Albanian iso-polyphony is a traditional form of group singing from southern Albania in which two solo voices, a melody and a countermelody, are carried over a drone (the iso) held by the rest of the group. According to UNESCO, it is mainly sung by men at weddings, funerals, harvest feasts, religious celebrations and festivals. UNESCO proclaimed it a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2005 and inscribed it on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008.
In July 2026 the tradition reached a much larger audience when Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey credited an iso-polyphonic group from Delvinë in its score. This guide explains how the singing works, where it is sung, how it was recognized, and what is actually on the record about its role in the film. For instruments, the lahuta and the wider picture, see our guide to Muzikë tradicionale shqiptare.
How iso-polyphony works
The word iso is related to the ison of Byzantine church music and refers to the drone that accompanies the singing, as UNESCO notes. Above that drone, soloists take turns leading and answering. The music is built on a pentatonic scale and can be in two, three or four parts, as described in AramcoWorld’s 2023 report from Gjirokastër.
Each voice has a name. The terms vary from village to village and from source to source, so the table below gives the common forms and the alternatives you may see.
| Part | Literal meaning | Rol | Other names seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marrës (marrësi) | “Taker” | First soloist. Starts the song and sets the melody. | Ia merr (“takes it”) |
| Kthyes (kthyesi) | “Turner” | Second soloist. Answers or takes over from the lead with a countermelody. | Pritës, prerës (“cutter”) |
| Hedhës (hedhësi) | “Thrower” | Third soloist, found in four-part songs. Takes the solo next or relieves the lead. | Sometimes counted as the fourth voice |
| Iso | “Drone” | The group holds a sustained tone under the soloists. | “E mbajnë zë” (“they hold the voice”) |
Sources for the table: the “taker, turner, thrower” translations follow AramcoWorld; the variants pritës and “e mbajnë zë” come from Wikipedia’s summary of the scholarship; and the record label Glitterbeat uses prerës for the second line.
Tosk and Lab styles
Scholars usually divide southern Albanian polyphony into four areas: Toskëria, Myzeqe, Çamëria and Labëria. Ethnomusicologist Ardian Ahmedaja groups these into two broad styles, Tosk (including Myzeqe and Çamëria) and Lab, as summarized by Wikipedia. The clearest difference is the drone. UNESCO describes it this way: among the Tosks the drone is always continuous, sung on the syllable “e” with staggered breathing, while among the Labs it is sometimes sung as a rhythmic tone, to the words of the song.
| Karakteristikë | Tosk style (Toskëria, Myzeqe, Çamëria) | Lab style (Labëria) |
|---|---|---|
| Drone | Continuous, on the syllable “e”, with staggered breathing | Sometimes rhythmic, sung to the text |
| Number of parts | Two or three | Two, three or four; four-part singing is found only here |
| Typical places | Toskëria (for example Skrapar, Gramsh, Devoll), the Myzeqe plain, Çamëria | Labëria, the mountain region around Gjirokastër and inland from Vlorë |
| Main sources | UNESCO (drone); Wikipedia summarizing Ahmedaja and Tole (parts and places) | |
In Labëria, two-part songs are traditionally sung by women, and the four-part form is a regional specialty, according to Wikipedia. Singers and listeners also hear differences between towns: in AramcoWorld’s report, mountain Gjirokastër is associated with louder, deeper singing and seaside Vlorë with quieter, higher singing. The Tosk and Lab labels match the wider dialect split explained in our guide to Gegë kundrejt Toskë.
Iso-polyphony began as unaccompanied singing. When tempered instruments reached the region in the late 19th century, small bands called saze took over the same structure, with clarinet and violin playing the lead parts and the lute holding the iso, as Glitterbeat explains in its notes on southern Albanian music.
Where it comes from and where it is sung
Today the tradition is strongest in southern Albania, in districts such as Gjirokastër, Vlorë, Delvinë, Sarandë, Skrapar, Gramsh and Devoll. Related multipart singing is also documented among Albanian communities in North Macedonia (around Tetovo, Gostivar and Kičevo) and among the Arbëresh of southern Italy, according to Wikipedia. Groups from Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Greece traveled to the 2023 festival in Gjirokastër, AramcoWorld reported.
Across the border, Greece has its own living tradition, the polyphonic song of Epirus, centered on areas such as Pogoni. Wikipedia describes it as practiced among Albanians, Aromanians, Greeks and others in southern Albania and northwestern Greece. In 2020 UNESCO selected the Greek project “Polyphonic Caravan”, which researches and promotes the Epirus polyphonic song, for its Register of Good Safeguarding Practices. For background on the communities involved, see Shqiptarët në Greqi dhe Chameria and the Cham Albanians.
