Balkan Dances That Are Often Confused: Part 19: Dunavsko Horo and Dunavsko Daichovo Horo

If I look confused, it is because I am thinking.
Samuel Goldwyn

Let's start 2020 with one of my favorite topics: Balkan dances that are often confused. It is the series that never ends. If you are a regular, you had probably read the previous 18 posts on this fascinating topic.

Video #1 features a group from the Czech republic, from the city of Brno. Despite the "soubor Pirin" in the title of the video, this is not music from southwest Bulgaria (Pirin region) but from the northwest region. Are you confused yet?

They perform a medley of two dances: the first a Vlach dance (known as Krajdunavsko, or from the Danube region).  Vlach dances are characterized with a lot of fast steps, crossovers and stamps. At 2:04 is the Dunavsko Daichovo Horo.  Daichovo is also a dance popular in northern Bulgaria and there are several variations, with different choreographies and different music.



The original version of Dunavsko Daichovo was composed by someone in the group Orchestra Horo. They are from the city of Ruse, and their specialty is modern renditions of folk songs and dances from the northern region of Bulgaria. The ensemble celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2012. I'm sure they will make it to their 60th in 2022.

The album cover below is probably from one of their original albums. Remember when there were records instead of digitized music?



Things get to be even more confusing because there is a very famous piece by Diko Iliev, that he composed and introduced in 1937: Dunavsko Horo.

This piece has a martial motif because Diko Iliev was involved with military bands in a number of towns and cities in Bulgaria. Diko Iliev had also fought in the First Balkan War as well as World War I. He was also the bandmaster in the town of Oryahovo, where he composed numerous works.

Video # 3 combines an old war movie with Dunavsko Horo.  The explosions seem to be in time with the music.  The music begins at 0:19. The New Year fireworks in Bulgaria are also in synch with the music. (If you want to see those, check out the 2020 New Year Post).



There are different tunes used for Dunavsko Horo . The choreography is essentially the same no matter what music is used because you can hear the dance in the music.  Here is an example of a more traditional version with dancers in folk costumes.  The group is Ensemble Gotse Delchev.



If you enjoyed this you may also like:

Balkan Dances That Are Often Confused, Part 18 (links to rest of the series)

The 2020 New Year Post (fireworks)

Same Dance, Different Music: Dunavsko Horo

Orchestra Horo: Modern Bulgarian Folk Songs, Traditional Rhythms


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

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



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

Variations on a Theme: Folk Ensembles Named Horo

Ultimately, your theme will find you. You don't have to go looking for it.
Richard Russo

I never expected to find the word "horo" in an online dictionary.  The original source for the definition was from Encyclopedia Brittannica. It is derived from the Greek χορός,  which means a dance done in a line or circle, and the Bulgarian word is almost the same as the Greek.

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/272102/horo

The name's the same for all three of the folk ensembles in today's post.  The first band is from the Bulgarian city of Ruse (Rousse). The dance is Dunavsko Pravo Horo. If you're wondering why the dance looks familiar, it's the same dance (done to different music) during New Year's celebrations in Bulgaria.



Check out this 50th anniversary performance (which took place in 2012).  Horo Orchestra was founded in 1962.  The dance in this video is a Daichovo Horo from northern Bulgaria.



Everything you always wanted to know about the Horo Orchestra of Ruse can be found by clicking this link. You can also check out samples of their music.

http://horo.silvena.net/history_en.html

The next Horo is a group of ladies from the city of Brisbane, Australia and they perform a spirited Shopska Rachenitsa.  Many Bulgarians emigrated to Australia (and other countries as well) after the fall of Communism, this is called the Bulgarian Diaspora.  Bulgaria is currently suffering a "brain drain" because many young people go abroad in the hope of earning more money than they could at home.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgarian_diaspora

http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=143305



Xopo from Shelburne, Massachusetts, USA, plays a very charming melody (lesnoto) from the Pirin region of Bulgaria. Their repertoire is from the Balkans with an emphasis on Bulgarian and Serbian folk music. Everyone, including band members pronounces their name ZO-PO.  That drives me absolutely crazy, maybe because I've been teaching myself how to read the Cyrillic alphabet, and in Bulgarian, "X" has an "H" sound. 



If you enjoyed this you may also like Folk Ensembles Named After Dances

http://katleyplanetbg.blogspot.com/2012/01/folk-ensembles-named-after-dances.html

Bulgarian Folk Dance Around the World

http://katleyplanetbg.blogspot.com/2012/01/bulgarian-folk-dance-around-world.html

Everything you always wanted to know about the Cyrillic Alphabet and the Bulgarian holiday connected with it:

http://katleyplanetbg.blogspot.com/2011/05/cyrillic-alphabet-cracking-code-and.html


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