A piece of Albania’s soul will be heard in one of the most anticipated films of recent years. Oscar-winning composer Ludwig Göransson has revealed that the soundtrack to director Christopher Nolan’s “Odyssey” is also built on the authentic sounds of Albanian iso-polyphony, one of the oldest musical traditions of the Balkans.
In search of a distinct musical identity for his adaptation of Homer’s epic poem, Göransson traveled to southern Albania, where he spent a week recording iso-polyphonic songs – an ancient form of singing that, according to him, had never before been used in a film of this magnitude.
But the journey didn’t end there.
The composer also recorded the sounds of the Albanian shepherds’ fiddle, an instrument that has accompanied life in the mountains of the South for thousands of years. To capture this authentic atmosphere, the film crew had to wake up in the early hours of dawn.
“We had to finish the recordings by 6am because they got up at 4am to take care of the sheep,” Göransson recounts.
This detail shows the incredible dedication of the creative team to bring to the screen not only an ancient story, but also real sounds, untouched by time.
Christopher Nolan himself has explained that his goal was to tell “The Odyssey” differently from any previous adaptation. According to the director, the challenge was to bring to life a story that has shaped world culture for nearly three thousand years, giving it a new artistic identity.
For Albania, this is a moment of special cultural value. A centuries-old tradition like the iso-polyphony of the South, inherited from generation to generation and closely linked to the life of Albanian communities, becomes part of the soundtrack of one of Hollywood’s most ambitious productions, carrying its echo from the Albanian mountains to cinemas around the world.