Village Music of Bulgaria [coll] – [Elektra Nonesuch]

This CD compiles two Bulgarian folk compilations (1970′s ‘A Harvest, A Shepherd, A Bride’ and 1971′s ‘In The Shadow Of The Mountain’), both drawn from recordings made by Ethel Raim and Martin Koenig in Bulgaria in 1968. These two records, quite famous in certain circles, comprise a mixture of instrumental folk dances and vocal pieces. The majority of the tracks with singing (in Bulgarian of course) feature women, and the majority of the instrumental tracks feature men, as is traditional there, but a couple of tracks (10, 12, 24) do feature male vocals. As a territory of strategic importance, Bulgaria was occupied multiple times throughout history (most notably by the Turkish Ottoman Empire for 500 years) and so its music is a kaleidoscope of influences, varying by region and sometimes with seeming echoes of Celtic (2,7,12), Middle Eastern (4,20) and Steppes traditions (3). Many songs are laments that deal with a lack of agency suffered by Bulgarian women in times past: arranged marriage is a frequent theme (see t.5,6,9,17,24). Another common concern is the heroism of Bulgarian resistance fighters (or hadjuks) taking on occupying Turks (nationalist folk hero Yane Sandanski is referenced in t.13,14,23 and 25), as well as rejection of Turkish-enforced conversion to Islam (7,17). The small Bulgarian Islamic minority, the Pomak people, is also given a voice, however (11,18,21). You can also hear traditional Bulgarian wind instruments here like the kaval (2), kaba gaida (10,12) and zurna (20). My highlights included hauntingly sad t.6, two ex-miners playing dizzying pipes on t.12, and a whole family (including the 10-year-old on drums) playing on t.20. Classic dances can be found on t.2 and 4. These songs are often truly transcendent in a way made even more poignant if one considers the hardship out of which they no doubt developed.