Traditional music
Traditional and folk music are the cement of Bulgarian identity, and are national treasures that each generation helps to preserve. Traditional Bulgarian music is not completely unknown to the world, having been popularized by "The Mystery of Bulgarian Voices" in the 1980s and 1990s. Also known as the "Female Vocal Choir of Bulgarian State Television", this state ensemble founded in 1952 has enjoyed worldwide success performing traditional Bulgarian repertoire, even winning a Grammy Award in 1989 and featuring some of its members on a Kate Bush album.
But it was first the pianist and composer Béla Bartók who, during his ethnomusicological collections in the 1930s, was struck by the rhythmic singularity of local music. Characterized by their asymmetry, echoes of these "Bulgarian rhythms" can be found in some of Bartók's compositions, such as Mikrokosmos. While these rhythmic characteristics are common to the whole country, Bulgarian musical tradition varies greatly from region to region. The most famous practice, polyphonic singing, originates mainly in the south-west, in the region around the capital Sofia and Pirin (in Bulgarian Macedonia).
To discover Bulgarian music, a number of artists and albums are excellent starting points, such as the compilation Musique de Bulgarie published by Nonesuch in 1955, a little treasure. Recorded by Philip Koutev (founder of the "Mystery of Bulgarian Voices"), legend has it that the album influenced Frank Zappa, as well as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. A spin-off from the "Mystery of Bulgarian Voices", the Bulgarka trio also produced a Bulgarian traditional music staple, The Forest Is Crying (released by Hannibal in 1988). Other artists include Valya Balkanska, famous for her song Izlelye Delyo Haydutin, sent into space with the Voyager program in 1977, and Ivo Papazov, a virtuoso clarinetist of spectacular vivacity and a great specialist in Bulgarian folklore. These works and artists are all opportunities to hear traditional Bulgarian instruments such as the gaïda (traditional goatskin bagpipes), the kaval (a flute very similar to the Arab ney), the doudouk (a pipe), the tamboura (a long-necked lute, a cousin of the Greek bouzouki), the gadoulka (a kind of viol) and the tapan (a large drum carried on the shoulder).
In 1965, the Ministry of Culture founded the Koprivshtitsa National Music Festival, which has become a major event in the promotion of Bulgarian music and dance. Held every five years in August, it attracts thousands of Bulgarians of all generations. Other notable folk festivals include the Plovdiv International Folk Festival, much of which takes place in the city's beautiful Roman amphitheatre, and the smaller Smolyan Festival, ideally located in the capital of the Rhodopes. Folk music can also be heard in mehanas - traditional Bulgarian taverns.
The ever-popular chaga
Typically Bulgarian music? If you ask a young or not-so-young person, chances are they'll answer chalga. A distant relative of Serbian turbofolk, this hectic, frenzied music combines local folklore, electronic music and Balkan or Turkish rhythms. It's a fairly simple formula, often involving the addition of an electronic beat to a vaguely traditional melody, enhanced by a little bling and provocative imagery. The genre is so popular here that chalga has almost become a lifestyle, a subculture in its own right with its own fashion, brands and values - often centered around the body (prominent muscles, breast implants, etc.) and excessive consumerism.
The chalga 's superstar is also its most controversial figure: Azis. Bisexual and of Roma origin, with a weakness for studded Perfecto's, rhinestone heels and red wigs, Azis' enormous success is a bit of a departure in a rather conservative and homophobic country. Used to racking up hits, his track Sen Trope (meaning Saint-Tropez) is undoubtedly the biggest of them all, as well as an excellent gateway to discovering the artist. Less iconic but just as beloved by Bulgarians, other notable performers in the genre are Preslava, a fixture in Bulgarian music, Anelia, who often tops the charts, and Fiki, one of the male references in the genre.
In Bulgaria, there's no need to look for chalga, it comes to you. You listen to it on car radios and in bars, and watch its crazy clips on music channels. That said, a number of venues in Bulgaria dedicate their stages to the genre, such as Sofia's Folk Club Revue and its 100% chalga program, or Molerite in Bansko, a mehana that transforms into a club after 11pm.
Classical music
Interest in music other than folk or religious songs only began to develop in the town of Shoumen in the middle of the 19th century. Favored by Hungarian and Polish emigration, as well as by French troops stationed during the Crimean War, this interest grew steadily from then on. Solfeggio was introduced at school for the first time, and student choirs and orchestras proliferated. It was Dobri Voïnikov who composed the first Bulgarian pieces, followed by numerous musicians, the most famous of whom came from the Shoumen school: Pantcho Vladiguérov (1889-1978). Probably the greatest Bulgarian composer, his work is extremely complex, varied and imbued with national character. He is close to the realist traditions of European classical music, with a great deal of originality inspired by Bulgarian folklore. His famous rhapsody, Vardar, the best-known outside the country, is familiar to every Bulgarian. A great teacher, his pupils included some of the country's greatest composers, such as the prolific Stefan Remenkov, whose music is luminous, lively and steeped in folklore, and Alexis Weissenberg, a great pianist (naturalized French) whom Karajan considered one of the best of his time.
