Springtime Music by Diko Iliev

Today's post has a springtime theme with music by the Bulgarian composer Diko Iliev (1898-1984).
His works were based on folk dances from northwestern Bulgaria and arranged for brass orchestras. 

Although many people are familiar with his most famous piece, Dunavsko Horo, he wrote numerous other compositions which are not as well known.

The first is titled Пробуждане на Пролетта (Springtime Awakening.)  Although I like the scenery in this video, however, the "please purchase" annotation is a distraction.  My guess is that although many YouTubers are looking to make money from their videos, they are a bit more discreet about it.

By the way, I find commercials very annoying, and always skip though them when I can. The advertising business would go bankrupt the if the world were made up of people like me.



The next piece is Proletno Horo (Springtime Dance).  After a long, hard winter, everyone wants to dance outside.  The artwork is very appealing as well, it captures the essence of a Bulgarian village scene.  If anyone knows who the artist is, please let me know in the "comments" section!



Same artwork, but a different piece of music this time, Maisko Utro, or May Morning. Iliev might have been inspired by a quote from William Shakespeare when he composed this piece: No doubt they rose up early to observe The rite of May; and, hearing our intent, Came here in grace of our solemnity.

I like spring because it's so colorful, and after the cold and dreariness of winter, it's good to see the trees dressed with beautiful blossoms and everything in brilliant hues.



If you enjoyed this you may also like:

Dreaming of Spring in the Middle of Winter (a blog post written during the cold, snowy and harsh winter of 2010-2011).  If you like Bulgarian folk songs about flowers, this is for you!

Having a Blast with Diko Iliev ( a short bio of Diko Iliev with lots of music).

A Celebration for Diko Iliev's Birthday (more music  and lots of scenery from the town of Oryahovo, where the composer spent a good portion of his life).


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The Pirin Ensemble of Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria

Today's post features one of my favorite Bulgarian folk ensembles, the Pirin Ensemble of Blagoevgrad, from the southwestern corner of Bulgaria, which shares a border with Greece and the Republic of Macedonia.

The Pirin Ensemble has been around since 1954, and has been entertaining people ever since with beautiful singing and energetic dance routines. There are three groups within the ensemble: dancers, female chorus, and musicians. 

For some reason their official website isn't working. This is what National Geographic has to say about them:

http://worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/view/page.basic/artist/content.artist/the_pirin_folk_ensemble_49465/en_US

Let's start with a very beautiful song titled Voice of Pirin (Glasat Na Pirina).



Music of the Pirin region is characterized by unusual harmonies and odd rhythms. The favored instruments are gaida (bagpipe), tupan (large double-headed drum), tambura (lute) and zurna. The zurna, originally from the Middle East, came to the Balkans via the Ottoman Turks. The musicians of the Pirin loved it and incorporated it into their folk music. It has a double reed like an oboe and it's loud enough to wake the dead!

The next video begins with a dance with drums.  It goes on for nearly five minutes and is hypnotic and fascinating to watch.  Before you get totally hypnotized, it's followed with a song and dance routine titled Na Megdana. If you listen closely you can hear the zurna!



In Bulgaria, this region is also known "Pirin Macedonia."  The name "Macedonia" has been a bone of contention among Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Greece (where there is also a province with that name).

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

This whole business as to what country Macedonia belongs to has been contested for ages and I don't understand why.  From what I can see the music of the Pirin has a lot in common with its neighbor the Republic of Macedonia, and there is overlap with some of the songs and dances; for example the next song, Dobra Nevesto.



A former soloist of the Pirin ensemble, Tatiana Sarbinska, wrote the lyrics and the music for Katerino Mome, a very popular folk song. (She's not the lady performing in this video, though).



