The songs of Thrace

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The songs of Thrace

The largest and the most representative folklore region in Bulgaria is the Trakiya (Thrace) Region that occupies a large part of southern Bulgaria, or more specifically, the Thracian Plain. It borders with the Balkan Range to the north, the Pirin and the Rhodope Mountains to the west and to the south, and the Black Sea to the east. This land was the cradle of the classical civilization of the Thracians that was intimately linked to the Greek classical Antiquity. Given its geography, it was on the crossroads of conquests, migration waves and many historical and social processes over the centuries which have resulted in the distinctive regional style of folklore of the population of the Thrace region in present-day Bulgaria.
Thousands of shepherd’s flute players, bagpipers and rebec players have created countless melodies passed down from generation to generation and these form the body of musical works representing the instrumental music of this region. However, it has a very vivid vocal legacy, as well.

A central place in the repertoire of singers from the Thrace region is taken by songs describing the working process. The most numerous among them are songs depicting scenes of the harvesting period and of the traditional Bulgarian sedyanka gathering – the working bees in the evenings.

As in all regions of Bulgaria, the people living in the Thracian plain accompanied the hard fieldwork with songs – there were special songs to be performed on the way to the field, at noon, or during harvesting. Their melodies are slow and give freedom to the voice as it was soaring above the fields and could be heard near and far.

One of the most famous harvesting songs from the Thrace region is entiled “The young bride was talking to her brother-in-law" – it has a beautifully ornamented melody. One of its most popular interpretations interpretations has been made by the great singer of the region Nadka Karadjova born in the village of Tri Vodizi near Pazardzhik. It is one of the peaks in Bulgarian authentic folklore.

The songs performed during the evening working bees (sedyanka) constitute a large part of working songs. They were performed during this pleasant ritual that gathered young married and unmarried girls to knit, sow or peel corn together. As they were working, they were also singing numerous beautiful songs, most often on romantic subjects.

One of the most popular of these love songs is in the repertoire of folk singer Ilka Alexandrova from the town of Haskovo. It tells of a young lad who passed near the gathering of girls and laid his eyes on the most beautiful of them, he fell in love with her and begged his mother to go to her parents and ask for her hand.

The songs performed at the table had an important place in the life of Bulgarians. These were performed by both men and women. But here there is a major difference – women used to sing about love and romance, while men used these songs to narrate stories of historical events and heroes.

One of these heroic songs takes us to a forest where a wounded warrior is lying under a tree. The song is performed by Gruycho Dochev.
Music-5: Вила се е гора
Another song tells the story of a young lad who wanted to buy a horse, but he was very poor, so he begged the owners to give it to him for free because in his heart and soul he was the right man to ride it.

Even today, elderly women in the region of Thrace remember the ritual songs that accompanied the calendar of Bulgarians in the past. These were performed during the Christmas holidays and on Saint Lazarus Saturday – one feast set in winter and one feast set in spring.
Christmas folk songs performed by male groups (called “koledari” or the Bulgarian equivalent of carol singers) are among the most cheerful and optimistic in Bulgarian folklore.They contain good wishes of health and prosperity for all members of the patriarchal family.

And what about the ritual songs that can be heard a week before Easter, on Saint Lazarus Saturday?
They are part of the maiden spring games called"Lazarus" and "boenek." Dressed in beautiful costumes resembling bridal dresses and decorated with flowers and necklaces, the girls gathered in groups and went to every home in the village singing and dancing. This is a ritual known here as lazaruvane – this was a way in which young girls presented themselves the rural community and declared they were ready to get married. Their songs containing wishes of happiness and prosperity are often performed at folk art fairs to this day. And they are also sung by many amateur folk groups in towns and villages on Saint Lazarus Saturday.
Music-8: Припаднала темна мъгла
Family ritual songs from the Thrace region, and the best preserved of these are wedding songs. The traditional Bulgarian wedding is rich in rituals and every moment of it is accompanied by special songs. Some of the most poignant of them are those depicting the scene when the young bride has to bid farewell to her parents and her home.
There is such a song in the repertoire of Dinka Ruseva from the town of Radnevo – Young Bride.

As elsewhere in Bulgaria, the traditional Bulgarian chain dance was the meeting place for young and old. Once, the chain dance in the Thrace region was performed to the accompaniment of vocal music. Today this practice is no longer alive, but we have the so-called chain dance songs. They have a monotonous rhythm, but with a great variety of poetic content, and they are always played at family celebrations.

Translated by Rossitsa Petcova

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The songs of Thrace

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