The Travels of Maleshevsko Horo

Music goes further than any border, any language.
J. Balvin

Maleshevsko Horo is a dance popular in southwestern Bulgaria (Pirin), North Macedonia, and Greece. It's one of those border crossing dances and has different variations and different music. There are also several songs associated with the dance.

Version 1: Gergana Panova teaches Maleshevsko to the Balkanitsa Group in Haifa, Israel. This is the variation popular in Bulgaria, performed to Dve Nevesti Tikvi Brale Bre (unfortunately you can't hear the entire song here). I have also heard the song on the Bulgarian National Radio's Blagoevgrad station during their folk music broadcasts. It is about two brides harvesting pumpkins.

The Pirin region borders North Macedonia and there are nationalistic claims to certain songs, for example: Makendonsko Devojce.  The Blagoevgrad province in Bulgaria is also known as Pirin Macedonia.

This Macedonia thing is a touchy subject in Bulgaria, Macedonia and Greece.



For contrast, this is the North Macedonian version of Dve Nesveste Tikvi Brale (different lyrics in a different language) If you want to sing along, you can find the lyrics here:

By the way, Bulgarian and Macedonian are closely related languages.  The dance is named after a mountain that is both in Macedonia and Bulgaria.



Version 2: Same dance, different music, performed by a folk dance club in Bulgaria. The song is Sarena Gaida.  My guess is that this is the Bulgarian version of the song; there is also one in  Macedonian  listed in the Songbook For Nearsighted People. Are you confused yet? Confusion is a popular topic on this blog.



Version 3: Another version of Maleshevsko performed by a Greek group.



North Macedonian version of the music used in the dance above, and it is also called Maleshevsko. Compare the arrangement to the one used in Version 3.  This is a traditional orchestration with folk instruments: gaida, kaval, tupan and tambura.



Version 4: This was the only dance video I could find from North Macedonia. The clarinetist here is amazing.  They use the same tune as the two previous videos, however, the choreography is different than the ones from Bulgaria and Greece. I don't know if Maleshevka is the name of the music or the dance or both. More confusion!



If you enjoyed this you may also like the series Balkan Dances That Are Often Confused.
You can also read: Macedonia, One Name, Three Countries.


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Bulgaro-Macedonian Sing Along Songs

The world has only one border. It is called humanity. The differences between us are small compared to our shared humanity. Put humans first.
Nadia Murad

Today's post features the Bulgarian singer Nikolina Chakardakova with a medley of Bulgaro-Macedonian folk songs. There are links to them in the same order as in the video.  I was able to find translations for most of these  (some in German, some in English) and transliterations via The Songbook for Nearsighted People compiled by Birgitt Karlson.  Songs that weren't in the Songbook I found at various websites including Wikipedia, where you can find almost everything.

These songs are excellent examples of songs that cross borders.  They are popular both in Bulgaria and in Northern Macedonia. Sing along with Nikolina!

Makendonsko Devojce
(Macedonian transliteration with German translation)

Zemi Ogin, Zapali Me
(Bulgarian Cyrillic lyrics)

Nazad, Nazad Mome Kalino
(Bulgarian to English translation and transliteration)

Ako Umram il Zaginam
(Macedonian transliteration, translations in German and English)

More Sokol Pie
(English translation)

Jovano Jovanke
(Macedonian to English, no transliteration)

Ludo Mlado
(Bulgarian transliteration and German translation)

We have sung and/or danced to all of these at one time or another. Usually our dances end with a lesnoto in 7/8 time.  The dancers here do a ten minute lesnoto sing-along that is fun to watch. 



If you enjoyed this you may also like:

A Bulgarian New Year Celebration (with Nikolina Chakardakova)

Dancing in Sevens, Part Two (there is a link to Part One in this post)


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How to Recognize Regional Differences in Bulgarian Folk Music: Part Two

Unity Makes Strength
-motto on Bulgarian coat of arms

This week's post features the regions of Severnjasko (northern) and Pirin (southwest).

Video #1 is an example of music from northwestern Bulgaria .The name of the piece is Vlashki Igri (Vlach Dances).

This piece is a dance in two parts: the first part in 5/8 (quick-slow)  and the second in pravo rhythm. The instrumentation is in the Vlach style.  The dominant instrument in the first piece is the gadulka; in the second dance (at 1:23)  the dominant instrument is the kaval (at 2:27). 

The musicians are instrumentalists from the folk ensemble Dunav from Vidin. You can see the costumes of the northern region in the video. The predominant colors are red and white, the colors of the Martenitsa.

