Orchestra Horo: Modern Bulgarian Folk Songs, Traditional Rhythms

The reason that you dance and sing is to make the audience feel like they're dancing and singing. As long as you're having fun with it and giving it 100 percent, they're gonna feel that.

Heath Ledger 

Today's post features music performed by Orchestra Horo from Ruse (Rousse), Bulgaria.   Their specialty is modern renditions of folk songs and dances from the northern region of the country. The ensemble celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2012. What I like most about them is how their repertoire displays the varied rhythms of Bulgarian folk music.  This band compels you to get up and dance. The songs are upbeat, catchy, and take up residence inside your head. Earworms!

Horo means "dance" in Bulgarian, and as you will see in video #1, there was a large crowd dancing Pravo, Daichovo and Devetorka  at the 50th anniversary party.



Video #2 shows a close-up of the musicians and their instruments: three accordions, a small kaval (shepherd's flute), a keyboard, tupan (double headed drum) and a vocalist. (The voice is also a musical instrument.)

Some people consider accordions  instruments of torture and use them for that purpose. I am the only one who likes accordion music at my house. My husband would rather hear the smoke detector go off  than listen to the accordion. Says it gives him a headache.

The accordion, which was invented in a German-speaking country,  was originally not part of the traditional Bulgarian folk ensemble. Boris Karlov, who arranged many folk dances for accordion, was partly responsible for its popularity in Bulgaria.

The song, Tri Vecheri Na Dunava, translates into English as Three Evenings on The Danube, which explains why there is so much blue in the video :) The rhythm for this song is rachenitsa, (apple-apple-pineapple).  It is the national dance of Bulgaria and the time signature for it is 7/8 or 7/16 depending on the speed. The larger the number on the bottom of the time signature, the faster the music.

The city of Ruse is situated on the banks of the Danube, River of Many Names, and for over fifty years had the only bridge that connected Bulgaria and Romania until the Vidin-Calafat bridge was completed in 2013.



Video #3 is the song, Moma Draganka, (girl named Draganka) also in rachenitsa rhythm.  Notice the dancers in elaborate embroidered costumes, eye candy for those who love Bulgarian folklore. If you look closely, you can see a small red cloth on the tupan.  I own a cloth similar to the one in the video.  Mine has an evil eye pattern in several colors, but mostly red. Red is a lucky color in Bulgaria. The evil eye keeps the bad forces away from the person who wears it.



Next is Shirokata, with more eye candy :) The rhythm is 9/16 (devetorka).



Stari Dedo (Old Grandpa) is a folk song in 11/16 (kopanitsa) rhythm. Another dance from Northern Bulgaria, Gankino Horo, has the same rhythm. There are many tunes associated with Gankino Horo, the most famous being the version played by accordionist Boris Karlov.



If anyone out there can locate an English translation for the songs posted here this week, it would be very much appreciated!

If you enjoyed this you may also like

Folk Ensembles Named Horo

The Accordion in Bulgarian Folk Music

The "Flavors" of Bulgarian Rachenitsa Part One and Part Two

The Colors of Bulgarian Folk Songs

Crossing the River Part Four: Celebrating a New Bridge 

The Legacy of Boris Karlov, Bulgarian Folk Accordionist



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Dances Inspired by Elena

/ Eleno, mome Eleno, /
/ Ne gazi sino zeleno! /
Chorus:
/ (Ah) Eleno, mome Eleno, /
/ Ne gazi sino zeleno! /
Bulgarian folk song

Today's post features two very well-known dances from Bulgaria.  Both are inspired by a woman named Elena. She must be quite popular.

The first is Elenino Horo, better known to to those in the folk dance community as Eleno Mome.  Bulgarian dances tend to be named after the following things: people  (Gankino Horo or Ganka's Dance), cities or towns (Varnenska Tropanka from the city of Varna),  holidays (Koledarska Rachenitsa or Christmas Rachenitsa) or events like weddings (Svatbarska Rachenitsa). 

This version is from a teaching video; part of a series "Teach Yourself Bulgarian Horo." The dance is from Northwestern Bulgaria. Swinging of the arms in time with the steps is typical of dances from this region, and you will notice that their feet.barely touch the ground. The rhythm is 7/8 or 7/16 depending on the speed (2+2+1+2). There are versions of this dance that are really fast; the one shown here is a moderate tempo.



Eleno Mome is also a folk song.  The instrumental version seems to be more popular than the vocal one.

You can find the lyrics here as well as the sheet music so you can sing along with Rumiana Popova. If you listen carefully you'll hear a bit of the Macedonian dance Toska Memede mixed in at the very beginning. You get two for the price of one.



Elenska Rachenitsa is another Elena dance, introduced and taught by Yves Moreau, and very popular in the international folk dance community.

Rachenitsa is the national dance of Bulgaria, in 7/8 or 7/16 rhythm (depending on the speed, the lower the number on the time signature, the faster the music). Think of the words apple-apple-pineapple and you have rachenitsa.  Notice the arm movements; they are an intregal part of the dance.

