Matanë Malit

Elina Duni Quartet

EN / DE

“Matanë Malit” (Beyond the mountain), Elina Duni’s ECM debut, is a homage to Albania. A singer looking at her roots from a present-day vantage point as a musician engaged in improvisational processes. Jazz experience informs her exploration of Balkan folk songs – with attention to atmosphere, the shape of the sound, the tactility of the structures, the implications of the words, … “It’s about serving the song”, she explains, “and about reclaiming and reinventing it.” Duni found her route to Albanian songs after forays into classical music, blues and jazz standards. Digging deeper into the Balkan region’s troubled history, she has uncovered many songs of real beauty and power, older songs from her homeland and from its vast diaspora. “Matanë Malit” includes songs of lovers, heroes, workers, shepherds, exiles, songs of resistance. Traditional songs arranged by Elina Duni, and new music expressively moulded in the tradition.

“Matanë Malit” (Hinter dem Berg), Elina Dunis ECM-Debüt, ist eine musikalische Hommage an Albanien. Die Sängerin beschäftigt sich hier aus dem Blickwinkel der modernen, mit Improvisationsprozessen vertrauten Musikerin mit ihren Wurzeln. Ihre Jazz-Erfahrungen prägen ihre Forschungsreise durch Folksongs aus dem Balkan – mit wachem Bewusstsein für deren Atmosphäre, deren Klangwelt, ihre Strukturen, die Bedeutung hinter den Worten.
Duni verließ Albanien 1992 als Zehnjährige – den Weg zurück zu seinem Liedgut fand sie erst nach Exkursen in die klassische Musik, durch Blues und Jazzstandards. Auf Drängen von Colin Vallon, mit dem sie 2004 während ihres (gemeinsamen) Studiums an der Hochschule der Künste in Bern ein Duo gegründet hatte, begann sie in albanischer Sprache zu singen:
Während das Duo zum Trio anwuchs, befasste Elina sich eingehender mit der Musik Albaniens und der wechselvollen Geschichte der Region. Dabei entdeckte sie zahlreiche Stücke von besonderer Kraft und Schönheit, sowohl direkt aus ihrer Heimat als auch aus deren weitreichender Diaspora. “Matanë Malit” enthält nun Stücke über Liebespaare, Helden, Arbeiter, Schäfer, Exilanten, Lieder des Widerstands. Traditionelle Songs, von Elina Duni arrangiert, als auch ganz neue Musik, die sie im Sinne der Tradition ausdrucksvoll gestaltet. Elinas Quartett gelingt die Verbindung von modalem Jazz und Folk Music äußerst organisch. “Matanë Malit” wurde von Manfred Eicher im Februar 2012 in La Buissonne bei Avignon produziert.
Featured Artists Recorded

February 2012, Studios La Buissonne, Pernes les Fontaines

Original Release Date

21.09.2012

  • 1Ka një mot
    (Muharrem Gurra)
    05:11
  • 2Kjani trima
    (Traditional)
    04:06
  • 3Kur të kujtosh
    (Elina Duni, Bessa Myftiu)
    04:06
  • 4Vajzë e valëve
    (Neço Muko)
    05:29
  • 5Unë ty moj
    (Traditional)
    03:55
  • 6Erë pranverore
    (Tish Daija, Llazar Siliqi)
    03:34
  • 7Çelo Mezani
    (Traditional)
    05:41
  • 8Ra kambana
    (Traditional)
    04:15
  • 9Çobankat
    (Traditional)
    05:14
  • 10Kristal
    (Elina Duni, Ismail Kadare)
    04:52
  • 11U rrit vasha
    (Traditional)
    03:24
  • 12Mine Peza
    (Traditional)
    03:56
“Matanë Malit” (Beyond the mountain), Elina Duni’s ECM debut, is a homage to Albania. A singer looking at her roots from a present-day vantage point as a musician engaged in improvisational processes. Jazz experience informs her exploration of Balkan folk songs – with attention to atmosphere, the shape of the sound, the tactility of the structures, the implications of the words, … “It’s about serving the song”, she explains, “and about reclaiming and reinventing it.”

Duni was just 10 when she left Albania in 1992, and found her route to its songs only after forays into classical music, blues and jazz standards. At the urging of Colin Vallon, she began to sing in Albanian in their duo, formed in 2004 while both were studying at Berne’s Hochschule der Künste. “I fell in love with the old songs, and discovered that not only could I sing them and feel them but that this was really my voice, emerging in a very natural way. It was as if, it had been waiting to be activated”, she says. As a child growing up in Tirana, Duni had had little contact to folk music. Folklore, co-opted by the state, had become agitprop material for socialist themes, and Duni’s family – like many intellectuals and artists - distanced themselves from it.   

Now however she began to explore in earnest, digging deeper into the region’s troubled history, uncovering many songs of real beauty and power, older songs from her homeland and from its vast Diaspora. “Matanë Malit” includes songs of lovers, heroes, workers, shepherds, exiles, songs of resistance. Traditional songs arranged by Elina Duni, and new music expressively moulded in the tradition.

Over the last several years, her quartet has bloomed into a subtle unit of broad artistic reach. The players seem to get inside the texts. “We focus all the intensity that this poetry needs. We have tried to convey its essence through our musical interpretation. To me, all improvised music is a jazz state of mind. We feel no obligation to play a song the same way twice.”

Colin Vallon, who has long counted singers amongst his most profound influences, often seems like an answering voice at the piano. Bassist Patrice Moret brings his keen choice of notes to both the Elina Duni Quartet and the Colin Vallon Trio, and interacts persuasively with drummer Norbert Pfammatter. Leader Duni recognizes that it is what they create together that is important. “I never wanted to be a singer with backing trio. From the beginning I gave a lot of space to the musicians for improvising, and experimented also with my voice. It’s another instrument. Over time, we have built up an understanding that allows us to go anywhere...”

After two albums for Meta Records – "Baresha" and "Lume Lume" (2008 and 2010) “Matanë Malit” takes the work to the next level. The new album was produced by Manfred Eicher at Studios La Buissonne, near Avignon, in February 2012.
YEAR DATE VENUE LOCATION
2025 March 07 The Verdict Jazz Club Brighton, United Kingdom
2025 March 08 Stapleford Granary Arts Center Cambridge, United Kingdom