Theories of origin
There is little written history for this music, so theories rest mostly on the living practice. Several are in circulation, and none is settled:
- Very ancient roots. Some scholars, including Spiro Shetuni and Aleksandar Stipčević, date Balkan polyphony back to Illyrian or Thraco-Illyrian times, as summarized by Wikipedia. Vasil Tole’s hypothesis, reported by AramcoWorld, is that it predates the Romans.
- Roots in lament. Tole has also linked iso-polyphony to the vajtim, the southern Albanian lament for the dead (Wikipedia, citing Tole 2022).
- Byzantine links. Emri iso comes from the Byzantine ison, per UNESCO. Shetuni argues the mutual influence between folk polyphony and Byzantine church music was relatively small, while some writers on the Epirus tradition see Byzantine influence (Wikipedia).
UNESCO recognition
UNESCO proclaimed Albanian folk iso-polyphony a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2005. In 2008 it was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, at the third session of the Intergovernmental Committee, according to the UNESCO listing. The composer and ethnomusicologist Vasil Tole prepared the dossier that supported the recognition, AramcoWorld reported.
UNESCO also lists the threats: poverty, little legal protection or financial support for practitioners, and young people leaving villages for cities or other countries. It notes that transmission now relies largely on professional folk artists rather than families.
Festivali Folklorik Kombëtar i Gjirokastrës
The festival in Gjirokastër is the tradition’s best-known stage, and UNESCO mentions it by name. The first edition was held in Gjirokastër in October 1968. The 1995 edition took place in the citadel of Berat, and the festival returned to Gjirokastër in 2000, according to Wikipedia. The festival is meant to be held every five years, but the most recent edition, from June 24 to July 1, 2023, came eight years after the previous one because of COVID-19 delays. AramcoWorld reported more than 1,200 artists over eight days, with opening night at Gjirokastër Castle.
Gjirokastër also has a small iso-polyphony museum, opened in 2022 by producer Edit Pula in Cold War bunkers below the castle, with a “sound tunnel” that plays recordings, per the same report.
Iso-polyphony in The Odyssey (2026)
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey opened in July 2026 with a score by Swedish composer Ludwig Göransson. In an interview with Vulture published July 14, 2026, Göransson described traveling to southern Albania. As quoted by BalkanWeb, he said he “spent a week recording an ancient style of singing, called iso-polyphony.” Gazeta Express, also citing Vulture, reported that sessions with shepherd musicians ended by 6 p.m. because they woke at 4 a.m. to tend their sheep.
The published music credits, listed by Film Music Reporter, name three Albanian contributors:
- Të rinjtë e Delvinës (the Young Men of Delvina): “Traditional Iso-Polyphonic Songs Arranged & Performed.”
- Vendim Kapaj: featured soloist on the fyell, the shepherd’s flute.
- Vasil S. Tole: ethnomusicologist.
Kapaj, from Vlorë, told Report TV that he recorded alone on the fyell and the double flute (culë dyjare) in a session of about five hours at the Kus-Baba Tekke in Vlorë, as reported by Shqiptarja.com. Tole said he joined the expert group at Göransson’s invitation and called the inclusion a worldwide confirmation of the folk music of Labëria and Toskëria, in a statement reported by Shqiptarja.com.
The soundtrack was released digitally on July 17, 2026, by Back Lot Music, per the Apple Music listing. Film Music Reporter lists 23 tracks: 22 score cues plus the end-credits song “When I’m Home” by James Blake and Travis Scott. Varietet reported that Göransson worked without an orchestra, using instruments such as bronze gongs, the lyre and the aulos, so the Albanian recordings are one ingredient among several.
What is not confirmed: which tracks or scenes use the Delvina recordings (claims that the singing plays “whenever Ithaca is mentioned” are not supported by the credits or interviews), whether Nolan personally chose iso-polyphony (the quotes on record are Göransson’s), and the exact recording dates.
Notable groups and recordings
- Saz’iso. A southern Albanian ensemble assembled by producer Joe Boyd with Edit Pula and Andrea Goertler. Their album At Least Wave Your Handkerchief at Me: The Joys and Sorrows of Southern Albanian Song was recorded live in Tirana in October 2016 and released by Glitterbeat on October 13, 2017 (Glitterbeat; review in The Quietus).
