Ôßôëïò: Songs and Dances from Albania - Áëâáíßá Tirana Folk Ensemble Tomor Qelibari (vocals, accordion), Ditar Sherifi, Mirela Tafaj (vocals), Saimir Husi (fiddle) Fatmir Fani (flute), Dorian Xhinani, Alfredo Mino (clarinet), Fatmir Cerriku (drums). This cd is Balkan music at its very best. A tantalizing clarinet teases the emotions and draws out the melody making every sensuos note irresistible at first slowly then the music speeds up, with unique chords and progressions, interspersed with sharps & flats, producing the Albanian/Balkan melodies & rhythms that have me jumping up and dancing just about every time I listen. The music increases speed to a feverish ecstatic rhythm with the clarinet as the lead instrument, accompanied by an accordian, lahute (a one-stringed upright instrument similar to the Serbian or Slavic gusle), cifteli (another stringed instrument unique to the region), and one or two drums. The folk instruments, the zurna and kaval, are replaced by the clarinet, with no apologies needed. The melodies are sometimes familiar, similar to those of Northern Greece, Macedonia (Pristina) and Serbia (Kosovo) but that's not so surprising since they belonged to Albania not too long ago. Fortunately, music has no borders. If Balkan music is your passion, look no further, buy this CD! I can't praise this CD enough! (Also, highly recommend "Kurbeti: Music of Albania's Gypsies" and "Kosovo: the Music of Albanian Kosovars"). Ôßôëïé   1. Kaba Korcare (Lament from Korca) 2. Valle Me Potpuri Tirane (Medley of Tunes Forom Tirana) 3. Do Mar Ciften (Take the Gun) 4. Viktorifemale Name) 5. Kabla Prespane (Lament from Prespa) 6. A Kan Uje Ato Burime (Do They Have Water from the Spring?) 7. Moj E Bulaura More (Wonderful More) 8. Valle Gorashe Korcare (Melody from Gorash) 9. Instrumentale Me Motive Tirane (Melody of Melodies from Tirana) 10. Binte Shiu Pika-Pika (It Is Raining and I Am Singing) 11. Mother Comes First 12. Love Song: Why Don't You Pay Me Any Attention