Here's another way to recognize music from northwestern Bulgaria.  If a song has Dunav in the title it is most likely from the northern region.  Dunav means Danube in Bulgarian: the ensemble is named after the river, which forms the border with Romania.



Brass music is also very popular in northern Bulgaria due to the influence of composer Diko Iliev (1898-1984).  His best known work is Dunavsko Horo, played at celebrations and especially during the New Year in Bulgaria.

Video #2 is an example of a rachenitsa, the national dance of Bulgaria, a dance in 7/8 rhythm (apple-apple-pineapple). It is Svatbarska Rachenitsa, composed by Diko Iliev (1898-1984), and played by a brass orchestra.  Diko Iliev created many pieces based on folk dances from the northern region: Daichovo, Elenino, and Gankino are some examples.

Svatba means "wedding" in Bulgarian. One of my daughters will be getting married next month..  Unfortunately, she won't allow any Bulgarian folk music at this gig.



Video #3 features the dissonant harmonies of the mountainous Pirin region in southwestern Bulgaria.  The Bisserov sisters perform a traditional song from the village of Pirin.  The two ladies on the left play tambourine and tarambuka, the one on the right plays a tambura, an instrument very popular in the Pirin region.

Here's another way to recognize music from the Pirin: many of their songs and dances are in 7/8 lesnoto rhythm (pineapple-apple-apple).

There is an introduction in English with a short description of the song.  It is dedicated to the people who died for the freedom of Bulgaria during the Ottoman Occupation.

:

If you enjoyed this you may also like:

How to Recognize Regional Differences in Bulgarian Folk Music: Part One

The River of Many Names Part Three: Folk Ensembles Named Dunav

The Best of the Bisserov Sisters and Family

There is a group, Leb i Vino that specializes in village music from southwestern Bulgaria.  You can listen to them here:

Leb i Vino: Traditional Music from the Pirin Region of Bulgaria

Variations on a Theme by Diko Iliev (three arrangements of Dunavsko Horo)

Author's note:  There is someone out there who has stolen material from this blog.  The link is http://traditionalmusicmostlyirish.blogspot.co.il/.  Please make note of that and mention it on his Facebook plug in.  Plagiarism will not be tolerated!


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A Tribute to Lyubka Rondova

A nation that keeps its millennial history, did not come by chance in this world.
Lyubka Rondova

Today we celebrate the life and music of Lyubka Rondova, Bulgarian folk singer who was born in 1936 in Greece.  She is especially well known for her performances of folk songs from the Pirin region. She passed away on March 15, 2016 after a long illness.

Video #1 is a performance with Lyubka Rondova and Ilia Lykov of the song Цъфнало цвеке шарено ("Bright Flower Blowing" according to the webpage).  I think they were referring to blooming flowers, not blowing ones, but translations from Bulgarian can be a little strange sometimes. Or it could have been a typo.

The dance to this is lesnoto.



Lyubka Rondova was also fond of songs from Aegean (Greek) Macedonia.   Dimitrula Mou (My Dimitrula) is in Greek, from a recording done many years ago.

It is a happy song about going to the taverna to drink retsina  (wine made from pine resin).  To me, retsina smells and tastes like turpentine, but since the Greeks have been drinking it for over 2000 years, it is obviously an acquired taste.

The dance for this song is a devetorka.



Video #3 is a song that tells a story:  Belomorie, made for a documentary about Bulgarian refugees from Macedonia, Thrace and Dobrudja.  You can find the translation here.

Lyubka Rondova was a refugee child uprooted from her village during the Civil War in Greece. Most of the victims were children of Slavic language speakers who lived in the Greek province of Macedonia, and many of them died, along with their caretakers, during their journey out of the country.  They were resettled in refugee camps all over Eastern Europe.  Lyubka Rondova was sent to Poland, and later moved to Czechoslovakia before she rejoined her family in Bulgaria in 1960.



If you enjoyed this you may also like:

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

The Best of the Bisserov Sisters (and Family)


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Dancing Through the Alphabet, Letter G: Ginka

The dance of the week is Ginka, from the southwest (Pirin) region of Bulgaria.


For some reason Ginka is more popular in Bulgaria than it is in the Western Hemisphere, although I found the notes for it on an American folk dance camp website.  It's done to a different song, Mitro le Mitro.

The first video features dancers in elaborate embroidered costumes and they are from the Philip Kutev ensemble. You can find this dance and many more on the website horo.bg  which has videos of dances from all the folklore regions of Bulgaria.Click on the English flag on the upper right hand corner of the website if you're Cyrillically challenged :)

If you're familiar with the song Dobra Nevesto, you'll hear a bit of it at the end (minus the singing).  The rhythm is 7/8 (pineapple-apple-apple).



