Pjetër Dungu (1908–1989) was an

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

n piano accompanist and composer-arranger of urban

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

. He is known in the history of the

music of Albania The music of Albania ( sq, Muzika Shqiptare) is associated with the country of Albania and Albanian communities. Music has a long tradition in the country and is known for its regional diversity, from the Ghegs in the North to the Tosks in the S ...

as the first compiler of Albanian folk songs. Dungu was born in

Shkodër Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra) is the fifth-most-populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. The city sprawls across the Plain of Mbishkodra between the southern part of Lake Shkod ...

, where he took music lessons from composer Martin Gjoka. He played oboe and trumpet, while studying piano and harmony. In the 1930s, Dungu gained a reputation as a piano accompanist for urban lyric song, reaching a height around the end of the decade. In 1940, Dungu published ''Lyra Shqiptare'' (Albanian Lyra), the first collection of 50 folk melodies. The compilation was published by Instituto Geografico De Agostini,

Novara Novara (, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It is ...

, in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. This volume, with the preface by Prof. Kristaq Antoniu, contains; 19 folk songs from Shkodra, 15 folk songs from Korça, 7 folk songs from Kosovo, 5 folk songs from Berat, 2 folk songs from Elbasan, 1 folk song from Durres and 1 folk song from Vlorë. In 1942, he accompanied tenor

Kristaq Antoniu Kristaq Antoniu (25 December 1907 – 17 March 1979), also known as Cristache Antoniu () in Romanian, was an Albanian-Romanian operetta tenor, baritone, and actor. He was a People's Artist of the People's Republic of Albania. Biography Born i ...

on the piano for eight songs recorded for the Columbia Recording Company in Italy. Dungu also conducted an orchestra for seven of Antoniu's recordings."Albanian urban lyric song in the 1930s Volumes 1-2 p84-85"
by Eno Koço, Scarecrow Press 2004 Other composer-arrangers in Albanian lyric folk music in this period, include

Lola Gjoka Lola Gjoka Aleksi (22 May 1910 – 6 October 1985) was an Albanian pianist during the period of the Communist regime. Life Gjoka was born in Sevastopol in 1910, into an Albanian family. She began learning the piano at the age of six, and her ...

and

Kristo Kono Kristo Kono (17 July 1907 – 22 January 1991) was an Albanian composer and recipient of the People's Artist title in 1961, the highest artistic recognition title during the communist era. He was one of the early contributors to Albanian music ...

References

1908 births 1989 deaths People from Shkodër Albanian musicians Accompanists 20th-century pianists 20th-century Albanian musicians {{Albania-bio-stub