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Jorgjeta Lalazi, a life with serenade

2024-01-02 18:30:00, Qyteti im CNA

Korça is known for the beautiful serenades, skillfully sung by Korça residents, as part of the tradition and culture of this city. There have been few girls who have embraced this kind of musical genre, and one of them is Jorgjeta Lalazi.

Jorgjeta comes from a well-known Korça family, where most of them sang serenades and played various musical instruments. And normally, she inherited the serenade from her father.

Jorgjeta tells CNA TV how her long journey in music began, while highlighting a very interesting fact about herself when she was a child.

"Korcar serenades have been from generation to generation, beautiful, painful, as melancholic as we Korcars. We have inherited the serenades from my father. As the first part of my family, it was medicine, then we entered music as a hobby, despite the fact that it is born, from mandolins, violins, fiddles, guitars were also not absent in our house, also the beautiful voices of my family. There was a choir, to some extent we had that culture and feeling of Russian choirs unattainable. I've been singing since I was little, I couldn't sleep at night because I wanted my father's guitar, I wanted all the instruments to be heard by my ear, and when the earthquake hit in 1960, we left the house and went to my father's cousin , doctor Taqi Skëndi, he had a piano at home. One time I was crying and my mother told them that Jorgjeta sleeps with music. The doctor's wife laughed, got up and played the piano with a beautiful melody, and I fell asleep."

"I only got grade 10 in music", says Jorgjeta with a laugh. She does not leave without mentioning the respected professors who have contributed to the singer's artistic preparation.

Among the most beautiful memories, she shows some of the prizes won, highlighting the years in which she collaborated with well-known artists from Korça on the stages of Korça and in other cities of Albania.

"In the first grade, I participated in the festival of pioneers, I only got grade 10 in music. My professors that I will never forget, Tasi Poda, Ilo Evro, Jorgaq Nano, etc. We have been singing there since first grade until seventh grade with a friend of mine, then she left Korça. After the eighth grade, every year we received awards in Shkodër, and for a short time I went to the music school but dropped out. I'm back again to music by going to the philharmonic of Korça, while the music in our house did not line up. We did a recital with Lindita Theodhori, where the conductor, artistic leader Ardian Jorgji never separated us from his activities. I was also an actress in the theater dolls, not very good but good for what I was, I own the wooden doll very nicely giving it life. In our house many instruments were also played by my cousins, Edmond Lalazi, Gjergji Lalazi, Ksena Lalazi who sang together with my sisters. Even my father's friends would gather and we would exchange beautiful voices, who knew a stanza or another, the song would join and become the original.

I won the second prize at the festival of pioneers with Astrit Koçibelli with the song Mihallaq Andrea made for us, being grateful for the beautiful songs he made and continues to make."

Serenade for Jorgjeta is life! After many years of career, she wants to perform a concert only for the Korça public, so that the beautiful voices of the serenaders can be heard. An idea that has been born for some time and with a lot of conviction, Jorgjeta says that she will realize it.

Jorgjeta Lalazi, a life with serenade

"I always make a clip of myself in every phrase, in every line of the serenade song. There are words with pain inside and my life also enters there a little. I want to give it humor, make the songs as they are. I don't I sing only the old Korça serenade, but also new songs. I also have some other reserves that I have not published, I think of doing a concert for the Korça audience, and not for them to come with money, but to come and hear our beautiful voices. When I get up to sing, next to born artists, I say to myself "Oh my god, where am I, and I'm with these artists?" I thank them from the bottom of my heart for helping me every moment because there are moments when I have a cough."

Today, Jorgjeta is part of a musical group that plays every weekend near Hani t Pazari, and she finds the opportunity to talk about the other members of the band, showing the special connection she has with each of them, in the musical instruments and in the wonderful voices. that when they come together, they create a fantastic atmosphere for anyone who listens to them.

"I was attracted by the love and the beautiful voices of these artists. I am very satisfied because I did not get tired of them, they are boys who have graduated from the music school. I will start with Zhani Struga, a great master, Djuljo Morava who sings and plays violin, accordion, all the instruments, and he does the first and second voice for me, we are plasticine together. Then there is Kristi Sherko, a very talented guy and a professor at the music school. We also sometimes get Niko Racin, a voice of wonderful of the Lira Choir, Gjergji Terezin, also a pillar of the Lira Choir, an unattainable baritone. Theofan Velko, maybe a little unheard, but he is an old serenadeist, but he gives us humor and cheers our souls. And everyone who comes here , has an energy, an acting that I can't explain. Even Gjergji Terezi, being my brother's friend, and they sang together. We sang with many groups, but I had support from my life partner Kristaq Fermanis, and despite my age support me to continue singing."

Jorgjeta Lalazi, a life with serenade

Being part of the live performances near Hani t Pazari, we ask Jorgjeta about the impressions that tourists have when they listen to the serenades.

She says that the serenade is the reason why tourists come to Korça. With tears in her eyes, Jorgjeta tells about the times when she sees the other members of the band sweaty and tired, but they never sing.

"Tourists always ask us for serenade songs, I try to sing foreign ones, but they don't like them. They want civic songs from all over the world, Tirana, Elbasan, Durrës, going out to the people of Arbëresh and Kosovars. Xjuljo gives a very beautiful interpretation of Kosovar songs, with their dialect is a masterpiece. Tourists are very satisfied, they leave marks at the reception, we always get 10. The members of the gang are like my children, when they sweat during work I feel sorry, I wipe their sweat because they make the impossible and I don't know how to thank them. But may God give them health and may their descendants come out like them."

Jorgjeta Lalazi has a bequest for all her family and friends, promising that she will never give up the serenade.

"I will never give up the serenade. I will leave it to you. I want to sing the song of the rose and the sofa written by the pearls of Korça, while with the new songs I want the song "I won't be here". I don't want tears , but I want the guitar to sing on my grave. I never give up, the more I sing the better my voice gets."

Jorgjeta together with her group perform every Friday and Saturday night, in the restaurant of Hani to Pazar.

Korça, a city of culture and special traditions, is lucky to have in its history over the years, well-known artists, not only for serenade songs, but also in other fields./ CNA TV