Ginka #2 is from a Bulgarian dance class; same dance with modern music.



This week's bonus is some gaida (bagpipe) music, since gaida beings with the letter G.  The Chinese New Year starts on February 19th.  It will be the year of the sheep (or the goat, depending on which Chinese Zodiac sign you prefer.)  Both animals share two things in common: they chew their cud and are made into Eastern European bagpipes in the Afterlife.

Someone at the Uncyclopedia got really creative with this gaidasheep. If you enjoy satire, check out a few of their articles.



A man from Macedonia who lives in Australia makes bagpipes from the bodies of goats, including the heads. He sells them over the Internet. They are a one-of-a kind product, although some people might be uneasy listening to dance tunes coming from dead goats.

I don't being reincarnated as a gaida is a bad thing. This goat can be happy in the knowledge is that he's creating beautiful music (with the help of Risto Todoroski) for the world to enjoy.

The tune is Pajduško, a dance very popular in Macedonia and Bulgaria.



If you enjoyed this you may also like:

Bulgarian Folk Songs Reincarnated

Modern Versions of Traditional Bulgarian Folk Songs: Part One and Part Two

The Bagpipe in Macedonian Folk Music


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Dancing Through the Alphabet: Letter B

BIG B, Little b, what begins with B?
Barber baby bubbles and a bumblebee.
Dr. Seuss

Today's dance begins with B and comes from the Pirin region of southwestern Bulgaria.  The name is Bičak (pronounced bee-chak).  The dance has four figures that build on each other, and the sequence in which they are done is at the leader's discretion. The fourth is the only one that goes right and left (line of direction and reverse line of direction).

This is a moderately difficult dance because it's in a compound rhythm 9/16 + 5/16 (14/16).  If you listen closely you can hear the clarinet,accordion, brass instruments and a tambura.



I couldn't finish this post without adding something appropriate for the holidays, after all it's Christmas.  This is the Ensemble Goce Delchev  from Sofia, Bulgaria performing Christmas songs and dances.  Vesela Koleda, and Merry Christmas to all!



If you enjoyed this you may also like:

The Balkan Buy One Get One Free Special:  Dances in Compound Rhythms

The Tambura in Macedonian, Bulgarian, and Croatian Folk Music 

Bulgarian Christmas Songs (Koledarski Pesni)


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

The Best of the Bisserov Sisters (and family)

It is as if we were fated to be a trio even before we were born.

Mitra Bisserov (during interview with Bulgarian National Radio)

I love music from the Pirin region (southwest Bulgaria).  I have to admit, though, that it's an acquired taste; my family does not feel the same way about it. 

Recently a program on the Bulgarian National Radio featured the Bisserov sisters. They come from a large musical family and specialize in music and songs from the Pirin region. 

According to what I heard in the BNR interview, they have performed all over the world and gave their first performance in Cuba.  In one of my previous posts, I mentioned how much Bulgarians admire music from Latin America.  I am sure people from Latin America feel the same about Bulgarian folk music.

Video # 1 features two songs from the Pirin region. The instrumentation is unique to this area with the three tamburas (string instrument which resembles a lute) and tarambuka (small drum).



In the next video, the Bisserovs do some amazing things with their vocal cords.  Song #1 sounds like the Bulgarian version of yodeling. The Pirin is a mountainous region, and yodeling was a way to call the cows or sheep home from a day at the pasture.  Certain sounds echo well, and carry across long distances.  Yodeling is certainly more reliable than cell phone service in remote mountain areas...

Song #2 is in 11/16 (kopanitsa rhythm), song #3 is a devetorka (9/16) and song #4 is in rachenitsa rhythm (7/16).  Bulgarian music is well-known for its odd rhythms, and the dances are built around them.



Seeing people dressed in elaborate embroidered costumes is probably par for the course when riding the subway in Sofia. I grew up New York City, where the underground rapid transit system is over a century old and smells like rat droppings and stale urine. The Sofia metro is gorgeous compared to New York's.

This video alternates between the Bisserovs wearing "civilian clothes" and folk costumes.  There is a scene at 1:40 where the ladies link hands and dance rachenitsa.



For more information about the Bisserov family you can visit their website, where you can read about the history of the group and listen to some samples of their songs.

By the way, if you are in Sofia on the 9th of December, the Bisserovs will be giving a 35th anniversary concert at the Sredets Culture House.