- Grupi Lab. A southern Albanian iso-polyphonic group led by Golik Jaupi, whose live album from the TUSK Festival in Gateshead, England, was reviewed by Songlines in 2021.
- Festival recordings. Recordings from Gjirokastër and other folklore festivals are a main archive of the tradition. Wikipedia also credits the singer Neço Muko’s recordings of the 1920s and 1930s with helping to consolidate the four-voice Lab style (Wikipedia, citing Tole 2014).
How to hear it
- In Albania. The National Folklore Festival in Gjirokastër is the main showcase; check official announcements for the next edition, since the schedule has shifted in the past. Weddings and local celebrations in the south remain the traditional setting, per UNESCO. Our Gjirokastër travel guide covers visiting the city.
- Recordings. The Saz’iso and Grupi Lab albums above are available from their labels, and The Odyssey soundtrack is on major streaming services.
- In the US. We did not find a documented iso-polyphony group with a public US concert schedule. Community festivals and church or association events are the most likely places to hear southern Albanian songs; see our list of Albanian festivals in America.
Pyetje të shpeshta
What is iso-polyphony?
It is a southern Albanian form of group singing in which two or more solo voices sing over a drone, the iso, held by the rest of the group; UNESCO inscribed it as intangible cultural heritage of humanity in 2008.
What does “iso” mean?
“Iso” is the drone that runs under the solo voices, and UNESCO notes the word is related to the “ison” of Byzantine church music.
Is iso-polyphony Albanian or Greek?
The UNESCO element “Albanian folk iso-polyphony” was nominated by Albania, while Greece has its own Epirus polyphonic song tradition, recognized by UNESCO in 2020 through the Polyphonic Caravan safeguarding project, and sources describe multipart singing in the wider Epirus area as shared by several communities.
What is the difference between Tosk and Lab iso-polyphony?
According to UNESCO, the Tosk drone is continuous and sung on the syllable “e,” while the Lab drone is sometimes rhythmic and sung to the words, and four-part singing is found only in Labëria.
Was Albanian music used in The Odyssey?
Yes: the film’s music credits list the Delvina group Të rinjtë e Delvinës for traditional iso-polyphonic songs, Vendim Kapaj on fyell and Vasil S. Tole as ethnomusicologist, though no source confirms which tracks feature them.
When is the Gjirokastër folklore festival?
It is traditionally held about every five years; the first edition was in October 1968 and the most recent ran from June 24 to July 1, 2023.
Do women sing iso-polyphony?
UNESCO says it is mainly performed by men, but women’s groups also sing it, and in Labëria two-part songs are traditionally sung by women.
Burimet
- UNESCO: Albanian folk iso-polyphony
- UNESCO: Polyphonic Caravan, researching, safeguarding and promoting the Epirus polyphonic song
- AramcoWorld: A Vocal Appeal to Safeguard Albania’s Iso-Polyphony (Tristan Rutherford, November 2023)
- Wikipedia: Albanian iso-polyphony (secondary; cites Ahmedaja and Haid 2008, Shetuni 2011, Tole 2014 and 2022)
- Wikipedia: Gjirokastër National Folk Festival (secondary)
- Wikipedia: Polyphonic song of Epirus (secondary)
- Glitterbeat Records: Saz’iso
- The Quietus: review of Saz’iso, At Least Wave Your Handkerchief at Me
- Songlines: Grupi Lab, Live at TUSK 2019 (review, 2021)
- Vulture: Christopher Nolan Tried Not to Overwhelm You (July 14, 2026)
- BalkanWeb (July 17, 2026)
- Gazeta Express (July 16, 2026)
- Film Music Reporter: Music Team Credits, The Odyssey
- Film Music Reporter: The Odyssey Soundtrack Album Details (July 16, 2026)
- Apple Music: The Odyssey (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
- Shqiptarja.com: Vendim Kapaj interview (July 17, 2026)
- Shqiptarja.com: Vasil Tole statement (July 17, 2026)
- Variety: Ludwig Göransson’s score for The Odyssey
Autor: Dardanë Halimi
Dardanë Halimi është një shkrimtare dhe profesioniste e komunikimit me titull magjistër në Shkrim, Retorikë dhe Komunikim Teknik nga Universiteti James Madison. Puna e saj përqendrohet në tregimin e historive, përmbajtjen digjitale, arsimin e lartë dhe komunikimin strategjik, me përvojë në shkrimin për organizata akademike, jofitimprurëse dhe marketingu si në Shtetet e Bashkuara ashtu edhe në Kosovë.
