calderra – The Mystery Of The Bulgarian Voices

The Mystery of the Bulgarian Voices ft. Lisa Gerrard – ‘BooCheeMish’ reviewed

June 22, 2018

❉ Folkloric musical legends release first new album in 20 years in collaboration with vocalist Lisa Gerrard of Dead Can Dance.

“The critical temptation when attempting to describe the Voix Bulgares’ sound is to lapse towards purpler prose and give it the sonic cathedral bit. In fact, there’s nothing frilly or ornamental about their communal voice, which can display a touch of severity to fresh ears… There is a comfort with and beautiful use of dissonance at the centre of their sound, which.. hovers movingly on the very edge of discomfort.”

Despite the two parties coming from incredibly different backgrounds (it’s a long, long distance between Sofia and Melbourne), in many ways it’s a wonder this collaboration hasn’t happened sooner. Back in the eighties, they were actually labelmates at the ineffable 4AD Records, Gerrard with her & Brendan Perry’s haunting outfit Dead Can Dance, & the Bulgarian Voices (then still known as the rather less allusive Bulgarian State Television Female Vocal Choir) on the two Le Mystere De Voix Bulgares compilations the record label issued from their historic recordings. Furthermore, Gerrard has attested to their significant influence upon her. Dead Can Dance often seemed to have aeons coursing their veins, Gerrard’s vocalising at once arcane and innovative, and the Voix Bulgares’ chorale is a rich melange of various folk styles of their ancestry; their respective sounds meld beautifully, as if sharing a spirit.

Although coming to relative prominence at a time when world music was a shiny new thing in the marketplace, the Voix Bulgares have remained a rarifed pleasure in the years since (this release marking their first recordings for over two decades).Probably still best known for their Trio Bulgarka offshoot’s work with Kate Bush on her Sensual World and Red Shoes albums – and, wonderfully, the theme tune for everyone’s favourite Thracian amazon, Xena: Warrior Princess – their low profile has actually worked to their advantage in some ways, their music not subject to overkill adland appropriation or documentary background waft and thus retaining a goodly proportion of its essential enigma. Gerrard, since Dead Can Dance were put on hold between 1998 and 2011, has forged a prolific and award-winning career in the soundtrack business, and it’s this sensibility she brings to the collaboration (along with co-composer, Jules Maxwell), a proud guest of the ensemble, a striking contribution but not an overwhelming one (only four songs of the album’s twelve), care taken to observe and honour traditional settings whilst plainly introducing contemporary musical figures.

The critical temptation when attempting to describe the Voix Bulgares’ sound is to lapse towards purpler prose and give it the sonic cathedral bit. In fact, there’s nothing frilly or ornamental about their communal voice, which can display a touch of severity to fresh ears. The layered a cappella style can be driftingly oceanic (Stanka, Zabelyalo Agne) or percussively forceful (Yove, Rano Ranila – the latter featuring the mouth music of Belgian human-beatbox SkilleR as if to slyly illustrate that ancient and modern aren’t so very different after all), but it’s never less than powerful. There is a comfort with and beautiful use of dissonance at the centre of their sound, which when harnessed to the exceptional, muscular breath control required to produce such tones results in a music which hovers movingly on the very edge of discomfort.

What prevents this music from becoming foreboding in its power is also a result of technique. Long, long ago (in etc etc), I was a chorister, and can remember the transporting effect when your larynx was mainlining your entire chest cavity; I can only imagine that to be one of the Voix Bulgares must be levitational. Their interpretations of their homeland traditionals have all the complex manoeuvre of, say, Anglican canticles and responses, but with no sense of formality, instead a natural, instinctive tributary. The lifeforce of performance is vividly present and transformative.