If you enjoyed this you may also like:

Bulgarian Singing Demystified

Leb i Vino: Traditional Music from the Pirin Region of Bulgaria

The Pirin Ensemble of Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria

Mango Duende:  Latin Rhythm With a Bulgarian Accent

Nusha:  A Family Project with Neli Andreeva and Her Daughters

The Alien Diaries will be taking a break for most of December;  the next post will be published shortly before New Year 2014.  There are almost 200 posts here and and many people don't want to go out when it's cold and snowy outside.  Here's the antidote to winter: get a cup of your favorite hot beverage, sit down in front of your computer, turn up the heat, and read my blog.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!


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The Zurna in Bulgarian Folk Music

Today's post features a musical instrument that people either love or hate: the zurna. In that respect it is related to the bagpipe (gaida).

The zurna looks like a wooden horn with finger holes, and has a double reed like an oboe. According to this article it may have originated in Asia; it is a very popular instrument in Turkey and the Middle East.

http://www.belly-dance.org/mizmar.html

Shepherds played zurna to frighten the bears away. The Ottoman Turks, who ruled Eastern Europe for nearly 500 years brought the zurna to the Balkans. The zurna and the tupan (double-headed drum) were important instruments in Turkish military bands, and the purpose of the music was to intimidate enemies of the Ottoman Empire.



The people of the Pirin region (southwest Bulgaria) incorporated the zurna as well as the tupan into their folk music. It's loud enough to wake up the dead and played during festive occasions. This one happens to be a New Year's Day celebration.



The zurna is usually accompanied by a tupan. In this video the purpose is not intimidation, but music for dancing.



The last video is from the festival "Pirin Sings." This is more like Pirin, get up and dance, or else :)



If you enjoyed this you may also like:

The Bagpipe and Bulgarian Folk Music
http://katleyplanetbg.blogspot.com/2010/06/bagpipe-and-bulgarian-folk-music.html

If Drums Could Talk....
http://katleyplanetbg.blogspot.com/2012/09/if-drums-could-talk.html


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The Tambura in Macedonian, Bulgarian and Croatian Folk Music

(monument to tambura musician Janika Balázs, from Wikipedia commons)

This week's post is about another musical instrument popular in the Balkans, the tambura. According to Wikipedia, it is "a long-necked metal-strung fretted lute used for rhythmic accompaniment as well as melodic solos." Some may view it as an instrument of torture much like the accordion or the bagpipe (gaida), which are also traditional Balkan folk instruments. This is the kind of music people either love or hate, there is no middle ground.

The first video is of a of a musician playing a Macedonian dance tune, Tropnalo Oro, on a solo tambura.



This link explains the Macedonian folk instruments, including the tambura, along with pictures.

http://dimobetchev.tripod.com/music/instruments.html

The next tambura piece comes from the Pirin region of Bulgaria. The first part of it is a rachenitsa, a Bulgarian folk dance in 7/8 time. Tambura music is very popular in the Pirin, probably because southwestern Bulgaria shares a border with the Republic of Macedonia, and music does not recognize national boundaries.



Now we travel further west, to a country which used to be a part of Yugoslavia, Croatia. Tamburitza orchestras are quite common in Croatia, and an integral part of this country's folk music. Tamburitza is another name for a tambura; in Croatia they come in a variety of sizes and shapes. The ensembles that play tamburitza music have a distinctive sound, and there's no mistaking them for anything else! This group is from Chicago, USA and they sing as well as play!



If you're interested in the instruments that make up a tamburitza orchestra, check out this page from Wikipedia.

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

The last video in this post is an excerpt from a folk opera, Ero the Joker by Croatian composer Jakov Gotovac. Although Gotovac was primarily a composer and conductor of classical music, Ero s onoga svijeta is a work based on folklore. The finale, Završno Kolo, is done in true Croatian style, and played by a tamburitza orchestra accompanied by an accordion. The music and dancing here are a treat for the eyes and ears.



If you enjoyed this you may also like:

More Interesting and Unusual Instruments in Balkan Folk Music

http://katleyplanetbg.blogspot.com/2011/04/more-interesting-and-unusual.html

Check out the gadulka, a folk instrument very popular in Bulgaria. This post is funny as well as informative.

http://katleyplanetbg.blogspot.com/2011/11/gadulka-in-bulgarian-folk-music-another.html

Classical Composers Inspired by Balkan Folk Music

http://katleyplanetbg.blogspot.com/2011/12/classical-composers-inspired-by-balkan.html


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