Biography
The polyphonic vocal heritage of southern Albania, where a lead line soars over a sustained choral drone known as the ISO, owes its survival in part to multi-instrumentalist Laver Bariu. Born to a father who both sang and performed on the llaute, Bariu grew up absorbing the nightly sounds of that Albanian lute. His first ambition was to master the gajde, yet the cost of an instrument proved prohibitive, prompting him to construct one himself. Impressed by this resolve, his father then instructed him on the llaude; Bariu subsequently assembled his own drum kit. Momentum stalled, however, when German forces occupied Albania in 1939. His hometown endured four burnings—once at the hands of Italian Fascists and three times under the Nazis. Amid the destruction a Greek clarinetist fleeing the Italo-Greek conflict settled in Permet, assembling a nightly ensemble at a local club and enlisting Bariu on drums and daf. His father joined on llaute. The engagement deepened Bariu’s interest in the clarinet, leading him to relocate briefly to Korce, where he performed alongside Vangiel Leskoviku and absorbed numerous melodies. Back in Permet he organized his debut band. More than forty years afterward he remained musically engaged, issuing Songs From the City of Roses in 1996.
Albums