Another great Bulgarian composer, Parashkev Hadjiev (1912-1992), is one of the most prolific of the 20th century, with twenty-one operas, six operettas, three musicals and numerous symphonic and chamber works. His contemporary Marin Goleminov (1908-2000) is also one of the most respected composers, with works strongly imbued with traditional rhythms and folk melodic motifs. In the contemporary field, Georgi Tutev (1924-1994) remains one of the leading exponents of Bulgarian modernism and, more recently, Dobrinka Tabakova has established herself as one of Bulgaria's most prominent female composers (she was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2014).
Most of the great Bulgarian composers are played by the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, Bulgaria's oldest symphony ensemble (1928) and resident of the splendid Bulgaria Hall. Today under the direction of Nayden Todorov, great national conductors have led the ensemble in the past, such as Atanas Margaritov in 1945 (he was also director of the Ghent Opera and later the Dijon Opera) and Dobrin Petkov, who led the ensemble in the 1960s. They are the great names of Bulgarian conducting, alongside Emil Tchakarov (1948-1991), who was conductor of the Flanders Symphony Orchestra between 1983 and 1986, Rossen Milanov (1965), director of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, or Rossen Gergov (1981), formerly director of the Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra (responsible for numerous recordings).
In addition to its fine orchestras, the country also boasts outstanding soloists of international renown, such as Anatoli Kratsev (1947), an eminent cellist widely regarded as one of Bulgaria's most important musicians, Vasko Vassilev, a star violinist who has worked with the likes of Placido Domingo, Sting and the Rolling Stones, and Svetlin Roussev (1976), another remarkable violinist, Plamena Mangova (1980), a great pianist who performs regularly with the Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France, and among the younger generation, the virtuoso violinist Liya Petrova (1990) and Vassilena Serafimova (1985), a percussionist and marimbist who is actively contributing to the marimba's worldwide renown.
A country in love with the voice, Bulgaria has unsurprisingly seen a proliferation of stars in the lyric arts for over a century. These include the eminent Raina Kabaivanska (1934), one of the leading lirico-spinto sopranos of her generation, particularly associated with Verdi and Puccini; Ghena Dimitrova, one of the greatest Verdian sopranos of the 20th century, who performed extensively in Paris, Milan and New York; and basses Boris Hristov, Nicolai Ghiaurov and Nicolai Ghiuselev. The first, Boris Hristov (1914-1993), is undoubtedly the most famous Bulgarian bass, singing in the world's greatest concert halls and eternally associated with Boris Godunov, his favorite role. The second, Nicolai Ghiaurov (1929-2004), lent his powerful voice to the most beautiful roles by Mussorgsky and Verdi, and the third, Nicolai Ghiuselev (1936-2014), performed on the world's greatest stages, mainly in the Italian and Russian repertoires. More recently, sopranos Alexandrina Pendatchanska (1970) and Sonya Yoncheva (1981) have made their mark on the world's great opera stages.
In Bulgaria, several venues offer opera programming. In addition to the Sofia National Opera - which offers a high-quality repertoire - Plovdiv has a National Opera of similar prestige (the famous Plovdiv Philharmonic performs there regularly). The Roussé Opera House is considered one of the best in Bulgaria, while the Varna Opera House also offers a good program in a superb building. In terms of events, the Varna International Music Festival was Bulgaria's first music festival, in 1926, and today remains an internationally renowned event.
The dance
Naturally, the rhythmic specificities of folk music - asymmetries, combinations of short and long beats - are found in Bulgarian dances. The most popular of these is undoubtedly the horo, in which everyone holds hands or shoulders, in a line or in a circle, like a bourrée from Auvergne. Although it has variations throughout the Balkans, horo is also expressed differently in different regions of Bulgaria. Many other popular dances are performed in line, such as the tropanka, with its heavy, telluric style, or the tritepati, with its succession of fast and slow steps.
There's also the Nestinarstvo rite , one of the oldest in Bulgaria, which traditionally sees nestinars dancing in a trance, barefoot, over embers to the sound of a bass drum or bagpipes. Ember dance performances can be seen in some traditional restaurants, but are no match for the real thing. This is usually held on May 21. Otherwise, the Rose Festival, in the first week of June, is an excellent opportunity to see traditional dances and authentic costumes and rites all over the country.
