Bulgarian Choral

Although it had existed for centuries, the world only discovered the Bulgarian female choral singing tradition in the late 1980s with the release of Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares, a compilation of pieces pulled from the archives of Bulgaria's state radio. The polyphonic and diaphonic harmonies were indeed mysterious, kept alive in the country's mountainous villages where people had moved when the Ottoman Turks invaded the country. The overall sound is more ancient than the Western European ideal of bel canto, and some believe this rawer sound was once more widespread across the continent. Its isolation in the more remote regions of Bulgaria has helped preserve both the style and the local language.

It's a true folk tradition, one with several regional variations, although it's one that's largely always been female. Many of the songs are solo pieces, tales of village life and love, although around the Shop area (near the capital, Sofia) there's a strong history of diaphonic singing, a two- and sometimes three-part harmony. Yet harmony might seem an odd word for a song that thrives on apparent dissonances, underlaid by a drone and interrupted by whoops and yells. But that's exactly what it is.

However, what you hear on discs like Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares isn't the unadulterated village sound, by any means. Under Communism, the government formed and funded folk choirs to help create a national musical identity (an initiative common in Eastern Bloc countries), with the State Ensemble for Folk Songs and Dances the first, under the aegis of Philip Koutev, a composer who grafted much onto the folk songs. This state ideal brought together the best female regional singers in large choirs to perform live, on radio and television. The songs and performers both certainly came from the villages, but the music was heavily arranged to give a full sound. And the singer who brought in the song would take the lead on it to ensure it sounded correct, although the harmonies are generally modern, manufactured constructs. The effect, though, is breathtaking, sounding as ancient and ghostly as the mountains where the music began.

It's the technique that makes this sound so different from Western singing. In the West, people sing from the diaphragm, with their throats open, giving a mellifluous sound, generally known as bel canto. In Bulgaria, air is forced through the vocal chords from the chest, with the throat actually very constricted. According to some, the ability to do this depends largely on physiology, although some small American choirs have learned the very specialized technique. And whereas the West tends to value singers with wide ranges, Bulgarian music has different standards; it works on a much smaller vocal range, only about an octave, although the harmonies often make it seem greater.

The ensembles featured on Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares are just some of many in the country. Trio Bulgarka, for example, has recorded with Kate Bush, while another group, Angelite, has released a few CDs of its own with instrumental backing. Although the singing has fallen out of the world music spotlight in recent years, supplanted by other genres and styles, it remains timeless, riveting and hypnotic. Chris Nickson