bulgarian folk music and its sociopolitical implications
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Lilia BogoevaWMS
Bulgarian Folk Music and its Socio-Political Implications
Bulgarian folk music is a long-standing tradition that both reflects current social and
political conditions and has at times even acted as an instrument of social and political
change. Traditional folk music was unnotated and served primarily to promote a feeling
of communal togetherness. With the advent of Soviet takeover, the government would
only subsidize folk music that was Westernized and suited for concert halls, radio, or
television, thus turning folk music into an art form and commercial commodity as
opposed to a social event. Even with modernization and Western influences coming in
during the mid 20 th century, Bulgarian folk music has always been focused on presenting
a particular emotional feel as opposed to technical virtuosity.
Bulgarias location and climate have influenced its social and economic foundations.
The nation is located in Eastern Europe near the Balkan mountains and bordering the
Black Sea. Its geography lush mountainous landscapes, numerous rivers, fertile soil, and
warm spring and summer time climate make it an ideal location for agriculture. Because
if these geographical features, Bulgaria has traditionally been an agriculturally-based
society, with most of its inhabitants residing in rural villages, living off of subsistence
farming, and being illiterate until about 150 years ago (Rice 25: 2001).
Bulgarias long history has seen a lot of conflicts between the nations rulership and its
peoples desire for freedom. It was part of the Ottoman empire for hundreds of years,
until gaining its independence in the mid-1800s. It was after gaining its independence
that Bulgaria began modernizing, slowly stepping away from agriculture and towards
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Capitalism and industry as the basis of the nations economy. The move towards
industrialization sped up substantially when Bulgaria became part of the Soviet Union in
1944 (Rice 25: 2001). The Communist party, was obsessed with the idea of progress and
modernization and asserted that following suit with the Partys ideals was the way to
achieve this progress.
Its location in Eastern Europe separated it from Western Europe and its cultural
influences. Thus, even though Bulgaria is located in Europe, its culture, society, and
therefore its music, developed differently from that of Western Europe. Therefore,
Bulgarian folk music is not based on an organized system of musical theory and notation.
Rather, folk music is passed on through oral tradition and remembered by ear and through
the physical action of playing the music (Rice 2: 1980). This had to do with the fact that
its inhabitants were raised in rural villages and therefore lacked formal education or
training in music. Therefore, musical performance emphasized aesthetic delivery and
social experience as opposed to technical precision.
When beginning the study of Bulgarian folk music, it is important to note that what
Bulgarian villagers considered music was different from the meanings Westerners
apply to the term. First of all, the Bulgarian folk definition of music, called musica in
Bulgarian, only encompasses instrumental music. Thus, a capella vocal performances
were not included under the label musica . This means that there was a clear distinction
between the labels singer ( pevitsa) and musician (musicant) . Thus, musician would
actually translate into English as instrumental music, not as the overarching category of
music (Rice 45: 1980).
This is not to say that vocal music was any less valued. It simply demonstrates a cross-
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cultural difference in the thought processes related to music. The fact that singing
involved words and instrumental playing did not seemed to be a substantial enough
difference between the two performance methods that villagers felt the need to
distinguish between the two by using different labels. The presence or absence of lyrics
relates to the performances purpose. Village songs had four broad purposes: (1) describe
the activity it accompanies, such as a dance or wedding, (2) to describe an event that has
important cultural implications, (3) to state the values of society, and (4) to entertain
(Rice 48: 1980).
The same distinction that exists between singer and musician, is also used to
differentiate a song ( pesen) as being a vocal-only performance and music/tune as being
instrumental (Rice 47: 1980). The main instruments of village folk music were the kaval,
or flute, the tambura, a stringed instrument, the gajda, a bagpipe, and the gudulka ,
another important stringed instrument (Rice 44: 1980). Particularly in the Shop region,
but in other regions as well, instrumental accompaniment to voice was rare, and when did
happen, it was usually not in the same sense that Western musicians think of
accompaniment. In fact, in Bulgarian folk music, the instruments would hardly be
considered accompaniment at all. Although instrumentals and vocals may occur
simultaneously, the singer does not attempt to sing the same pitches or maintain rhythmic
synchronicity with the instrument. They merely reinforce and inspire each other, but act
independently of each other (Rice 49: 1980). Although this music was not notated or
metered, it would be transcribed into Western notation using mostly odd meters, such as
5/8, 7/8, and 11/16 (Rice 63: 1980). These meters are considered complex by Western
classical standards, but are not complicated or atypical at all in Bulgarian folk music.
