Bulgaria is the home of many treasures, and one of them, its incredible music folklore, has added to its fame worldwide. For more than seven decades the music folklore has been extensively covered in the programs of Radio Bulgaria, and our listeners over the years have termed it “mystic, universal, unique”. So in 2012, we bring you a series about the distinctive music folklore regions of the country. The largest and the most representative one among them is the Trakiya (Thrace) Region that occupies a large part of southern Bulgaria. Stay with us for more from its folklore.
The Trakiya folklore region occupies the Valley of Thrace. To the north it borders on the Balkan Range, reaching Mount Pirin and the Rhodope Mountains to the west and to the south. The region stretches as far as the Black Sea in the east. This land was the cradle of the classical civilization of the Thracians that was intimately linked to the Greek classical Antiquity. Archaeologists have incessantly researched and dug Trakiya, and have found in its soil priceless treasures, tombs and shrines. Given its geography, Thrace or Trakiya, has often been the target of foreign conquest, and has been a bloodletting battlefield on many occasions. Its population lived in insecurity, especially during the times of Ottoman rule when the valley was systematically ravaged by various brigands. So, this place saw major migration waves. However, more often than not migrants returned to their home villages, and the folklore that the Trakiya population produced has its distinctive regional style.
The song that you have just heard is a typical sample of Trakiya Valley folklore with its moderate rhythm. Most of Trakiya folk songs are just like this. The singing pattern is also distinctive – two groups of singers taking turns. This model is largely present in authentic folklore surviving in the songs that old women in the region still sing. Another folklore format is the slow, freely performed song. Its melody is richly ornamented, and is quite open to a range of genres – wedding, harvesting and historical songs. These are the music pride of Trakiya, and a few of them represent veritable masterpieces of Bulgarian folklore. Listen to the song Dimutar drove a sailing boat in the rendition of Valkana Stoyanova, one of the foremost Thracian singers and earliest promoters of Bulgarian and Thracian folklore worldwide.
The instrumental music of Trakiya Valley offers pearls of folklore. Thousands of shepherd’s flute players, bagpipers and rebec players have created countless melodies passed down from generation to generation. Today we can listen to them during folklore festivals and gatherings and on family occasions in villages.
The most popular traditional instrument in Trakiya is the shepherd’s flute, and it is also the symbol of the Thracian Valley. Though it is a fairly simple wooden thing, it has revealed a surprisingly great technical capacity and a gentle and poetic sound. Shepherds, who minded their huge herds of sheep, would often play the flute. Their slow melodies provided intimate confessions of sorts. Listen to a renowned master of slow shepherd’s flute melodies, Nikola Gantchev.
In Trakiya, among traditional instruments, the bagpipe follows closely the shepherd’s flute in popularity. Third in the chart is the rebec. In this folklore region of Bulgaria instrumentalists perform in groups. Listen to Daitchovo Chain Dance from the village of Okop, Yambol region.
Starting from mid-20 c. small instrumental groups emerged in the Thracian Valley that included some European instruments – accordions, violins and clarinets. Without transforming the pattern of local folklore, these groups created music that was very popular at family gatherings. This gave rise to the celebrated wedding bands. Condemned and glorified, those bands are the makers of Bulgaria’s contemporary music folklore. Listen to one such band, Sadovo Group, with the famous Sadovo Chain Dance.
By tradition wedding bands appear at major “outplaying” festivals. Such gatherings where wedding bands compete, are held in Parvomay, Stambolovo, Radnevo and Dalbok Izvor. The foremost wedding bands include Trakiya Orchestra led by Ivo Papazov, Orpheus Orchestra led by Georgi Yanev, Mladost Orchestra led by Ivan Milev and many others. Listen to the staggering Demirdjiiska Ratchenitsa Dance by Ivo Papazov.
Apart from wedding bands, Trakiya knows a few remarkable wedding singers. One legend among them is late Nedyalka Keranova. We wind up Timeout for Music on Radio Bulgaria with her marvelous performance ending this presentation of the music folklore of Trakiya.
Translated by Daniela Konstantinova
