The folk orchestra of Jonuz Lamҫe or folk orchestra of Radio-Tirana

The folk orchestra which played music live on the airwaves of Radio-Tirana around the 1940s. It was known as the Radio Folk Orchestra. Their merit was that, in addition to having the best repertoire of iso-polyphonic music of South Albania, they also played and recorded Pan-Albanian folk music, including the instrumental folk music of Tirana, mainly instrumental melodies and dances. They participated in the Radio immediately after the establishment of Radio-Tirana and the launch of the first programs, starting from 1939 onwards. In the radio program they played under the name “The folk orchestra of Radio-Tirana: Folk Dances and Songs”. In the 1940s, during the “Popular Music from the Radio Orchestra”, program they would always play live a diverse repertoire from the entire Albanian ethno-musical space for their many spectators every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, at 18.30 o’clock. In those five years, almost every two days around 6:30 p.m., ” The Radio Orchestra” was on “open air” for Albanian listeners all over the country. Part of the orchestra’s repertoire is also reflected on Pjetër Dung’s musical transcriptions, published in “Lyra Shqiptare” (urban folk songs) in 1940. They were mainly drawn from the recordings of Radio-Tirana and collected under its supervision. In July 1943, the Radio Orchestra, also known as the “Folk Tosk Orchestra“, consisted of Hysen Ibrahimi, Sabri Fehmiu, Sadik Azbi and Ali Myslimi. In addition, other artists came to be part such as Çoban Arifi, the prominent singer of “Demka Hajro Association -Korça”, Selim Asllani, the lute player and the singer of the well-known folk song “Do marr çiftenë do dal per gjah“. Mainly originating from South of Albania, during 1945-1955 they recorded a rich repertoire of both instrumental and vocal music of Tirana and all Albania. During the second period (1944-1955), the orchestras became a permanent structural element of cultural shows. They and other collaborators of the Radio, such as the Shkodra group, the cultivated music orchestra, etc., were considered very important factors for increasing the quality of the broadcasts. “The Radio Orchestras” played a most significant role in the preservation of our national characteristics. The high performing skills of their members (including the Shkodra urban music formation and the formation of Central Albania), reaffirmed the Albanian cultural identity even in the face of the fascist occupation of the country. As such, “the Radio Orchestra” was the formation that linked the great musical tradition with folk instruments before the 1940s, with the Orchestras of the second half of the XX century. Their activity in Radio-Tirana continued until the end of the 1950s. The favorite formation consisted of 1 clarinet, 1 violin, 2 lutes. After dissolving, a part of the instrumentalists formed the Tirana Folk Song Orchestra in 1951 and the Ensemble of Folk Songs and Dances in 1957.

“VALLJA E PIPEZAVE”, by “Sazet e Radios”,  – YouTube