If you enjoyed this you may also like:

The Zurna in Bulgarian Folk Music

http://katleyplanetbg.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-zurna-in-bulgarian-folk-music.html

The Tambura in Macedonian, Bulgarian and Croatian Folk Music

http://katleyplanetbg.blogspot.com/2012/05/tambura-in-macedonian-bulgarian-and.html

Tatiana Sarbinska and Desislava perform two totally different versions of Katerino Mome in Modern Versions of Traditional Bulgarian Folk Songs, Part 1.

http://katleyplanetbg.blogspot.com/2011/06/modern-versions-of-traditional.html

Does Bulgarian folk music produce altered states?  See for yourself.

http://katleyplanetbg.blogspot.com/2011/05/how-bulgarian-folk-music-induces.html



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

Why We Like to Dance: Informal Folk Dance Groups from Around the World

I like to think dance is an international language that all people can appreciate. Paul Taylor

Today's post will feature popular Balkan folk dances performed by informal groups from around the world. Folk dancing is lots of fun and has numerous benefits: you make new friends, it activates new pathways in the brain and it provides plenty of aerobic exercise. Nothing like spending an evening of getting high on endorphins!

The first group is from the United States, KoloKoalition. They have many videos posted on the Universe of YouTube; their specialty is intermediate and advanced line dances from the Balkans. This cute little number is Prekid Kolo from Serbia accompanied by live music. Dancing to live music can be a little tricky, since the musicians will play something slightly different than the recordings.



You will recognize this "Bonding Folkdance Class" from China, especially if you read The Alien Diaries regularly. This dance is Berovka, from the Republic of Macedonia.



The Dunav group from Israel has been featured on this blog numerous times. Joc Batrinesc, a graceful dance from Romania, is popular with my dance group, as well. We do it almost every week.



Vienna may be the land of the waltz, but once in a while they'll try something different, like this dance from Bulgaria, Sadi Moma. The Tanzgruppe Bäckerstrasse also has a social networking site for dancers, Dancilla, which is bilingual (German/English). It features a wide variety of dances from all over the world. If you like folk dances from Germany and Austria, they're the place to visit.

http://dancilla.com/



Balkan music has its fans in Canada. The Burnaby International Folk Dancers of Burnaby, British Columbia do a dance from Albania, Valle e Dardhes.



The Always on Sunday Group dances in Wethersfield, Connecticut, and I go to their dances from time to time because I love their live music events. This video features Kabile, a band from the Thracian region of Bulgaria. I recorded a few numbers from that evening, the rest of the night I spent dancing.

I don't know the name of this piece, but the dance to it is a lesnoto, and it's some of the most beautiful music I've ever heard on this planet.



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

A One of a Kind Club for Folk Dancers:

http://katleyplanetbg.blogspot.com/2012/02/one-of-kind-club-for-folk-dancers.html

On Ethnic Dance and Exercise
(why it's good to get off the couch and away from that TV)

http://katleyplanetbg.blogspot.com/2010/12/on-ethnic-dance-and-exericise.html


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

The Bagpipe in Bulgarian Folk Music

(photo from Wikipedia)

This is the musical instrument some people love to hate, and my daughter calls it music from Hell. The bagpipe is strident and loud, and you do not want to hear one the morning after a night of drinking! Most people associate the bagpipe with Scotland, where it is called the Great Highland Bagpipe. It takes a lot of lung power to play one.

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

Here's a traditional Scottish tune played on the Highland bagpipe:



Bagpipes are common to a number of cultures: the Scots, the Irish, the Bretons of northwest France, Macedonians, Greeks, and Bulgarians, to name a few. Here's some information about the Eastern European gaida (bagpipe) with some pictures, from Wikipedia:

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

An ad for Bulgarian rakia (brandy) cleverly combines Scottish bagpipes and kilts with Bulgarian music and dance:



In Bulgaria, the bagpipe is called the gaida. It is the predominant instrument in the Rhodope Mountains, near the Greek border, but common to all the folklore regions of Bulgaria. Most folk ensembles have a gaida player. You can really hear it in this performance of Kabile, a Bulgarian wedding band that toured the United States in 2008 and 2010.



This is what happens when 100 Bulgarians play the gaida at the same time. You will either be totally delighted by the performance or running to the medicine cabinet looking for a headache remedy. The fireworks add a nice touch!



When a female voice accompanies a gaida, you have a formidable combination. The song is Izlel e Delyu Haidutin, performed by a young lady named Nevena on the show Music Idol (the Bulgarian counterpart to American Idol). Her performance is on a par with that of Valya Balkanska, whose version of the song was launched into outer space in 1977.



There is no middle ground with bagpipes. You can love them or hate them, but they are pretty damn hard to ignore!

I love gaida music.

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