Once you enter into the enchanted sound world of Matanë Malit (‘Beyond the Mountain’), vocalist Elina Duni's ECM debut, it's impossible to break free from its spell. It not only contains some of the most beautiful singing I've heard this year, but also introduces you to a treasure trove of Balkan folk songs. This homage to her native Albania has its roots in Berne's Hochschule derKünste, where Duni's fellow student and pianist Colin Vallon first urged her to sing in Albanian (the singer was just 10 when she left the country with her parents). The understated ‘;Vajzë e valëve’, a song of emigration, is just one of many highlights: singing the first verse a cappella, Duni is then joined by the simpático accompaniment of a simple, rolling ostinato in the piano, with bassist Patrice Moret and drummer Norbert Pfammatter marking the lilting, insistent two-in-a-bar feel as the music slowly grows in intensity. Embellishing the melodic line with subtle ornamentation, Duni's singing is filled with such humanity it melts the heart – soaring ever higher in the wordless solo of ‘Kanjë mot’, laconic in the telling of ‘Çelo Mezani’, divertingly playful in ‘Ra Kambana’.