Les Mystère Des Voix Bulgares

A journey through time

Alongside Kutev's work, Bulgarian music began to spread across the rest of Europe thanks to collections such as "Folk Music Of Bulgaria" (1964), "A Harvest, A Shepherd, A Bride: Village Music Of Bulgaria" (1970) and "In The Shadow Of The Mountain – Bulgarian Folk Music" (1970), which brought Western musicians and curious listeners into direct contact with the rhythmic peculiarities of this tradition, previously known mostly through the reworkings of the celebrated Hungarian composer Béla Bartók.

The metric structure typical of Bulgarian dances, identified by the Turkish term aksak ("limping"), doesn't follow the usual regular time signatures but is instead organized into segmented additive patterns – for example, 7/8 + 5/8 + 4/4 + 13/16 – creating a continuous flow in which each rhythmic cell has its own internal logic, tightly bound to the melody.

The fascination these recordings held for musicians on this side of the Iron Curtain can be traced quite precisely, even if the trail isn't always straightforward. Italy's own Area were among the biggest debtors, drawing inspiration from the collections owned by Demetrio Stratos: "Cometa rossa" from "Caution Radiation Area" is a reinterpretation of "Krivo Horo" (from "Village Music Of Bulgaria"), while "Luglio, agosto, settembre (nero)" reworks, in two parts, the "Bulgarian Suite" from Kutev's "Music Of Bulgaria". Harder to document is the lineage of what might be the most iconic piece of Bulgarian folklore, "Smeceno Horo", made famous among Celtic-folk lovers by "After The Break" from Irish band Planxty and later re-recorded by numerous artists: the tune had already appeared under a different guise back in 1969, as "Bulgarian Bulge", on "The New Don Ellis Band Goes Underground". The search for a common source seems to point to the rare "Bulgarski Narodni Instrumentalni Melodii", released on the Bulgarian state label Balankton in 1962.

Be that as it may, the story of how Bulgarian traditional music spread abroad took a decisive turn with the intervention of Marcel Cellier. A musicologist, organist and tireless traveler, Cellier crossed Eastern Europe with his wife, fellow musicologist Catherine, lugging along a bulky Telefunken open-reel tape recorder. Despite Cold War tensions and the suspicion cast on foreigners, the couple managed to obtain permission to visit Bulgaria regularly from the late 1950s onward. Between the capital and the countryside, they documented a repertoire that would otherwise have remained locked away in the archives of Radio Sofia.

Back in Switzerland, Marcel Cellier began broadcasting these recordings on his weekly radio programme "Du Danube à la Mer Noire", on air from 1960 to 1985. With an almost mystical sensibility, over the course of more than a decade Cellier selected episodes worth showcasing, recognizing in them not just ethnographic value but, above all, a cross-cultural emotional potential. So it was that in 1975, through his own label Disques Cellier, he released the LP "Le mystère des voix bulgares", a collection combining recordings he had made himself – including sessions with Kutev's choir – with others retrieved from the archives. A foundational step in the revolution that would come to be known as world music.

The songs: between tradition and experimentation

Moving on, “Kalimankou Denkou” (“Evening Gathering”) emerges as the beating heart of the album. It is a profound reworking of a melody from the Strandzha region, in the southeastern part of the country, in which the voices intertwine, alternating moments of intense rhythmic freedom with highly significant harmonic shifts. The composition oscillates between a sense of fluidity and a more solid structure, moving through harmonic sequences that defy conventional expectations. The song's climax comes around the end of the second minute, with a perfect V-I cadence that stretches out searingly through a cascade of anomalous voicings and clusters. Composer Krasimir Kyurkchiiski, responsible for the piece's harmonic choices, handles the intervals with versatility to create a sense of space opening and closing: by holding one voice suspended on an A sharp and drawing the others closer, Kyurkchiiski creates a cluster of G sharp-A sharp-B that withholds resolution rather than granting it fully. Even the final tonic chord contains within it a major second interval, typical of the Bulgarian choral tradition, which heightens the tension at the very moment it should – in theory – resolve it. Referring to the piece in an interview, George Harrison said: “This is the kind of music that doesn't reach a lot of people because nobody's ever going to play it, but at the same time I think the world would be a much better place if everybody was made to listen to it”.

