The Bulgarian State Television Female Vocal Choir is an internationally renowned world music ensemble that performs modern arrangements of traditional Bulgarian folk melodies. It is most recognized for its contribution to

Marcel Cellier Marcel Cellier (29 October 1925 – 13 December 2013) was a Swiss organist, ethnomusicologist and music producer, internationally known for introducing the singing of '' Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares'', and the playing of Gheorghe Zamfir. Celli ...

's Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares (The Mystery Of The Bulgarian Voices) project. First created in 1952 as the Ensemble for Folk Songs of the Bulgarian Radio by Georgi Boyadjiev, the choir is now under the direction of Dora Hristova. The choir was granted the name Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares by Marcel Cellier in 1997, in recognition of the fact that it had contributed most of the songs on the original compilations.

Membership and methods

Singers are chosen from country villages for the beauty and openness of their voices, and undergo extensive training in the unique, centuries-old singing style. Influenced by Bulgaria's

Thracian The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied t ...

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

, Ottoman and

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

history, their music is striking in its use of diaphonic singing and distinctive timbre, as well as its modal scales, unusual meters (such as 7/8, 9/8, and 11/8), and dissonant harmonies (abundant second, seventh, and ninth intervals). All of these are characteristic of

Bulgarian folk music The music of Bulgaria refers to all forms of music associated with the country of Bulgaria, including classical, folk, popular music, and other forms. Classical music, opera, and ballet are represented by composers Emanuil Manolov, Pancho Vladig ...

History

In 1951

Filip Kutev Filip Kutev ( bg, Филип Кутев), often anglicized Philip Koutev (13 June 1903 – 27 November 1982), was a Bulgarian composer, arranger and founder, with his wife Maria Kuteva, in 1951, of Bulgaria's first professional, state supported ense ...

and Maria Kuteva founded the first professional national folk music ensemble in Bulgaria, the State Ensemble for Folk Song and Dance, now known as the Filip Kutev Ensemble. The State Television Choir followed in 1952. Though the latter choir became widely known when the trend-setting English alternative record label 4AD reissued a pair of anthology albums in 1986 and 1988 with the now famous title ''

Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares ''Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares'' (translated as "The Mystery of Bulgarian Voices") is a compilation album of modern arrangements of Bulgarian folk songs featuring, among others, the Bulgarian State Radio & Television Female Vocal Choir, with s ...

,'' their recordings date as far back as 1957. The first pressing of the Voix Bulgares album was the result of 15 years of work by Swiss ethnomusicologist and producer

and was originally released in 1975 on his Discs Cellier label.

Ivo Watts-Russell Ivo Watts-Russell (born 1954) is a British music producer and record label executive. He was joint-founder with Peter Kent of the indie record label 4AD. He has produced several records, although he prefers to use the term "musical director". Ea ...

, the founder of the 4AD Records label, was introduced to the choir by a third- or fourth-generation audio cassette lent to him by Peter Murphy of the band

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 200 ...

. He became entranced by the music, and tracked down and licensed the recordings from Cellier. They were one of four choirs to appear on the album ''Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares, Volume Two,'' This album won Cellier a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

in 1989. The group has since performed extensively around the world to wide acclaim.

Trio Bulgarka

Three prominent soloists of the group have also performed together as

Trio Bulgarka Trio Bulgarka ( bg, Трио „Българка“; also known as "Three Golden Coins", previously known as "Bulgarka Folk Trio") were a Bulgarian vocal ensemble. They gained international prominence through their contributions to the groundbr ...

, known in the West primarily for singing on the

Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and dancer. In 1978, at the age of 19, she topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks with her debut single "Wuthering Heights (song), Wuthering Heights", ...

albums ''

The Sensual World ''The Sensual World'' is the sixth studio album by the English art rock singer Kate Bush, released on 16 October 1989 by EMI Records. It reached No. 2 on the UK Albums Chart. It has been certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (B ...

'' and '' The Red Shoes.'' The trio also performed with the Italian rock band

Elio e Le Storie Tese Elio e le Storie Tese (; literally "Elio and the Troubled Stories"), often abbreviated EelST, was an Italian comedy rock band from Milan, formed in 1980. Its leader was Stefano Belisari, better known as Elio. They announced their split on 17 Oct ...

on the single ''Pipppero'' from the album ''

İtalyan, rum casusu çikti ''Italyan, rum casusu çikti'' is the second studio album by Italian rock band Elio e le Storie Tese. The album title is in Turkish and means "Italian (man) found out to be a Greek spy". This phrase appeared in a Turkish newspaper after Massimo ...

,'' and has released two albums of its own. The three women in the trio are Stoyanka Boneva from Pirin, Yanka Rupkina from Strandja and Eva Georgieva from Dobrudja.

The Xenaverse connection

The choir became best known in the United States for its contributions to the music of '' Xena: Warrior Princess,'' whose theme music Joseph LoDuca developed from ''" Kaval sviri,"'' one of the Bulgarian folk songs that form the bulk of their repertoire.

Discography

*1975

, Compilation,

Disques Cellier Marcel Cellier (29 October 1925 – 13 December 2013) was a Swiss organist, ethnomusicologist and music producer, internationally known for introducing the singing of ''Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares (album), Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares'', and th ...

*1987 Cathedral Concert (Live), PolyGram (re-released in 1992) *1988 Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares, volume II,

*1989 Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares, volume III,

*1993 From Bulgaria with Love: the Pop Album, Rhino/Atlantic *1993 Melody Rhythm & Harmony, Rhino/Atlantic *1994 Ritual, Nonesuch/Elektra *1995 Box Set: Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares, volumes I - II and Ritual, Nonesuch/Elektra *1998 Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares, volume IV, Philips *2001 Bulgarian Custom Songs, Gega *2003 A Portrait of Nikolai Kaufmann, Riva Sound / KVZ Music Ltd. *2008 Music From Alone in the Dark, composed by Olivier Derivière, Milan Records *2017 Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares ft.

Lisa Gerrard Lisa Germaine Gerrard (; born 12 April 1961) is an Australian musician, singer and composer who rose to prominence as part of the music group Dead Can Dance with music partner Brendan Perry. She is known for her unique singing style technique ( ...

- Pora Sotunda (Single on a vinyl & digital) *2018 Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares ft. Lisa Gerrard - BooCheeMish (New album)

References

External links

The Mystery of Bulgarian Voices4AD Artist pageVideo of performance on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show
{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1952 Bulgarian folk music groups 4AD artists Bulgarian choirs Nonesuch Records artists 1952 establishments in Bulgaria Women's choirs Culture in Sofia