2023 Approaching 60,000 reviews and more.. and still writing ...	Search MusicWeb Here

Searching Musicweb Monthly index Recordings of the Year Label index Masterwork index Series index Search engines Review Archive Classical Downloads Jazz Concerts Nostalgia Books Film music Resources Composer pages Tony Duggan's Mahler National Discographies Mark Morris's Guide to C20th Composers Ralph Moore's Surveys Online books Piano Trio Survey Cello Concerto Project Pot Pourri - Early MusicWeb Gerard Hoffnung Arthur Butterworth's columns Philip Scowcroft's British light music Interviews Programme notes MusicWeb Listening Studio Talking about Books Other material Articles Seen & Heard Message Board About Musicweb About Musicweb Contact Musicweb Contributors What they say about us Visitor stats Site Map

Founder: Len Mullenger                                    Editor in Chief:John Quinn

BUY NOW  Crotchet   AmazonUK   AmazonUS

Bulgarian Soul - Kasarova - Kyurkchiyski Dilmano, Dilbero Kalimanku, Denku Day mi, Bozhe, krila lebedovi (Give me, oh God, the wings of a swan) Zablyalo mi e agantse (A little lamb was bleating) Polegnala e Tudora * (Fair Tudora is dozing) Rofinka bolna lezhi (Rufinka lies ill) Melodiya Slantse ogreyalo (The sun is shining) Se ma yad, mamo (I'm so angry, mother) Malkata tsvetarka ¹ (The flowergirl) Vokaliza Mama Rada dumashe (Mama was telling Rada) Proshetna se Momchilitsa (Momchil's young wife) Ya kazhi mi, oblache le byalo (Tell me, little white cloud) (All traditional songs, arranged Kyurkchiyski, except * (Variations on a traditional song, composed by Kyurkchiyski) and ¹ (words by Smirnenski, music by Kyurkchiyski).) Vesselina Kasarova, mezzo-soprano Ermila Schweizer-Sekulinova, piano Cosmic Voices from Bulgaria (Vania Moneva, chorus master) "Sofia Soloists" Chamber Orchestra Tzanko Dimitrov Delibozov, conductor Recorded at the Bulgaria Concert Hall, Sofia, July 5th-9th 2002. BMG-RCA Red Seal 74321936582 [59.43]

Error processing SSI file

In 1986, the visionary but, until then, rather stereotyped independent label 4AD licensed the release of the original Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares from ethnomusicologist Marcel Cellier's catalogue of extensive "field" recordings and set in train a whole plethora of recordings celebrating the Bulgarian a capella choral tradition. As an indication of how far this music has reached out from its specific local origins, a recent Desert Island Discs saw South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela set it alongside Louis Armstrong and Miles Davis in his personal pantheon. The traditional element here is provided by Cosmic Voices, an ensemble to stand, on this evidence, with the best that has gone before. What is new, in this obvious labour of love for Bulgarian mezzo Kasarova, is the addition, to a greater, lesser or, in a few cases, almost non-existent extent of art/operatic vocals and orchestral arrangements/accompaniments. As an introduction to the uninitiated, I can only fault it in the sense that it provides a more urbane, cosmopolitan, and therefore slightly artificial take on what, in essence, is a pure folk tradition, albeit one of almost incomparable quality and beauty. In relation to the aforementioned Cellier recordings and subsequent similar ones, I have to conclude that in the main, as is often the case (Constant Lambert's famous words, although I only selectively agree with them, about embellishment of folk music, spring to mind!), here more most definitely means less. As a result the most successful tracks, in other words the ones that retain the most of the purity and rawness/naturalness of the traditional choral sound are the most moving, affecting and effective. Polegnala e Tudora is a song that appears on both the groundbreaking 4AD disc and this one (there is not that much actual overlap otherwise) and unfortunately also, to these ears, represents the low point of this issue. As anyone who has read my previous reviews for this site will know, I am absolutely not someone who is against the idea of "crossover" per se, in fact I enjoy (and have reviewed) many items of this nature. However, arranger Kyurkchiyski, in his only "original" composition manages to turn a lovely piece into some sort of artsong cum impressionist/improv workout. I don't, however, want to be seen to be churlish about this important disc - the packaging, notes and, especially, the images (artefacts/reminders of past cultures in the region) included are superb and, in fact, may actually make the listening an anti-climax (although only if you are familiar with the genre already, I would suspect). The references to the Thracian Orphic tradition are welcome and entirely appropriate and, despite the reservations of an initiate/connoisseur(?) outlined above, I can only see a purchaser of this recording being enlightened and stimulated by it. A conduit, like the mythic River Styx, between two worlds, which are, I like to think being brought closer together. Neil Horner Error processing SSI file

Return to Index

Error processing SSI file