The second edition of Kadare Night brought together multiple generations, nationalities, and musical, literary, and artistic influences for a night to be remembered. 🇦🇱🇬🇧🎶
More than 200 of you joined this sold-out celebration on 30 January at St Gabriel’s Church in London, while others celebrated simultaneously in Tirana and Paris under the banner of Kadare Night.
Under the musical direction of Altin Gjoni, the night blended classical and modern, and for the first time brought multiple Kadare Poems back to life, reinventing them into songs from the work, creativity and voice of Albanian and UK artists such as Sara Payman, David Cummins, Loresa Leka, The Cellos and Peadar Connolly.
The event began with an opening talk from the organisers and the original Ideator of Kadare Night (Eduard Alia & Tomorr Kokona), followed by His Excellency Dr Uran Ferizi, Ambassador of Albania 🇦🇱 to the UK, and His Excellency Ilir Kapiti, Ambassador of Kosovo in the UK. 🇽🇰
A touch of classical music by Amadea Topalli, Mariela Cingo, and Greta Papa, featuring a composition by Jani Papadhimitri, opened the night, with the Sax, Cello, and Piano setting the tone.
The English singer who now lives in Tirana and is a staple of the Albanian music scene, with her perfectly sung Albanian, Sara Payman, followed, bringing Ismail Kadare’s poems “Nëna” and “Ti dhe Hëna” to life in an acoustic guitar–vocal duo with Altin on stage.
Loresa Leka came next. She not only performed her monologue beautifully, “Për kë thërrasin ato male,” but also sang her own composed version of Kadare’s poetry in English, “Train timetables.”(Oraret e trenave)
Board member Anila Kadija, along with Mara Zjarri, enchanted the audience by reciting and reading some of Kadare’s works, while guitars swelled in the background, echoing through the stones of St Gabriel’s Church.
Mircha Ivens and Altin Gjoni, the duo from the UK band Rusty Halo, carried the ethereal rock sound with a haunting rendition of Kadare’s “Kristal” and a glimpse into their own original songwriting.
David Cummins brought “Mall” in his signature folk-rock style, while the young and talented artists Joni & Fiona from “The Cellos” delighted us with Kadare’s poems “Në park” and a taste of French music, honouring Kadare’s life in that country.
Tomorr Kokona engaged the crowd with a dance lesson of the traditional Albanian ‘Vallja e Dardhës.’ A fresh energiser before the crowd enjoyed the delicacies from Illyrian Grill.
The grand finale followed Peadar’s performance of Albanian folk songs on the autoharp, his bittersweet voice singing and speaking in Albanian, a fine, never-before-seen interpretation of Albanian folk with an Irish twist.
All the artists then rushed onto the stage for the final encore with “Moj e Bukura More”, as the crowd responded by raising the tempo, building to the climax of the show.
We would like to thank all the artists on stage, the ideators, organisers, volunteers and sponsors who made this event possible.
Special gratitude goes to our sponsor, Illyrian Grill, who provided us with the delicacies for the night 🙏
Credits (alphabetically):
Altin Gjoni – Guitar & Musical Director
Amadea Topalli – Saxophone
Anila Kadija – Poetry Reading
David Cummins – Guitar & Vocal
Greta Papa – Violin
Loresa Leka – Vocal & Recitation
Mara Zjarri – Poetry Reading
Mariela Cingo – Grand Piano
Mircha Ivens – Vocal
Peadar Connolly – Vocal & Autoharp
Sara Payman – Vocal
The Cellos – Acoustic Duo
Tomorr Kokona – Choreographer
Tomorr Kokona & Eduard Alia – Ideators
Photography by Zoe Cummins
Grateful for our team of volunteers without whom we couldn’t have managed the busy day – Emiljana, Heidi, Lediana and Nevila 🙏🏼
A special thank you to the UK Embassy in Albania and His Excellency Dr Uran Ferizi, Ambassador of Albania to the UK. 🇦🇱
We were also delighted by the attendance of John Hodgson, Ismail Kadare’s official translator and the Ambassador of Kosovo, His Excellency, Ilir Kapiti. 🇽🇰
Kadare Night is now a legacy and will continue worldwide to honour Ismail Kadare, but most importantly, to unite all fans of Albanian arts, music and culture, no matter their nationality, under one night. A symbol of how a single ‘small’ country and its artist can ignite passion in the hearts of many around the world, regardless of what their mother tongue is.