The reasons for the long gap between Voix Bulgares recordings are not merely artistic. Political times apparently haven’t been to kind to them as an entity, and with such a large and movable cast of members, the body of the chorale is naturally subject to flux. With this in mind, it’s unsurprising that executive producer Boyana Bounkova has chosen to experiment with popular (if not actually “pop”) backing at times. Crucially eschewing non-acoustic instrumentation, the end result is pleasingly sympathetic, miles away from scented candles and dreamcatchers, and actually quite sparing. The album was constructed over a period of several years, as and when possible, yet sounds quite of a whole and of itself, a testament to the native authority of the core vocal heritage.

BooCheeMish, then (the title, by the way, simply a phoenetic spelling of Buchimish, a Bulgar folk dance in 15/16 time, rather than an obtuse allusion – again, we’re back to resisting over-mystification here) is a very welcome and restorative musical experience, hopefully the start of a new and fruitful phase for the Voix Bulgares. And in a world like it always seems to be these days, hubbub and echo chamber, it can only be rewarding to take a short while to appreciate actual – natural, devotional – resonance.

❉ The Mystery of the Bulgarian Voices ft. Lisa Gerrard – ‘BooCheeMish’ was released internationally on May 25th, 2018, by Prophecy Productions on LP, CD, digital, and specially designed limited edition box set formats.

BooCheeMish

May 25, 2018

On 25 May 2018 the Mystery Of The Bulgarian Voices released their first album of new studio recordings in over two decades. In ‘BooCheeMish’ the renowned Bulgarian choir performs together with the former 4AD Records label mate Lisa Gerrard on four tracks, thus uniting two of the most distinctive vocal acts working in music. Gerrard, who is also well known for her movie soundtrack work on films such as ‘Gladiator’ and ‘The Insider’, has often spoken about the influence the choir exerted on her singing technique when she discovered their music in the early 1980’s.

In successfully connecting Bulgarian folklore with other traditions and cultures, the album manages to retain the unique identity of the voices, vocal styles and techniques of the individual choir members, even when allying them with acoustic accompaniment such as string instruments, various types of world percussion and even beatbox.

Once described as ‘the marriage of the avant-garde and the Middle Ages’, the magic of the ensemble stems from its success in mastering Bulgaria’s diverse, age-old vocal traditions while simultaneously sounding strikingly modern and original, thanks to the unique choral music structure – multi-part a cappella arrangements that transform its collective sound into strange colours as if something other than the human voice is being heard.

‘Boocheemish’, which is produced by Schubert Music Publishing, is now available through Prophecy Productions in 5 physical configurations (CD, LP, SACD, limited edition and a boxset) and digitally on all digital platforms.

An Unlikely Union Between an ’80s Rock Star and a Folk Choir Blossoms in Bulgaria

March 28, 2018

Thirty-one years ago, a recording by an all-female Bulgarian choir singing in a thousand-year-old style somehow wound up selling a startling 500,000 copies in the United States.

The mysterious breakthrough of the group’s self-titled album, “Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares” (“The Mystery of the Bulgarian Voices”), coupled with the release of Paul Simon’s “Graceland,” helped usher in a “world music” movement. A follow-up album from the women bagged a Grammy in 1989, and they toured to sold-out crowds around the world.

“The whole appeal was in their a cappella singing,” said Robert Hurwitz, who paid only $8,000 to license the original “Le Mystère” album in America for Nonesuch, the label he then led. “The purity of their sound was thrilling.”

Now, after more than two decades away from the studio, the choir is returning — but with a sound that isn’t quite so pure. Their comeback release, “BooCheeMish,” matches the choir’s folkloric harmonies to multitudes of instruments, not all of them traditional. It also includes collaborations with a singer and songwriter who comes from a wholly different style and culture: Australian-born Lisa Gerrard of Dead Can Dance. Oh, and there’s a hip-hop beat boxer in the mix. (SkilleR, a.k.a. Alexander Deyanov).

“If anybody is changed by this, it’s me,” Ms. Gerrard said of her approach to working with the choir.
Boryana Dimitrova Katsarova for The New York Times

The man who worked on arranging and composing the new music, Petar Dundakov, knows he’s about to face considerable skepticism from old fans, but he remains undaunted. “We want to broaden the sound to find a new audience,” he said. “We don’t want to stay in a museum. The deep question is, can you move folklore forward.”

