Mbi krijimtarinë e Molla Hysen Dobraçit
About the creativity of Molla Hysen Dobraç

Summary/Abstract: Molla Hysen Dobraçi is relatively unknown and mentioned mainly as a representative of the so called bejtexhiliterature in Albania. His output is still by and large unknown and unstudied, despite the high regard with which he was mentioned in Zef Jubani’s anthology, in 1871. Dobraçi’s established authorship of some traditional songs adds another important dimension to his persona, marking him as the first documented author in Shkodra’s aheng tradition and even in Albania’s urban traditional song generally.Besides adressing some moot points in his biography, this paper tracks that part of Dobraçi’s output which passed and was preserved in Shkodra’s traditional urban song. Cross-searching the available sources, eight such songs are identified and then analyzed as to their lyrics, music and culturalimport.Dobraçi’s lyrics display clearly the fundamental traits of the oriental poetic code that characterized Albania’s bejtexhi literature generally. On a musical level, his songs display a more complex melodic and modal conception, as well as some peculiar features that bespeak an individual style. Keeping in mind the role of bejtexhi literature as a conduit of islamic high culture, some of the broader meanings of Dobraçi’s output have been considered within a broader context. As the typical traits of Shkodra’s aheng song are fully fledged in his songs, we come into the conclusion that the origins of this tradition must be traced back before the eighteenth century.

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