Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares

[katefans@world.std.com (Chris'n'Vickie of Kansas City)]

Vickie here. I promised this a while back, so here it is:

 Milo (from rec.music.misc) had this to say:

> But what do "Le Mystere des voix Bulgares" sound like, I
> think I heard a song by (them?) once...

I'm no good at all at describing music in any way that makes sense,
so I'll quote Ivo Watts-Russell  (4AD) from Vol. 1:

"I was first introduced to 'le mystere des voix bulgares' via a third
generation tape (at least!) by Peter Murphy. After a fair amount of
tracking and detective work I was able to discover the source of this
music and commence discussions to arrange a release in Britain.

...both Elizabeth Fraser and Lisa Gerrard are capable of inducing
the daunting sensibility somewhere between sheer terror and total
euphoria. Never before, however have I been so intensely subjugated 
the human voice. The Language may well be alien, but the sentiment
and emotion (create your own?) or unmitigated vocal techniques
are to be universally relished."

             --------------------------
       
This was written by the Swiss musicologist Marcel Cellier, who
recorded the (deep breath) Bulgarian State Radio and Television
Female Vocal Choir aka Le Mystere des voix Bulgares aka Mystery
of the Bulgarian Voice aka Bulgarian Female Vocal Choir aka
Bulgarian Chorus* over a period of twenty years and was responsible
for bringing Western attention to them.

"When sung, the human voice is more eloquent than when spoken. The
Bulgarian people are aware of this honesty, and respect the art of 
singing above all other forms of artistic expression. Their genius in
this field is the fruit of a thousand year history of tears and 
suffering, and it draws its life from the roots of another world;
Byzantium. The ramifications of these roots get lost further in the
ancient and obscure civilisation of the Thracians, whose exceptional
musical genius was renowned at the time. These roots disappear at the
cavernous source of the River Trigradska, where Orpheus entered the 
Underworld in search of Eurydice.
In its thousand year history Bulgarian song bears the scars of an
extremely difficult evolution, marked by five nightmarish centuries
of Ottoman domination. This is how the art of the voice, the only free
expression of the Bulgarian people, aquired its colour and vivid
evocation.
Originally monodic, it became diaphonic, developing its own polyphony,
before encountering Occidental harmony in the 20th Century--to its 
advantage. Avoiding the degrading and polluting effects of "recreational"
and fashional aspects of western song, the Bulgarian song has retained
its original expressive magnificence to be enjoyed with eyelids closed.
Thereby, a magical synthesis presents itself to today's interested ear:
fabulous historical elements, from Byzatine liturgy, popular song and
laments, as well as epic and heroic tales, fused together into authentic
jewels. But there is more than the extraordinary melodic, rhythmic and
harmonic appeals: there is the timbre. This vocal resonance is
characteristic of the non-vibrato "open" voices of the young Bulgarian
country girls. For it is from the villages, and not the Academy of Music,
that the Sofian officials select the vocal chords that constitute the
acapella choirs represented here. The preparatory work is a long and
exacting job, since these young women are generally ignorant of the
rudiments of music, practising an intuitive approach-which is just one 
of the mysteries of their art.
It is with stunning facility that these girls ascend and go beyond the
usual limits of the vocal discipline advocated by our musical academies.
What they retain comes from their background: melisma, fiorittura and
trill, as well as a fierce predilection for the second as a diaphonic
interval. Whenever these women congregate they naturally break into 
song, using the second-full, half, quarter and even eighth of a 
note, sometimes tremolo-with a disconcerting accuracy. One of the
voices sustains the fundamental note--like the drone-pipe on a bagpipe--
while the other voices weave their own melody over this basic sound,
always trying to get as close to it as possible. The outcome of it 
all often results in a very mordent atonality, in total contrast with
our traditional western harmonic system. I must say that it used to 
tickle my ear in the headphones while I did my first recordings!
But with practise--for performer and listener--the dissonance
becomes consonant. A work of rare intricacy. 
A monk from the venerable monastery of Rila devoted twelve years
working with the tip of a pin by candlelight--to inlay biblical
scenes into a cross, a lime wood crucifix, until he lost his sight.
Once the masterpiece was finished he said that perfection could
only be obtained at the expense of suffering. The evolution of the
treasure in the finely wrought Bulgarian chants derives from the
same process.
                      Beauty of perfection!
                      Perfection of beauty!

It is between these two exclamations that lies...the mystery of the
Bulgarian voices.                    
                        Marcel Cellier
                        Translated from the French by Catherine Gaitte


* not to be confused with the Ensemble of the Bulgarian Republic
or Sofia Women's Choir aka Le Chant des Femmes Bulgares aka
Song of the Bulgarian Women, or Trio Bulgarka (which I suppose
means Three exceptional women singers from Bulgaria, which they
most certainly are). Confused? Don't be. Just start with:
**  Le Mystere des voix Bulgares Volume 1, and go from there. **

                   *************************
 
>Also, I'm curious to know which MALE Pro-Rock artists you
>enjoy listening to...

"Pro-Rock"? That would limit my answer. I like lots of different
genres of music.   
My favorite male musician is still Peter Gabriel (since 1973).
A few others artists/groups, in no particular order:
Penguin Cafe Orchestra        Tom Waits          Eugene Chadbourne
Boiled In Lead                The Pogues         Steve Tibbetts
Robyn Hitchcock               Ryuichi Sakamoto   David Byrne
Camper Van Beethoven          Brian Eno          Nigel Kennedy
Ravi Shankar                  Danny Elfman       Scott Joplin
Louie-Bluie                   BCR                Todd Rundgren
XTC                           Steve Hackett      Elvis Costello
Poi Dog Pondering             The Chieftains     Youssou N'Dour

Those come to mind immediately. There are so many others that I
will probably think of as soon as this is posted. There are
groups/artists that I admire and like, but haven't had the chance
to really get into. For instance, Japan or Bill Nelson.
I'll be the first to admit that my main interest is in finding
female vocalists/musicians and that my knowledge of male groups
has suffered because of it. Especially in the last two years since
my show went on the air. Oh well...

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