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!


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

Two Variations on a Bulgarian Folk Dance: Kraj Dunavsko Horo

You don't understand anything until you learn it more than one way. Marvin Minsky

During the years I have spent folk dancing, I have found there are as many variations as there are "villages." As a matter of fact, at dance we have this saying "He comes from a different village."  All this means is that their group performs a dance in a different way than we do.  Choreography is one of those things where there's plenty of room for improvisation.

Today's post features two variations of a dance from Northwestern Bulgaria. The name is Kraj Dunavsko Horo.  Translated into English, this means dance from the Danube region.  By the way it's a totally different dance than Dunavsko Horo. You will find a link to a post about it at bottom of this page.

Version one is the one popular with folk dance groups in the United States (and Israel, where this group is from).  If you are a regular visitor to The Alien Diaries, you will recognize them.



Version two is a crazy aerobic exercise routine performed with lots of exuberance by the Hungarian group Mydros.  The music and the steps are different from version one. It's fun to watch and they are having a good time.  I had trouble keeping up with them!

At the very end, the accordionist plays a musical allusion: Shave and A Haircut, Two Bits.



Mydros describes their group as a Greek band from Hungary. They have a website as well as a YouTube channel. On the site, there is an English translation button, which is not easy to find. Most of their videos are of Greek folk songs (with subtitles). If you read Greek, you can sing along :)

If you enjoyed this, you may also like:

Two variations on a Bulgarian Folk Dance: Opas

Variations on a Vlashko Theme (a very popular dance from Northwestern Bulgaria)

Variations on a Theme by Diko Iliev: Dunavsko Horo

Allusions in Balkan Folk Music


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

Variations on a Romanian Folk Dance: Arcanul

"No sane man will dance." - Marcus Tullius Cicero

I've never understood why men in the United States are afraid to dance.  It must be a cultural thing.  Fortunately, in the Balkans, dancing is an expression of masculine prowess, and there are certain dances in which the men love to show off.

Today's post features two different variations of the Romanian folk dance Arcanul. The first is a very lively and energetic dance, very masculine in nature. By the way, Arcanul is also popular in Moldova, a country north of Romania, where the language and culture are similar to their neighbors to the south.



Arcanul Batrinesc, according to the dance notes, is for senior citizens who still want to show off their dancing prowess with deep knee bends and stamps.  This can be especially painful if they suffer from arthritis.

If you're a regular visitor to The Alien Diaries, you'll recognize the Dunav group from Jerusalem in Israel.  They have a website and YouTube videos.  Go visit them sometime. 



If you enjoyed this, you may also like:

Variations on a Romanian Folk Dance: Hora de Mina

Three Variations on a Romanian Folk Dance: Trei Pazeste

The River of Many Names Part 3: Folk Ensembles Named Dunav


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Classical Musicians Play Balkan Folk Music

Musicians tend to get bored playing the same thing over and over, so I think it's natural to experiment.
Dimebag Darrell

WQXR has been New York City's classical music station since 1936. I began listening to WQXR when I was about 12 years old. If you like classical music, you can listen to this radio station anywhere in the world as long as you have an Internet connection.

Today's post features two videos from the WQXR Cafe Concerts. You don't often find classical musicians playing music from the Balkans (probably because of the unusual rhythms), but there are some adventurous people out there.....

I found the first video by accident when I was searching for different versions of Gankino Horo, a Bulgarian dance tune.

The Canellakis-Brown duo plays it on piano and cello.I was pleasantly surprised since I'm so used to the accordion arrangement by Boris Karlov. They do an amazing job, especially since this is a difficult meter (11/16) for non-Bulgarians to master, and they play it FAST. (I wonder if they're folk dancers?)



The next piece is much slower. Although there is no one singing here, a doina is a Romanian folk song, rather melancholy in nature.  This one was arranged by Grigoras Dinicu. He wrote a number of pieces based on Romanian folk tunes, the most famous being Hora Staccato, a favorite among classical violinists.



If you enjoyed this you may also like:

Classical Composers Inspired by Balkan Folk Dances

The Legacy of Boris Karlov, Bulgarian Folk Accordionist

Having a Blast With Diko Iliev (Bulgarian composer whose music was based on folklore themes)


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More Quirky Odd Rhythms in Balkan Dance

I can tell by the way somebody walks if they can dance or not. Just by the rhythm. Bruce Forsyth

Today's post is more of a dance lesson than a math lesson. So don't let the numbers and the odd rhythms scare you. Many people find Balkan dancing intimidating for this reason.

Drăgăcuţa, a graceful and beautiful dance from Romania,is in 3/4 meter..  Most people associate this rhythm with waltz music. (1-2-3-1-2-3).  This is a quick-slow (with the accent on the second beat). It's easy to follow (most of it is walking) but difficult to lead because of the quirky rhythm. 

In Romania, women dance this at weddings to mourn the loss of the bride to the world of the married; in this instance it's an equal opportunity dance, since there are several men in the group.



The next number is five, and this Macedonian dance is Strumicka Petorka (pet is Macedonian for five).  It's has a totally different feel from Pajduško Horo, another dance with a five in the time signature.



