Customer Reviews

Le Mystere Des Voix Bulgares 2

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When you listen to Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares you feel like you are in some place else rather then Earth. This is a very good album with the same quality of the first one, which was a superb CD. The second one still brings you the angelical voices of these incredible women. The voice of Yanka Roupkina set up a standart in the frist one (third track, Kalimankou Denkou). If you liked the first one you certainly will like the second.

I knew very little about the Bulgarian State TV and Radio Womens hoir until I heard a short clip of di-li do on the radio. I was intrigued and decided to buy a CD to see if I would like more of their music. Lo and behold the CD arrived and went straight into the CD-player. I was enchanted with the sometimes haunting music. In some cases it can be dissonant (my wife's reaction was "What the heck is that") but it draws you in. Not all of the tracks are great but some are amazing di-li do in particular. My music collection features a range of less conventional music such as Kodo, modern organ music, Russian liturgy, and so on and so on. This fits right in. It's odd how traditional musical styles can fit with a modern classical music sensibility. I recommend this highly but do advise listening to some of the 30 second clips if you are unsure. Once you get hooked though this is compelling. I willl buy more of the oeuvre in the future.

If you have never heard the Bulgarian Women's Choir, do yourself a favor and check this out. Music from the heavens! Just LOVE this CD!

In 1988 the French record producer Marcel Cellier brought recordings of a few Bulgarian state ensemles to the West. The resulting album, LE MYSTERE DES VOIX BULGARES was an explosive suprise and helped start a world music explosion. But Cellier had more material, and this VOLUME 2 quickly appeared. On these 16 songs performed by the Bulgarian State Television Female vocal choir, we hear the same exotic music, where singers possess limited vocal range but piercing projection and resonance, joining in intervals never heard in traditional Western art music.

It must again be repeated that this is not authentic Bulgarian folk music, but rather sophisticated arrangements made by composers during the Communist era. Many of the lyrics here are from old folk songs ("Ghiore Dos" is actually a popular children's song), and the method of singing each singer displays is truly old, but you're crazy if you think any folk music has four-part counterpoint. Still, folk cultures are dying across Europe, and these arrangements are becoming all we have left of a precious tradition snuffed out by Western decadence.

The fine arrangement "Kaval Sviri" is just as good an opener as "Pilentze Pee" was on the first disc. Subsequent standouts include "Bezrodna Nevesta", "Izpoved", and "Atmadja Duma Strachilu". My favourite dialect of Bulgarian is that of the Shopsko region, and I was happy to see it represented here with "Tche Da Kupim Bela Seitsa". Some of the other material, however, is uneven. "Di-Li-Do", for example, is just plain silly, although the recording quality charmingly hints that it was long buried in some archive.

As with the first volume, I'm unhappy here Nonesuch's packaging. No lyrics or translations are provided for the songs--although since most are about death and unrequited love, this may be to spare some sense of magic for the listener who doesn't speak Bulgarian. The transliteration used is meant for speakers of French, and is filled with typos to boot, which makes it hard for one to reconstruct the original Cyrillic title of each song. Nonetheless, it's a good record, and those who can't get enough of the first volume would probably find this a decent purchase. Steer clear of RITUAL, the third entry in the series, which departs greatly from the first two volumes with disappointing results.

Have you ever had that transporting experience in a church or other large open space listening to a bunch of singers do their thing acapella? This is like that. Play it loud and imagine their voices taking you with them. You will feel refreshed.

This is such wonderful music, but it is not as good as the first volume.

A wonderful example of Bulgarian music, Le Mystere Des Voix Bulgares takes quality to the max. With a marvolous blend of voices and tone colors this music grabs you from the moment you put it in your cd player. I strongly suggest this album which is in many ways, too amazing to describe in words.

~Alicia~