“Ergen deda” (“The Old Bachelor”) features verses marked out in 7/8, enriched with syncopations, harmonic expansions and sudden dynamic shifts that break up its linearity. The result is a dialogue between tension and release, a journey in which rhythm becomes a metaphor for inner upheaval, suspended between order and chaos. The sonic landscape expands further in “Prituritze planinata” (“The Mountain Has Collapsed”), where the woodland timbre of the kaval flute merges with orchestral arrangements and vocal melismas. Trills, glottal ornaments and falsettos heighten the expressiveness of this rare monophonic episode.

The journey concludes with “Polegnala e Todora” (“Todora Is Lying Down”), one of the album's most emblematic pieces. Written by Filip Kutev in 1953 from a traditional motif, the piece unfolds in 11/16, alternating a choral section with a part for solo quartet. In the second part, composed entirely by Kutev, the singers are challenged to explore extremely low registers, offering a harmonic layering in which the voices intertwine with the precision of a wind instrument.

In an account of her passion for the album, artist Julia Holter captures the sense of fascination and disorientation generated by such a unique approach to polyphony: “I don't know if 'dissonance' is the right word, because that's often a subjective concept anyway. But, yes, there are these unexpected harmonies that emerge within the vocal textures”. And again: “Every member of the group has a drive in their voice and they're using it. I don't know exactly what it is technically, but it's a certain vocal range that they're tapping into”.

Dora Hristova, the choir's director since 1988, manages to be more specific, observing that “when two singers sing intervals of a second, fourth, or seventh, traditionally considered dissonant, their voices sound like two bells ringing out, evoking dancers leaping and moving with these bells at their waists”. Once the album has finished playing, images and sensations do indeed linger, like an echo still vibrating in the air after the last chime has faded.

After the Record: Legacy, Rediscovery and Cultural Impact

For more than a decade, “Le mystère des voix bulgares” remained a cult work, circulating mainly among collectors and ethnomusicology enthusiasts. The turning point came thanks to the label 4AD, founded by Ivo Watts-Russell, who discovered the record through Peter Murphy of Bauhaus. It was Murphy himself who recommended it to him, struck by the uniqueness of the singing and its potential for a wider audience. Watts-Russell first heard it in the studio with Murphy and was bowled over: “I was ready to leave when the tape started. The track began, and it hit me so hard that it forced me to sit down”. The 4AD founder's enthusiasm for the project fit within the label's broader interest in ethereal, unconventional sounds, which already defined its roster, dominated by acts such as Cocteau Twins and Dead Can Dance.

In 1986, 4AD reissued “Le mystère des voix bulgares” in an edition also carefully crafted visually, with a cover that heightened its enigmatic allure. The move was a success: the record received an enthusiastic critical reception and drew the attention of an ever-wider audience.

The positive response in Europe convinced Nonesuch Records to release it in the United States in 1987, where the album entered the Billboard World Music chart and won a Grammy for “Best Traditional Folk Recording” – a remarkable achievement for a collection of traditional songs from the socialist bloc. The wave of rediscovery led the Bulgarian State Radio & Television Female Vocal Choir – the offspring of Kutev's project – to perform on international tours, fueling renewed interest in Bulgarian polyphony worldwide.

Riding this wave of popularity, “Le mystère des voix bulgares” became an ongoing project, with new releases and collaborations. In 1989, Kate Bush brought in Trio Bulgarka (part of the Bulgarian State Radio & Television Female Vocal Choir) for three tracks on “The Sensual World”. The encounter left a profound mark on the songwriter: “Suddenly I found myself working with three women from a completely different culture. I'd never collaborated with women on such an intense creative level before, and it was strange to feel this strong feminine energy in the studio. Even the way the men reacted was interesting: it was no longer just one woman, but a powerful feminine presence”.

More than half a century after its first steps and after more than sixteen record releases, the story of this ensemble continues to this day, led by Dora Hristova, between passionate rediscovery and constant renewal.

(This piece incorporates elements from the extensive monograph devoted to the project by Giuseppe D’Amato, which we recommend for further insight)