This study is concerned with the vocal iso(n) repertory, used, on the one hand, in the oral traditions of the multipart unaccompanied singing (IMUS) of the Southwest Balkans, or, more specifically, South Albania, North Epirus in Greece and a small part of the Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), and on the other hand in Byzantine chanting. The vocal iso(n) is an important component of these traditions, which are still practised today in the Southwest Balkans region. The study presents evidence on various manifestations of the practice in their particular geographical regions, and examines in detail the historical roots of these traditions. An ison, a drone holding-note, is the voice that provides the drone in Byzantine chanting. This chant is part of the liturgical music of the Orthodox Churches, in contrast to the IMUS, which has developed as a secular repertory. The Byzantine liturgical singing of the Arbëresh Diaspora of South Italy and Sicily, which has been passed down orally from the 15th century to the present day, as well as non-liturgical singing, is also explored in this book. The three unaccompanied forms of singing, two of which use the ison (IMUS and Byzantine chanting) and the third, the Arbëresh, which does not (with some exceptions in recent times), are analysed in separate sections of the book. Unlike many studies of similar subject matter, which suffer from a one-sided point of view because of national bias, this book is multifaceted and even-handed. While multipart singing in Albania is usually considered to be a solely Albanian phenomenon, in Greece, it is thought of as being Greek. In fact, the multipart singing of the Albanian and Greek, as well as Aromanian and some Slavic populations is more intrinsically bound to the region than to any ethnic group. The distinct sound of iso(n) singing echoes the internal and external historic influences of the region, interwoven with the complex modal idioms.

This book is concerned with the repertory of traditional urban song and music of the Korçë area in general and more specifically the karakteristike (characteristic) or ‘distinctive’ song associated with Korçë city, Albania. The first half of the 20th century marked the climax of an evolution which started in the mid-19th century with the oral tradition of urban song in Korçë. While the translation of ‘Kënga Karakteristike Korçare’ into ‘Korçare Distinctive Song’ seems to be an odd name for a genre, it is, however, a translation as close as possible to the original Albanian, denoting the characteristic songs of Korçë. The term ‘characteristic’ implies peculiar or specific songs, different not only from the traditional urban song of Korçë, but also from any kind of song, whether folk, popular, traditional urban or art, composed and performed among the Korçë people. The book also introduces the Korçare urban song and urban lyric song, as well as the Saze music, which were introduced during the Ottoman domination of the Balkans.

This almanac of sound words important to artists and scholars highlights words that expand the way we speak (and write) about sonic experiences. Why write about sound, and how? If sonic philosophy is the attempt "to think about sound by philosophical means," then a metaphilosophical debate appears almost immediately on the horizon: What is called for is an understanding about sound and language, but also about the preconditions of musical understanding. What is at stake is the question of language and sound, as well as expanding how we speak about sonic experience. This almanac tackles these questions from artistic, experimental and personal perspectives. An assemblage of nearly 70 practitioners and theoreticians, artists and scholars offer their favorite 'sound word.' These sound words are onomatopoetical, mythological, practical; words of personal importance to the artists and their craft; words from their memory, related to sound. Many entries are not in English – some are untranslatable – and all are accompanied by a personal, explanatory, poetic entry. These are words that have the potential to change our perspective on listening-musicking-thinking.

The author examines the indigenous diatonic and chromatic modes used in Albanian urban music and classifies them under traditional headings and as part of a newly established grouping, here termed south-western Balkan modes. The core of the work is the analysis of Albanian urban lyric songs, seen as an artistic version of the traditional Albanian urban songs.