Music of Bulgaria

Ensemble Of The Bulgarian Republic, Le Mystere Des Voix Bulgares | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Nonesuch
• ASIN: B000005IW5
• Also Available in: Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #170,596 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #19 in Music > World Music > Europe > Eastern Europe > Bulgaria

Track Listings

1. Retche Mama da Me Jeni

2. Polegnala E Todora

3. Shopski Tanz

4. Ogreyala Mesechina

5. Trio Gaidi

6. Otishla Moma Hubava

7. Nyagul Na Mila Dumashe

8. Prehfrakna Ptichka

9. Zaspala E Fida

10. Bre Petrounko

11. Vetcheryai Rado

12. Bulgarska Suita

13. Buren, Buren, Zelen Buren

14. Stoyan Ide Ot Tsarigrad

15. Tamburi Drankat

16. Prez Gora Varvyaha

17. Todora, Vetcheryala

18. Zamraknala E Yana

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous choral songs and lively dances, June 22, 1998

By 

Peter Gronwold ([e-mail]) (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Music of Bulgaria (Audio CD)

This is where the whole Mysterious Voices began, with this 1955 recording of the Koutev Ensemble. The sound is clean and the music is sublime. Don't be put off by the recording date, the performance is timeless. A rich variety of choral songs with some smaller vocal groupings; soft melodies and mountain style hollering. The exotic dance tunes make a pleasing contrast. I have never tired of hearing it. Guaranteed to make you tingle!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A nice compliation., December 8, 2003

By 

dinska "phoenixwinged" (Chicagoland, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Music of Bulgaria (Audio CD)

When I was growing up in the US it was still very difficult to buy Bulgarian music, even for a Bulgarian-American living in a major US city like myself. Luckily I owned this, along with another similar LP and I can honestly say I've listened to it (on LP and later CD) thousands of times in my life.

This CD represents many kinds of traditional Bulgarian music, from chorals to gaida (bagpipes) to horos (dance). They're nice examples. I can't say they've compiled the most famous or popular traditional songs of Bulgaria, but it is a nice cross-section. It also has musical styles from several regions throughout the country.

The number four track; Ogreyala Mesetchinka (The Moon Shines) is particularly noteworthy for those interested in vocal styles.

If you're interested in Bulgaria's place in traditional world music this should whet your appetite for more. It should direct you to the genres you like best. And like I said earlier, I relied on this album for nearly two decades, so you can't really go wrong!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A 1955 live recording of then-new Communist-era folk arrangements, September 24, 2008

By 

Christopher Culver - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Music of Bulgaria (Audio CD)

Although Bulgarian music became a major fad in the West in the late 1980s with the "Les Mystere des Voix Bulgares" series of recordings, those same state musicians had toured abroad over thirty years previously. This Nonesuch recording captures one of these concerts of the Ensemble of the Bulgarian Republic. It's mainly choral material, with a few tracks with instruments and two fully instrumental tunes.

It must be said, this is generally not authentic Bulgarian folk music. Rather, we have here a lot of Communist-era arrangements of folk material that make the music more closely stick to Western common practice tonality. "Polegnala e Todora" doesn't even use folk music and just combines its modern music with a "folk-inspired" text. On one hand, one could respect the arrangers for their effort to preserve Bulgarian music in the face of the inevitable end of village cultures by arranging it in internationally palatable ways. On the other hand, one could condemn them for excluding some of the unique "dissonant" features of traditional Bulgarian music. Nonetheless, some songs here do approach real village stylings, such as the exciting dance from the Shopsko region on track 3 and the against the grain harmonies of the song "Ogeyala mesechinka".

The first two volumes of the "Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares" series of recordings remains the best introduction to the faux folk music of Bulgaria. The sound quality of this concert recording makes it less important. Nonetheless, if you've heard "Le Mystere" and want more music in the same vein, this will probably be quite entertaining.