Voices from the Past: Classic Bulgarian Folk Songs, Part Two

It is easy to time-travel, the physicist says—we do it every day. Traveling backward is the problem.
― Rebecca Curtis

Today's post is another adventure in time travel: a musical journey into the world of classic Bulgarian folk songs.

The first video is Čuškata ljuta, pak ljuta (the hot red pepper song) performed by the Adjovi sisters.. It  became a favorite with the group Lyuti Chushki from Washington D.C.

The Adjovi twins bear a striking resemblance to the Gabor sisters (remember those actresses with the Hungarian accents and big hair?)  According to the bio on Bulgarian Wikipedia they were born in 1947, and as far as I know are very much alive.  They gave a performance not too long ago on the Bulgarian TV show Ide Nashenskata Muzika.

You can find the lyrics here, in Bulgarian and transliterated, along with a video and sheet music. Google Translate came up with a cute ditty that didn't make much sense (in English, anyway), but the song is catchy and fun, and best of all, you can dance pajduško to it!

If you like earworms, you will also like this song. It will take up residence in your brain for hours!



Kostadin Gugov was born in Sofia in 1935. His family came to Bulgaria as refugees from Greek Macedonia.  Like many other famous folksingers of his generation, he performed for the Bulgarian National Radio and later for Bulgarian National TV.

His specialty was mellow songs from the Pirin region. Some of his most popular songs are Ako Umram il Zaginam,  Zaiko Korkoraijko and Jovano Jovanke.  Shown below is a performance that he did many years ago.  He passed on in 2004.

You can also dance to the song; it's a lesnoto (pravoto).



Video #3 features the singer Pavel Sirakov, born in 1918.  He lived to the ripe old age of 88 and during his lifetime traveled all over Bulgaria with Boris Karlov, accordionist; singer Boris Mashalov and many other folk artists of the 20th century.

The performance is an excerpt from the TV show Ide Nashenskata Muzika and shows a performance from the year 1983 of the song Na Razdumka.  According to Google translate the song has something to do with gossip.  I don't see gossiping here, instead there are people toasting with glasses of wine during the holiday season. Maybe the wine loosens their tongues after they've had a little too much.

It is listed here as Chudno Horo. The dance to this music is a rachenitsa  in 7/8 rhythm (apple-apple pineapple).




If you enjoyed this, you may also like:

The "Flavors" of Bulgarian Rachenitsa, Parts One and Two

A Visit to Bulgaria and a Little Spicy Music

The Travels of Padjusko Horo

A Look at Peppers in Bulgarian Food and Folk Songs

Voices from the Past: Classic Bulgarian Folk Songs, Part One


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

Beli Dunav Part Three: Modern Bulgarian Danube Songs

I have no plan. I will leave it to the good things and good times to find me.
Nimrat Kaur

The third and final post in the series Danube Songs From Bulgaria features some modern, happy folk songs with amusing videos.

The first video is of the Ensemble Plam from Ruse. According to Google Translate, the word "Plam" translates to enthusiasm or passion.  They certainly express it here!

Plam reminds me of another band from Ruse: Orchestra Horo.  There is a link about them and their music at the bottom of this post.

Plam is into modern instrumentation (except for the tupan.)  There are two guys on accordion, one on saxophone, one on a keyboard and one on a clarinet; you don't see evidence of a gaida or gadulka here.

The song is Kray Dunava (from the Danube region); the music and the dance are another variation of Kraj Dunavsko Horo.  It's lively and fast, and there's some eye candy for the guys (two attractive female singers with bright purple dresses, which alternate with quasi-folk costumes). The dancers get silly with brooms and a bottle of booze. It's fun to watch.



Harry Bend is another group that plays modern versions of traditional Bulgarian folk tunes. The next video is another "White Danube" song (Dunave Beli Dunave).

The instrumentation is similar to Plam except that the drummer plays a modern set of drums instead of a tupan.  This is another fun video with dancers, a man and a woman in a rowboat, and a woman in a swing (all wearing elaborate embroidered costumes.)  I have no idea what's in the two white bags, it could be contraband for all I know :) The guy in the boat also has a kaval,  but you can't hear him play it.

You will recognize the rhythm of this song if you are familiar with the dance Padjusko Horo.



If you enjoyed this you may also like:

Orchestra Horo: Modern Bulgarian Folk Songs, Traditional Rhythms

The Travels of Padjusko Horo

Two Variations on a Bulgarian Folk Dance: Kraj Dunavsko Horo

If you missed the first two posts in this series you can find them here:

Beli Dunav Part One

Beli Dunav Part Two


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