Ms. Gerrard emphasized that she, and the choir’s other new collaborators, took pains not to corrupt the women’s essential sound. “We’re walking toward them, not the other way around,” she said. “If anybody is changed by this, it’s me.”

The choir actually began changing how Western listeners heard harmonies far earlier than the ’80s. In 1966, a recording from the choir, on which they performed updated arrangements of traditional folk tunes from the conductor Filip Kutev, was released on Nonesuch’s “Explorer” series and sold more than any other album on that imprint. Stars like Frank Zappa, David Crosby and Graham Nash repeatedly marveled over their vocal techniques in interviews, fueling interest in the release. Then, in 1975, the Swiss ethnomusicologist Marcel Cellier released a cassette of the choir on his own label, based on field recordings he had made since the 1950s. That’s the recording Mr. Hurwitz came across in a Parisian record store in the 1980s.

“It took about 10 seconds to realize it was something I really adored,” he said.

While he licensed the album for America, the edgy British label 4AD snapped it up for that country, where it promptly sold over 100,000 copies. Ms. Gerrard, who recorded for 4AD at the time, first heard the women with that release. “They were like lights, full of hope against any adversity,” she said. “They created a cathedral in the mouth.”

While she couldn’t reproduce their complex sound (“I nearly broke my voice trying,” she said), the music influenced pivotal songs she wrote for Dead Can Dance like “The Host of Seraphim.” Despite all the exposure the women enjoyed at their peak, the collapse of the Communist government in Bulgaria at the end of the ’80s put them in a precarious position. Since 1952, the choir had been funded by the government, which gave them steady exposure on state-run TV and radio stations. “The government supported professional folk artists in order to build a community identity for a socialistic society,” Mr. Dundakov said.

After more than two decades away from the studio, the choir is returning with an updated sound that even includes a hip-hop beat boxer.
Boryana Dimitrova Katsarova for The New York Times

Forced to compete in the free market, many of the women had to take jobs teaching singing to scrape by. While the choir continued to tour over the last 20 years, there wasn’t money for a recording until funding was found by the album’s executive producer, Boyana Bounkova. To help flesh out the music, she hired Mr. Dundakov, who has written jazz and electronic music, as well as modern classical compositions. He contacted a host of Western singers about collaborating with the choir, which includes two women from the 1980s recordings. But only Ms. Gerrard proved suitable.

In her work with Dead Can Dance, as well as on solo releases and soundtracks for films like “Gladiator,” she had sung in an otherworldly style, often employing a self-created language. Even so, Ms. Gerrard says, she had “a huge learning curve.”

“I didn’t try to copy them, because I can’t,” she said. “With Western Bel Canto singing, it’s from the diaphragm, the belly and the head. With Bulgarian singing, it’s from the chest. It’s not a voice that’s trained. It’s a natural voice.”

While other stars have used the sound of the choir in the past — from a collaboration with Kate Bush in the ’80s on three songs (“Deeper Understanding,” “Never Be Mine,” and “Rocket’s Tail”) to a more recent sample in a song by Jason Derulo — Ms. Gerrard feels the women had previously been used “as wallpaper.” For his part, Mr. Dundakov worked hard to write, or arrange, songs for the choir that sounded strikingly different from those created by Mr. Kutev on earlier recordings. He retained many traditional instruments, like the kaval and gadulka, and also made the decision not to have any modern drums or electric instruments. He admits “there were a lot of doubts” about adding a beat boxer, but ultimately decided that the hip-hop technique is “part of the folklore of the 21st century” Also, “it all happens in the mouth,” like the choir’s singing.

Given all the trial and error, it took three years to complete the album, which its creators named for a local flower that grows between rocks. They view the title as a metaphor for music they believe blooms between cultures. “There is something in the heart of human beings that desires to be understood, and not necessarily through words,” Ms. Gerrard said. “Language can trap you. We want to share this music with the world to show that we’re not so far away from each other.”