This is a slow and graceful dance from the Thracian region of Bulgaria, performed by the Tanzgruppe Bäckerstraße from Vienna, Austria. They have many videos posted on YouTube and also on the Dancilla website.



If you enjoyed this you may also like:

Bulgarian Folk Dances From Cities and Towns

The "Flavors" of Bulgarian Rachenitsa Part One and Part Two

The Women of Bulgarian Folk Songs

Bulgarian Folk Dance in and Around Vienna, Austria


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Bulgarian Folk Dance in and Around Vienna, Austria

Vienna is the gate to Eastern Europe.
Niki Lauda

Today's post was inspired by a lady named Monika from Vienna, Austria. On YouTube, she goes by the name Monivienna, and she has a little bit of everything on her channel:  folk dances and workshops, Lipizzaner horses, music events  and even her cat (he's so cute!). I hope you enjoy these videos as much as I have!

One of the pleasures of living in a large city is all the dance events. During the summer, some of them take place outside, and many years ago one of my favorite venues during the spring, summer and early fall was in Central Park in New York.

The Central Park Folk Dancers have been meeting  for many years near the King Jagiello Statue and Turtle Pond.  The entrance to the park is near the Metropolitan Museum of Art  on 5th Avenue and West 81st Street.

There is also an outdoor dance venue in Vienna.  Dances take place at the Donauinsel (Danube Island, by the lighthouse) on Tuesday evenings between 7:00-9:30 p.m.
 
The  Reichsbrücke can be seen in the background of video #1. It dates from 1980; the previous bridge had collapsed early on a Sunday morning in August 1976 due to a structural defect. I was living in Germany when the bridge fell; it was a major story on the news.

Nearly a year later I visited Vienna and saw what remained of the old bridge; construction had not yet started on the new one. At the time of the accident there were four vehicles and five people on the bridge; one life was lost. This would have been a bigger catastrophe if it happened during rush hour on a weekday.

The dance shown here is a slow and easy one from the Pirin region, choreographed by Yves Moreau to the song Idam ne Idam. The lyrics describe a shopkeeper who's in love with a woman named Felidza.  It's a very lovely song, perfect for a balmy summer evening.



Video #2 is from a dance seminar with Mitko and Antonia. Trunska, the dance seen here, is very high energy. It looks like a fancy variation of the pravo.




Video #3 is from another workshop, Schwitz mit Fritz. You will definitely sweat and have lots of fun at one of these.  Last year a Schwitz mit Fritz video was featured on The Alien Diaries of the Albanian dance Valle Pogonishte.  The link can be found at the bottom of this page.

Here Fritz leads a lively and energetic Daichovo Horo, a dance from northwestern Bulgaria. This is almost three minutes of heavy-duty aerobic exercise. I wonder how many people have trouble keeping up with him?



Video# 4 is from a party with the ensemble Kitka, who are dressed up in those beautiful elaborate embroidered costumes. From what I see here I'd love to go to one of these parties; they really know how to have a great time.  I think people in the States sometimes take themselves and folk dancing too seriously.  At the local dances they know me as the comic relief. Comedy is my forte.

This group does Pravo Horo, one of those "getting to know your neighbor dances." Quite a few conversations are going on here....



If you enjoyed this you may also like:

Two Variations on the Albanian Folk Dance Valle Pogoniste  Fritz calls the steps for  Pogoniste while the dancers sing along.

Bulgarian Folk Dance in the United States

Bulgarian Folk Dance Around the World 

Dancing Along the Danube: Folklore Videos from the Tour International Danubien Features music and dance from folklore evenings in Serbia and Bulgaria.

If you have an interest in bridges you may enjoy this post celebrating the opening of a new bridge last year  between Vidin, Bulgaria, and Calafat, Romania (with plenty of music).

Crossing the River, Part Four


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Made in Romania

Many Europeans are confused by the terms Roma and Romania. They wonder if it is an ethnicity or a nation of 22 million citizens.
Traian Basescu

Today's post features a Roma (Gypsy) dance and a medley of dances from the region of Transylvania. 

The first video is the Roma dance, Made in Romania. You can do it freestyle or go by the "suggested" choreography here.  Included are the lyrics and the translation for the song.

I have been known to deviate from the choreography at times and like to create up my own steps. As long as it goes with the music, it's all good, but sometimes it drives people crazy.



The second "Made in Romania" is a folk ensemble who perform a medley of dances from Transylvania. Bram Stoker's novel Dracula was the book that made Transylvania famous. It was based on an actual person, Vlad Tepes, (Vlad the Impaler), who ruled Wallachia from 1456 to 1462. He is best known for the way he killed his enemies.  He impaled them on stakes.

Stoker created a novel based on the folklore of Transylvania. Although he had never visited the country, he had read about it extensively, and he reincarnated Vlad Tepes into a vampire. Nowadays, everyone associates Transylvania with Count Dracula and vampires.

The name Transylvania means "land beyond the forest."  A number of ethnic groups have left their imprint in this region:  the Romanians, Hungarians, Saxons (Germans) and Roma.



If you enjoyed this, you may also like

A Romani Potpourri, Parts One and Two

Transylvania: The Land of Count Dracula is a Multi-Cultural Mishmosh


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.