I skipped over seven and nine since they have been covered in previous posts (see links at the end).  The next dance is Gankino Horo, a basic kopanitsa from Bulgaria. The rhythm for this is 11/16. (quick-quick-slow-quick quick).



Kopanitsa comes in different "flavors." Bulgarian dances are often named after cities and towns and sometimes regions, for example there is a Pazardzhishka Kopanitsa and a Shopska Kopanitsa. This particular dance is Bistrishka Kopanitsa. As difficulty goes, I would rate this as a 9 on a scale of 10.



Perhaps the people who work at the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute taught these cute little penguins how to dance Bistrishka Kopanitsa.  If the video looks familiar, you have probably seen the movie Happy Feet.



If you enjoyed this you may also like: The Travels of Padjusko Horo

Balkan Folk Dancing and its Relationship to...Math?

Dancing in Sevens, Parts One and Two

If you like the number nine, this post on Daichovo Horo, a Bulgarian folk dance, is for you.



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Romanian Wedding Videos from the Universe of YouTube

A wedding is a funeral where you smell your own flowers.
Eddie Cantor

Weddings are a fascinating insight into a culture.  The joining of a couple involves elaborate rituals, which seem to be more for the benefit of the guests than for the couple. There are a number of key ingredients to a good wedding reception: music, dance, food, plenty of booze, and of course, the bride and groom.

A friend from Romania, who now lives in the States, sent me these videos via e-mail. There were so many that I had a difficult time deciding which ones to include in this post.

The first video is of a Sârba, (or Sirba) a very popular dance, done especially at weddings. Notice that there are two lines; one for men and one for women ("heel friendly", as my friend described it). The men use a back basket hold and the women just hold hands.



The bride leads a dance, and a fast one, too.  She has no problem, despite having to hold up that long dress. Several of the women are dancing barefoot.  Shoes, especially those high-heeled torture devices, get in the way. Whoever invented them had to be a man, and as punishment, should be made to walk wearing them several miles over cobblestones. Ouch!



In the next video people stuff money down the bride's bodice while she gets her crown and veil adjusted.  It is a major project.

The bride must have spent hours at the hairdresser's, so the crown has to be placed just so.  Can't mess up the hair. Don't forget the hairspray, the perfume,and the pastry! The bride looks like she'd rather be somewhere else...I hope they gave her something alcoholic to calm her down.

If you want to skip to the dancing, it starts at 8:07. 



If you are a regular visitor to this blog (and I hope you are) you will recognize the rhythm to this dance.  In Romania it's geampara, on the other side of the Danube, it's rachenitsa. Somewhere in the middle it changes to sirba. Rhythm changes during dance sequences are very common in the Balkans. Check out the costumed dancers at the beginning of the video, they are a goat and a horse.



This group of men dances Căluşari which in its original form is performed by costumed dancers around the springtime holiday of Pentecost. It is a dance for men only and has pagan origins.



If you enjoyed this you may also like:

The "Flavors" of Romanian Sirba, an entertaining and informative look at a Romanian folk dance.

Crossing the River Part Two:  The Stick Dancers-Romanian Căluşari and their Bulgarian Counterparts

Have you had a bad day? Enjoy some wedding bloopers from Romania and Bulgaria.

I also want to thank Ileana for sending me the videos....these were fun to watch!


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Dancing in Sevens Part 2: The 7/16 Rhythm in Macedonian Folk Music

Life is about rhythm. We vibrate, our hearts are pumping blood, we are a rhythm machine, that's what we are.
Mickey Hart

Asymmetric rhythms are extremely common in Balkan music. The Bulgarians, especially are best known for music in odd time signatures such as 7/16. There is variation within that rhythm...it all depends on which beats have the accent.

Today we will explore the 7/16 rhythm in Macedonian folk music.

The first is Sitna Lisa (3-2-2 or galloping-apple-apple). I especially enjoy the brass band orchestration in this video; it's loud enough to wake the dead. The Bulgarian equivalent of this rhythm can be found in the dance Chetvorno Horo.



Most folk dancers in North America are familiar with this version of Sitna Lisa: played on tupan (drum), tambura (a string instrument similar to a lute), gaida (bagpipe) and kaval (flute).  There is something about this music that sounds uniquely Macedonian, especially the long introduction on the gaida and the kaval solo. It's very beautifully done.



The next example of the 7/16 rhythm in Macedonian folk music is the song Zurli Trestat na Sred Selo.  (I couldn't find an English translation; if anyone out there can translate the lyrics, please post  in the "comments" section). This time the accent is a little different: it's 2-3-3 (apple-apple-galloping).  The Bulgarian equivalent is rachenitsa.



These young people perform the dance that goes with the song.  Looks like rachenitsa, doesn't it?



If you enjoyed this you may also like:

Dancing in Sevens (part one) This post explores the folk dances lesnoto, chetvorno and rachenitsa.

The "Flavors" of Bulgarian Rachenitsa, parts one and two.

 The "Flavors" of Daichovo Horo. Daichovo is a folk dance from Bulgaria with nine beats to the measure.


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