Neço Muko (1899 – 1934)
Musician, screenwriter, director, actor and love poet.
Born in Himare on October 21, where he completed primary school. He finished his studies at the Mechanical Technical College in Faliro, near Piraeus, Greece, in 1919, attended private music studies there, acquired the violin instrument, experimented in the genre of dramaturgy with several short humorous pieces and librettos.
In 1923, he returned to Himare, setting up the well-known musical group “Vetetima”, a coastal youth. He created and processed several original songs on this occasion, such as: “Nine hundred and ten years” and “November 28”, which were quickly heard in the coastal area and beyond.
In 1925, he founded the “Friends of Defrim” artistic society in Sarandë. He gave many shows in Sarandë, but also in Gjirokaster and Delvine. In 1932, he fell seriously ill from the larynx and developed hoarseness, which made him very depressed.
A rare organizer and with great love for art, he had many talents: Muko was a composer, instrumentalist, actor, conductor, singer, playwright, librettist, poet. He created a wonderful group of popular singers, composed many songs, significantly enriching the fund of Himariot popular songs. Meanwhile, he composed for operettas, vaudeville, musical comedy, theater performances, special original music or adapted for his dramatic pieces, melodies of foreign authors, wrote light music songs, sketches and satirical poems. He signed his creations under the pseudonym NM (H) Marioti.
Among the excellent forms of N. Muko were the mix shows, on occasions of official and religious holidays or carnival days, such as the “Pif-Paf” show, included in the carnivals of 1928, or the “Orca-Forca” show of 1929 , where they played many humorous parts such as: “Carnival song”; “Traders”; “Modern Girl”; “Miss Saranda II”; “The Maid”; “Mister John Mariotti”; “Topsy-turvy with friends” and the long satirical poem “General nonsense”. He started this staged poem when he was in Greece. His help and unparalleled initiative in 1929 for the recording of many Albanian songs on gramophone records, including those of the Coastal area, as well as some original creations, is well known.
He went and stayed for some time in Paris, France, where he created a group of singers with students and others from the Paris Conservatory, among which was the outstanding soprano, Tefta Tashko Koco.
22 songs with lyrics by N. Muko, instrumental melodies and his original compositions were recorded, among them: “Hymn of the Flag”; “Albania”; “Royal March” and some popular songs such as “Flower you are , Flower they call you”; “Saranda”; “Glasses”; “Mountain Girl”; “Katina”; “Nina-nina”, light music songs composed by him such as “Hope and Dreams”; “Saranditja”; “Saranda carnival march”; “Kanakarja”; “Love”.
He also recorded other humorous material, such as some monologues, dialogues and short pieces. For some time he moved to Italy, France (St-Etienne, Paris) making a life as a bohemian artist. In 1931, he adapted and staged the operetta “Servant Lady”; meanwhile, in 1932, the drama “Court costs” by K. Floqi. The society “Friends of amusement” prepared and gave in some cities of the south Sarandë, Delvina, Gjirokaster the comedy, “Crisis creates stunts”, as well as the operetta “Princesa Iris”.
In addition to others, N. Muko has the merit of consolidating with his music-theatre group the type of “variety” shows, where several musical, literary and theatrical genres are combined and cooperated, such as: skit, song, pantomime, vaudeville, comedy and Short plays and operettas, folk songs and light music, the recitation of satirical poems of the “Review” type were very popular with the public of the time, including Tirana, Shkodra, and Korce.
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Albanian Cinematography in activity since 2013.
Reference: Andrea Varfi, Neco Muko (H) Marioti, “The heart seeks friendship”, Tirana, 1966 / Janko Pali, “The Phoenix of Himara” / Gjini Miho “Conversation with the Muses”, articles criticism, Albin 2008, p. 142-155 / Josif Papagjoni, Encyclopedia, Albanian Theater and Cinematography”, p. 313-315
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