Le Mystère Des Voix Bulgares (album)

''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 soloists Yanka Rupkina, Kalinka Valcheva and Stefka Sabotinova; and the Filip Kutev Ensemble.

Background and history

The album was the result of fifteen years of work by Swiss ethnomusicologist and producer Marcel Cellier and was released in 1975 on his small Disques Cellier label. Some of the recordings he made himself; others were taken from the archives of Radio Sofia. The album won a Grand Prix du Disque award. The album drew on an earlier release, ''Music of Bulgaria: Ensemble of the Bulgarian Republic'', conducted by Kutev (credited as Philippe Koutev), which was released in 1966 by Elektra Records (EKL282), and which itself was a reissue of ''Ensemble de la République Bulgare'', recorded in Paris in 1955 by Le Chant du Monde.

In the 1980s, Ivo Watts-Russell (founder of the British 4AD label) was introduced to the choir from a third or fourth generation audio cassette lent to him by Peter Murphy, singer from the band Bauhaus. He became thoroughly entranced by the music, and tracked down and licensed the recordings from Cellier. It was re-released in 1986 by 4AD in the UK, by the Nonesuch label in the US in 1987, and appeared on the Philips label in other territories.

Subsequent albums were released with similar titles: ''Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares, Volume 2'' (1988), which won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album in 1990; ''Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares, Volume 3'' (1990); and ''Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares, Volume 4'' (1998).

NPR ranked ''Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares, Volume 1'' the 78th greatest album ever made by women.

Reception, influence and legacy

The music has been acclaimed by various artists such as Paul Simon, Kate Bush, George Harrison, David Bowie, Frank Zappa, Peter Murphy of Bauhaus, Elizabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins, Bobby McFerrin, Medwyn Goodall, Enrique Morente, Glen Phillips of Toad the Wet Sprocket, the Grateful Dead, Robert Plant and has prompted worldwide interest.

The American artist Linda Ronstadt stated that the music was "some of the most beautiful he'sever heard". The British-American musician Graham Nash of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young declared after listening to the album: "Every musician who considers himself accomplished should listen to (this group's album) and rethink everything he knows (about singing)." Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead: "They're like angels... exceptionally pure, really polished. Our song 'Uncle John's Band' was inspired by the village music of Bulgaria." Dead Can Dance's singer Lisa Gerrard was so inspired by this album, she declared: "If anybody is changed by this, it's me..."

The soundtrack for the film ''Ghost in the Shell'' (1995) by Kenji Kawai was inspired by the music of the Mystery of the Bulgarian Voices. The track "Polegnala e pshenitsa" features in the soundtrack for the film ''Skeletons'' (2010).

Composer Joseph LoDuca wrote the theme music and incidental music for '' Xena: Warrior Princess''; The theme music was developed from the traditional Bulgarian folk song " Kaval sviri", sung by the Bulgarian State Television Female Vocal Choir. The original "Kaval sviri" can be heard when Xena races into battle in the ''Hercules'' episode " Unchained Heart".

The song "Parasite Eve" by Bring Me the Horizon starts with a sample from the song "Ergen deda". Their vocalist Oli Sykes shared in an interview for ''Kerrang!'' that he chose to include the snippet from "Ergen deda" because it felt euphoric but at the same time foreign and instilled a sense of panic and chaos.

It was ranked number 10 on ''Spin''s list of "The 35 Best Albums of the Last 35 Years".

Track listing

# "Pilentse pee" (Пиленце пее) irdie Sings– 2:31
# "Svatba" (Сватба) he Wedding Procession– 1:27
# "Kalimankou Denkou" (Калиманко Денко) he Evening Gatheringsolo: Yanka Rupkina – 5:06
# "Strati na Angelaki dumashe" (Страти на Ангелаки думаше) aiduk Song– 2:37
# "Polegnala e pshenitsa" (Полегнала е пшеница) arvest Song from Thrace– 2:02
# "Mesechinko lyo greïlivka" (Месечинко льо грейливка) ove Song from the Rhodopes– 2:31
# "Breï Ivane" (Брей Иване) ancing Song– 1:31
# "Ergen deda" (Ерген дядо) iaphonic Chant– 2:50
# "Sableyalo mi agontse" (Заблеяло ми агънце) he Bleating Lambsolo: Kalinka Valcheva – 4:31
# "Prituritse planinata" (Притури се планината) ong from the Thracian Plainwith orchestra – 2:45
# "Mir Stanke le" (Мир Станке ле) arvest Song from Thracesolo: Stefka Sabotinova – 3:10
# "Schopska pesen" (Шопска песен) ong of Shopsko– 1:27
# "Polegnala e Todora" (Полегнала е Тодора) ove Song– 3:38

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mystere Des Voix Bulgares
1975 albums
4AD albums
Nonesuch Records albums
Bulgarian State Television Female Vocal Choir albums
Bulgarian-language albums