This ain't your Auntie Dennitsa's harvest song. (Or maybe it is.)

June 15, 2008 11:02 PM

Bulgarian speakers: What song is this?

It's the first song you hear: a beguiling Bulgarian modern folklore arrangement for soloist and orchestra. But what's the name of the song? If you can't make out the lyrics (I can't), check the announcer between 3:17 - 3:58 for clues. I've asked all the Bulgarian-music experts I know, and Radio Bulgaria ain't sayin'.

posted by mykescipark to media & arts (6 comments total)

If anyone would know, or would know who to ask, it's Holger Czukay. He has a chat area and a guestbook on his website, and there's a contact email too.
posted by zippy at 5:27 AM on June 16

I believe the announcer is speaking in German.
posted by zippy at 5:29 AM on June 16

The announcer is speaking German, not Bulgarian. By girlfriend is fluent in both, but (she's running late for work) couldn't make out much of either, but she says the singing style is characteristic of the Rhodope mountain. There's a compilation called "the Magic of Rhodope Mountain" -- I found MP3s of it here. Don't have time to listen through the songs, but perhaps it's there somewhere. Good luck! If no one identifies it, my girlfriend will give it another go later on.
posted by limon at 5:30 AM on June 16 [1 favorite]

Sorry, I should have clarified. It is indeed the German-language service of Radio Bulgaria. The song itself is definitely in Bulgarian.

I have extensive familiarity with Bulgarian music myself and have contacts with some of the most prominent ethnomusicologists working in the region, and nobody's familiar with this little number. I even asked Radio Bulgaria, but got no reply.

For something performed in such a relatively anodyne and syrupy style (contrasted to genuine Bulgarian field music, anyway), this has proven unbelievably hard to identify.

Keep those cards and letters coming...
posted by mykescipark at 6:03 AM on June 16

"There's a compilation called 'the Magic of Rhodope Mountain' -- I found MP3s of it here."

That site was worth exploring. Hours of great music there.
posted by zippy at 10:28 AM on June 16

That site was worth exploring. Hours of great music there.

For neophytes, indeed. Others watching this thread should explore that site with impunity. I have over 50 CDs of Bulgarian music already - entirely on Bulgarian record labels and performed in both the pre- and post-Communist styles - and this song doesn't appear anywhere.
posted by mykescipark at 11:57 AM on June 16