Voices from the Past: Classic Bulgarian Folk Songs Part One

“Sooner or later, everything old is new again.”
Stephen King

A Happy New Year 2016 to all my readers!

This week's post features classic Bulgarian folk songs by artists from the 20th century. Although they have all passed on, these voices from the past are the legends of Bulgarian folk music.

The best thing about these songs is that you can dance to them.

Boris Mashalov is perhaps the most famous of the older generation of folk singers.  He was born in Sevlievo in 1914 and sang ballads as well as dance tunes.  One of his most popular songs Myatolo Lenche Jabuka, is a rachenitsa, a dance in 7/8 meter (apple-apple-pineapple). This song describes a girl who throws an apple to choose a mate.  Big mistake.

Although most dancers are more familiar with the modern rendition of the song performed by Nikolina Chakardakova, the Mashalov version is the original.

This song is a blend of two talents: singer Boris Mashalov and accordionist Boris Karlov.



Mita Stoicheva, born in the village of Mekish, northern Bulgaria in 1909, based her songs on the region of Veliko Tarnovo.

This song translates loosely as What an Excuse to Dance.  Since this is a padjusko (dance in 5/8 meter, quick-slow rhythm). there is no excuse. Dance on.



Magdalena Morarova was a native of the Pirin region (town of Bansko). She is best known for the song Petruno Pile Shareno,
which accompanies the dance Petrunino Horo.

The song Okol Pleven is in pravo rhythm and is a narrative about the Siege of Pleven during the Russo-Turkish war of 1877-78. The Russians beat the crap out of the Ottomans because the Sultan was unable to supply them with food, clothing, and weapons. Bulgaria won its independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1878.

There will be more voices from the past in Part Two.



If you enjoyed this you may also like:

Variations on the Bulgarian Folk Dance Petrunino Horo

Bulgarian Folk Songs Reincarnated

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.

Bulgarian Folk Songs Reincarnated

"Reincarnation is making a comeback."
   - British Slogan

Reincarnation is a fascinating concept.  Many people believe that they have lived more than one life. It is the same with songs.

Today's post features two popular Bulgarian folk songs that were reincarnated:  the older version (sung by a male) and the newer one (sung by a female).

Chia e Tova Mominche was originally performed by Kaicho Kamenov, who lived from 1923-1983.  I've heard a number of his recordings on the Bulgarian National Radio. He was from the town of Vinarovo (near Vidin) in northwestern Bulgaria and his specialty was songs from the northern folklore region.

The video is an excerpt from the Bulgarian TV program Ide Nashenskata Muzika, hosted by Daniel Spasov (the guy at the end of the video with the microphone) and Milen Ivanov.  The hosts of the show are also folk singers.

They devote a part of the show to artists from the past. It's broadcast most Saturdays and uploaded onto the Bulgarian National Television website by early afternoon, and features music from every folklore region of the country.  I don't understand what the melting ice has to do with the song, but it sure looks wintry out there!



This is the same song by Lyuti Chushki, a group of folk musicians from the Washington DC area. They paid a visit to Mt. Holyoke College in South Hadley some years ago. During the day, they gave tupan and singing lessons, an intro to Bulgarian ethnomusicology, and in the evening a concert and a dance party. I enjoyed it very much.



The next song is Myatalo Lenche Jabuka, performed by two great artists of the mid-20th century, Boris Mashalov (vocals) and Boris Karlov (accordion).



Nikolina Chakardakova's version of Myatalo Lenche  is the one we play at dances. The link goes to her website (in Bulgarian), and you can find videos of her songs there.

Unfortunately, you won't see the artist in the video, although her recording was used for the performance.  The song is about a girl, Lenche, who throws an apple in the hope of finding a man to marry.  An old man catches it instead.  The plot revolves around the girl's mother sending the old man into the woods hoping that a bear will eat him.(In the stage performance the "bear" removes his "head", revealing a handsome young man.)

The dance is a rachenitsa, the national dance of Bulgaria.



If you enjoyed this you may also like:

A Visit to Bulgaria by way of Mt. Holyoke College

Kaicho Kamenov and the Folk Songs of Northern Bulgaria

The Legacy of Boris Karlov, Bulgarian Folk Accordionist

Here Comes the Brass Band! Modern Bulgarian Folk Songs Performed by Daniel Spasov


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