, that is to say they consist of one main melodic line accompanied by drones, however some communities also perform two-part songs without drones. The first of these two is the Lab polyphonic style of Labëri country, which consists of two or three soloists singing in a homophonic way. The second is that of the Tosks, found in Myzeqe, Toskëri and Çamëri, as well as bordering regions, which is more complex in that it employs two soloists, laying forth interweaving melodies again over a drone. Traditionally, the women's songs such as laments, lullabies and seasonal ritual songs, have been performed in unison or solo.

While songs by men and women in the south have been similar in structure and form, they have generally had different executions in line with their respective expected behaviour and roles in society. Women would sing in metrical and subdued manners to illustrate their reserved and dignified social demeanor. Men, in contrast, were more energetic and dramatic, to demonstrate their extroverted demeanor and to be evocative of the heroic lyrical content of the majority of their repertoire. Their songs are in many cases not metrical, and would rather employ elastic rhythms, and would be performed using techniques such as portamento, melisma, vocal pulsing, yodeling and leaps into falsetto registers. These techniques are often said to be drawn from women's laments to infuse the men's style with nostalgia and a melancholy feeling. As men and women become older, however, their styles would draw elements from each other and become less distinguished from each other.

In both southern and northern urbal areas, instrumental ensembles are far more prominent than in the rural areas. These ensembles would primarily be reserved for men's gathering, however women's ensembles also existed to some extent. In the north, these ensembles would play locally created songs and dance tunes, based on the Ottoman musical systems, as well as Ottoman compositions and modal improvisations, while southern community ensembles performed music closer to local traditions and styles, often with a lead clarinet and violin exchanging interweaving pentatonic melodies. The southern ensembles were particularly renowned for their virtuoso solo improvisations for clarinet or violin.

Traditional musicians from Tirana, ca 1910,
playing the fiddle (left, middle) and çifteli (right).

Some instruments indigenous to Albania include the variety of aerophones employed by stock-breeders, most commonly end blown or duct flutes under several names. They are said to be used to calm animals or direct their behavior. These flutes are sometimes used to pla

y tunes and dance melodies at smaller gatherings. The single-reed pipe, called zumare, consists of two parallel pies attached to the horn of an animal. This can be attached to a leather bag to form a type of bagpipe, called bishnicë or mishnicë. Individual reed-pipes are sometimes played by two men in the same manner as polyphonic styles would be sung. The southern bagpipe, called gajde is, in contrast to the flute like aerophones, almost exclusively used in farming communities to accompany singing or dancing, occasionally with frame drum, rather than as a tool used in herding.