A
year or two back mezzo-soprano Vesselina
Kasarova brought out 'Bulgarian
Soul' on the RCA label. It was a
disc that presented arrangements of
traditional Bulgarian folk-tales and
tunes. With this private release, composer
and performer Roumi Petrova also aims
to bring elements of traditional Bulgarian
music to a wider public. The five works
on this CD show some of Petrova's chamber
compositions from recent years. She
mostly avoids quoting or reusing existing
'folk' material, although undoubtedly
the influence is felt throughout. In
this respect, these works can best be
described as being of Bulgarian character
rather than directly within a specific
style.
Petrova,
Bulgarian-born and now resident in New
York, documents how it was only when
she left her native land that she discovered
an interest in the country's music.
Like other countries in the region -
Romania, Ukraine, Hungary - geographical
position played a large part in forming
a native culture based, in her words,
on "immense rhythmic and melodic diversity
[...] the live culture living in the
milk, waiting for the right conditions
to turn it into a tangy yogurt." The
works whilst not tonally challenging,
for the most part use their material
efficiently; but do not seek to stretch
it to the limits that a more adventurous
compositional mind might have sought.
Bacillus
Bulgaricus opens inwardly and reflectively,
followed by a Balkanised French menuet,
Gypsy dance and song. Although heavily
laden with irregular rhythms the work's
structure only makes these overtly apparent
at times. Otherwise, sonority and mood
seem to be the chief concerns of this
and other compositions. The piano quartet
play with a clear sense of inflection
for the line, with individual instruments
nicely voiced.
The
Rodopa suite again is a construct of
European classical forms and Balkan
modes. The fughetta gently layers each
instrument on top of each other - viola
then violins underlined by cello. Elsewhere,
as in the Poem for Violin and String
Quartet, there is a reliance on unison
playing, a typically Balkan concern,
but also incorporating tonal pulling
of the violin lines. Pictures from Bulgaria
and the Sonata draw some inspiration
from existing folk materials. There
is concern for tone and flair in the
performance of these works. Where required
there is conventional fullness of tone,
but moreover there is a desire to communicate
something that is felt within that cannot
be written or taught musically.
Recommended
then not only for those interested in
Eastern European musical influences
and fine, characterful chamber playing.
Rhythmically catchy and tuneful, this
release proves that contemporary composition
can provide undemanding pleasure, but
those after more substantial fare will
quickly look elsewhere.
Evan
Dickerson
(a) Bulgarian Piano Quartet: Krasimira Ivanova
(violin), Roumi Petrova (viola), Kalin Ivanov
(cello), Elena Antimova (piano) 
