A significant part of the soundtrack of Christopher Nolan's film "The Odyssey" has Albanian roots. Oscar-winning composer Ludwig Göransson was inspired by the labe iso-polyphony and the sounds of traditional instruments of the shepherds of southern Albania to create the film's music.
For this project, Göransson traveled to the south of the country, where he spent a week closely recording Albanian iso-polyphony, a tradition recognized by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
"I went to southern Albania and spent a week recording an ancient style of singing, called iso-polyphony, which I had never heard before in a film," he told New York Magazine.
In addition to the polyphonic song, the composer also recorded the sounds of the traditional fiddle, an instrument used for generations by Albanian shepherds. “We recorded the fiddle that Albanian shepherds have played for thousands of years,” he said.
Göransson also discovered an interesting detail from the fieldwork: the recordings were finished every day before 6:00 PM, as the performers had to get up around 4:00 AM to take care of the livestock.
The inclusion of Albanian iso-polyphony in such a prestigious international production is another testament to the extraordinary value of our cultural heritage. The sounds that have accompanied the lives of generations in southern Albania will now be heard in one of the most highly anticipated films, making Albanian culture part of world cinema.
