Customer Reviews

Kosovo: Music of Albanian Kosovo

5 star:		(2)
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Simply put: this is one of the most powerful and beautiful CDs I have yet discovered from the the Balkans!! "Kosovo and Albanian" captured my attention because of the recent war. I have always loved the music from the different regions of Yugoslavia, so I chanced it and bought the CD, with no regrets. The haunting female voice of Gonda Manakovska is melancholic and beautiful beyond description ... If you love Balkan rhythms, voices, and melodies played on authentic instruments - this CD is a must have. Every track is unique and captures one's emotions no matter how often it is heard. The nuances of rhythm, instrument and voice combine in spectacular ways - any connoisseur of this genre of music understands what I mean. At some point, words are inadequte to describe the emotional highs that this music can induce. Similar to Macedonian music, the instruments and voices bring forth a *most* pronounced definition of what folklorists would call "authentic". The only other CDs which are similar is the two CD set of Yugoslavian music by Alan Lomax (Rounder label). All in all - you can safely buy this one without benefit of hearing it first! The pleasure you derive from hearing it over and over will only increase ... guaranteed! Erika Borsos (erikab93)

Amazing how this music shows such clear affinitys to Klezmer and Gypsy muisc.

love this album; it is beautiful and exciting dance music.