TIRANA, Aug 30 /ATA/ – The traditional music of Albania’s southern Labëria region, recently heard by international audiences through a major Hollywood production, are being passed on to a younger generation through a free music course in the coastal city of Vlora.
For the third consecutive year, Vendim Kapaj, the Albanian traditional musician featured playing the shepherd’s flute and cula dyjare (two-pipe flute) in Christopher Nolan’s film The Odyssey will offer free lessons in the fyell, a traditional Albanian flute, as well as other folk instruments, giving young people an opportunity to learn about an important part of the country’s musical heritage.
Kapaj told Albanian Telegraphic Agency (ATA) that interest in the course had grown this year, with participants coming not only from Labëria but also from the capital, Tirana.
“This is the third consecutive year I have offered the free flute course. Interest has been even greater this year. I have had people interested from Tirana, including several girls, while most participants are young people from Tepelena, Vlora, Kurvelesh and surrounding areas,” he said.
The course will run from September 2026 to July 2027 and will cover the flute alongside other traditional instruments.
Kapaj has himself recently attracted international attention after performing as a two-pipe flute soloist on the soundtrack of The Odyssey, directed by Christopher Nolan and scored by Ludwig Göransson.
His involvement in the film has brought the distinctive sound of the Albanian instrument to a wider international audience and highlighted the musical traditions of southern Albania.
“The attention my name has received through my participation in ‘The Odyssey’ has also contributed to the increased interest in the course. It is a pleasure to see young people wanting to learn and carry on this tradition after the international attention,” Kapaj said.
For Kapaj, teaching the instrument is part of a broader effort to preserve traditional music and ensure that its instruments and repertoire are passed on to future generations.
The fyell, one of the characteristic instruments of Albanian folk music, is thus moving from the villages and musical traditions of Labëria to the international cinema stage – and back to a new generation of Albanian musicians.
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