Vinyl of the month

January 11, 2018

Pora Sotunda, the 7″ single of The Mystery of the Bulgarian Voices feat. Lisa Gerrard has been selected as “vinyl of the month” by the British magazine The Arts Desk along with releases of artists like Madness, Pink Floyd, Michael Jackson.

The 7″ single is now completely sold out, you can find the digital version on all digital platforms.

http://www.theartsdesk.com/new-music/theartsdesk-vinyl-35-christmas-2017-special-pink-floyd-mariah-carey-elo-madness-and-more

Pora Sotunda

November 20, 2017

The first single, Pora Sotunda, from the forthcoming album of The Mystery of the Bulgarian Voices will be released by Prophecy Productions in December 2017. It features the outstanding singer Lisa Gerrard rendering this single a unique joint recording of some of the most extraordinary vocalists of the present day. The single will be released in a limited edition 7″ vinyl format only, and will sure become a sought after collector’s item. It precedes the release of the forthcoming album of the choir scheduled for the first quarter of 2018.

Pora Sotunda will be available worldwide digitally and in physical copies in Europe on 8 December 2017; the physical copies will be on sale in North America on 15 December 2017.

You can pre-order your vinyl copy here:

From Europe
From U.S.

Mystere des Voix Bulgares will record two pieces of music

May 10, 2013

In June 2013 Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares will record two pieces of music composed by Christopher Tim, two Grammy awards winner – Best Classical Crossover Album

Best Instrumental Arrangement
Accompanying Vocalists

Billboard.biz

November 20, 2009

Voices Featured On Atari Soundtrack
May 19, 2008 – Classical | Jazz

By Steve Traiman, St. Petersburg, Fla.

The world-renowned, 50-year-old female choir, Mystery of Bulgarian Voices is featured in the “Alone in the Dark” Atari videogame soundtrack CD, the first ever for leading film soundtrack label Milan Records.

Due in stores and available digitally May 24, the soundtrack music is a highlight of the current 19-date North American “Mystery” tour that opened May 8 in Quebec City. With a highlight appearance at the San Francisco Jazz Festival May 28, it winds up June 1 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.

“After 30 years of being on the forefront of releasing classic soundtracks such as the recently Oscar-nominated ‘The Queen’ and ‘Pan’s Labyrinth,’” Jean-Christophe Chamboredon, label soundtrack executive producer tells billboard.biz, “we’re very excited to partner with Atari and the legendary Mystery of Bulgarian Voices. This is a significant new step in the catalog diversification that we have started the past five years.”

For its part, Atari is providing significant cross-marketing support for “Alone in the Dark,” due in Europe June 20 and North America June 24 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, Wii, PC and PC Digital versions, with PlayStation 3 later this year. The highly anticipated game is the newest in the franchise that is credited with starting the popular survival horror genre.

Confirmed by Kathy Butters, Atari interactive properties VP, the game publisher will have a full page color ad advertising the soundtrack in the game’s booklet for all formats and will host a player with the music on the official game Web site centraldark.com, with a hotlink to iTunes, where Milan is providing an exclusive download track, “A Solo In The Park.” The label also is designing social networking sites for the soundtrack and game.

“Atari has a proven record of creating great original music for its videogames,” she says, “and we are thrilled to have partnered with Milan Records. With an evocative score, thanks to [composer] Olivier Deriviere, we believe this soundtrack will resonate with both the core videogame market as well as music lovers everywhere.”

A classically-trained French-born composer, Deriviere created his first critically-acclaimed video game scores for “Obscure” and “Obscure: The Aftermath” that also feature performances by the Children Choir of the National Opera of Paris and The Boston [Symphony Orchestra] Quartet.

Links referenced within this article

Classical
http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/genre/classical.jsp
Jazz
http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/genre/jazz.jsp
centraldark.com
http://www.centraldark.com/index.php

Find this article at:
http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_display/industry/e3i9189f73c48e7dd51076bc2efcd354cfd