Neço Muko

Neço Muko
Birth name	Neço Muko
Born	October 21, 1899
Origin	Albanian
Died	1934 (aged 35)
Genres	Traditional music
Occupations	Musician
Instruments	Violin
Years active	1926–1934
Associated acts	Composed music for Tefta Tashko-Koço

Neço Muko (1899–1934) also known as Neço Muko Himarjoti was an Albanian singer and composer. His musical style created a new genre of Albanian polyphonic music called avaz himariot or avaz himariotçe that became identified with the music of his home region Himarë.^[1]

Life and Work

Neço Muko was born on October 21, 1899 in Himarë, southern Albania. After attending primary school he travelled to the Kingdom of Greece to study. He returned to Albania in 1916, during World War I. Muko learned how to play the violin and the mandolin, and in 1923 he started composing vaudevilles.^[1] In 1924 he moved to France, but in 1926 returned to Albania. In the town of Sarandë he founded a choral group named Pif-Paf.^[1] In 1929 and 1930 he travelled again to France with his group to make recordings for Pathé Records, in which Albanian students studying in France took part. These recordings increased his popularity in southern Albania and helped him establish his new genre the avaz himariot or avaz himariotçe.^[1]

Muko's best known song is Vajza e Valëve (English: Girl of the Waves), the poetical composition of which increased his reputation even more. In the 1920s he also composed songs for well-known singers of Albanian urbal music such as Marie Kraja and Tefta Tashko-Koço.^[2]

Sources

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Ahmedaja, Ardian; Gerlinde Haid (2008). European voices: Multipart singing in the Balkans and the Mediterranean. European Voices. 1. Böhlau Verlag Wien. pp. 223–4. ISBN 3205780906. http://books.google.com/books?id=Iga91qAoeDYC&pg=PA224&dq=Neço+Muko&hl=en&ei=i3ZMTKrRK9GlsAab-IFG&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCcQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false. 
2. ^ Koço, Eno (2004). Albanian urban lyric song in the 1930s. Scarecrow Press. p. 60. ISBN 0810848899. http://books.google.com/books?id=EpcUAQAAIAAJ&q=songs+of+the+1920s,+arranged+by+her+compatriot+Neco+Muko.&dq=songs+of+the+1920s,+arranged+by+her+compatriot+Neco+Muko.&hl=en&ei=g3dMTM7CNMWksQbQpYBG&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCcQ6AEwAA. 

Persondata
Name	Muko, Neco
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	October 21, 1899
Place of birth
Date of death	1934
Place of death