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As is typical of folk music, various regional styles emerge. But what all regions of
Bulgarian folk music have in common is the emphasis on melodic ornamentation. The
Shop region in particular uses an exceptionally large amount of and the vocal effect
tresene, which literally means shaking (Rice 58: 1980). The vocal delivery tends to be
slightly nasal at times, yet delivered with music projection (Elitsa: 2007). This recording
demonstrates the prominent use of ornamentation as well as the textural changes between
homophony and polyphony. Contour is the primary focus of melody, and there is not
preference of a specific vocal register, tone, or timbre. Virtuosity is of no concern in a
vocal performance. Rather, what defines a great vocal performance in this tradition is the
ability to ornament a melodic vocal line. The Bulgarian folk idea of ornamentation is the
reverse of the Western idea of ornamentation, which uses quick notes to add interest to
long ones. Bulgarian folk ornamentation considers long tones as ornamentation to short
tones (Rice 60-62: 1980). The aesthetic of folk music was not geared towards virtuosity,
but rather to presenting a vibe and telling a story. What these characteristics of folk music
reveal about Bulgarian village society was the fact that villagers were primarily concerned
with social experience and building a sense of community through their music. They were
not determined to out music each other with impressive displays of technical mastery.
Bulgarias agricultural background lead to the subject matter of folk songs being based
on aspects of life on the farms and often were sung while performing farm work. There
were songs for going to the farm at sunrise, songs for the afternoon rest, and songs for
returning home once the work was done, to name but a few. Both genders performed farm
work, although men performed the more physically demanding tasks. In addition to
working songs, there were also songs for holidays, dances, festivals, and celebrations,
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with wedding music holding particular importance (Rice 51: 1980). This variety of
subject matter reveals that singing was an ingrained aspect of village society. Village
women did not have to set aside time specifically to practice and perform songs, rather,
they integrated them into their daily tasks.
There is an important social aspect of folk music in relationship to gender roles:
instrumental music (musica) is considered masculine and singing songs ( pesni ) is
considered feminine, and both genders engage in dancing (Rice 47: 1980). This gender
distinction was deeply engrained in village society. Female instrumentalists were given
sarcastic and unflattering labels, such as masculine Mary. Typically, men would not
sing in performance situations but would sing while drinking in taverns. In contrast,
women would always sing perfectly sober and in more official situations. Singing was
expected of women, but was induced in men under the influence of alcohol (Rice 48:
2001). This had to do with perceptions of socially appropriate behaviors for each sex.
The physicality of playing an instrument, especially drums, was associated with the
physicality of farm labor such as herding animals and riding horses, and therefore was
considered masculine (Rice 46: 2001). Such gender-specific associations are common in
music cultures around the world and reflect deeply-rooted perceptions of ways to preserve
traditional notions of masculinity and femininity in the context of musical practice.
However, the fact that both genders dance together demonstrates that village society was
not intent on keeping men and women in separate spheres. The quintessential Bulgarian
folk dance, horo , involves several dancers holding hands in a chain, which of course
requires physical contact and movement. Men and women engaged in social, musical
experiences together, but still maintained their roles in society.
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There are a handful of metaphors that ethnomusicologists use to gain an understanding
of music. These metaphors include: music is art, music is social behavior, music is a
symbol or text, and music is a commodity (Rice 23-24: 2001). Thinking of music in these
terms allows one to deeply analyze the social and political implications of music on both
a micro and a macro scale. Such analysis is useful to gain a deep understanding of
musics role in a society. In the Bulgarian context in particular, it can be used to
understand ways in which folk music has changed over time and how this evolution has
been influenced by the political changes the nation has experienced the rise and fall of
Ottoman rule, the transition into Soviet Communism, and the post-Soviet democratic era.
Originally, Bulgarian folk musics primary objective was to facilitate a social
experience. As mentioned previously, dances and taverns were important centers of social
gathering in villages. Here, music and song played a primary role in facilitating
interpersonal interactions. Wedding music has always held a particularly high status of
importance, as a wedding marks a crucial transition point in the lives of the couple and
their families. Traditionally, village wedding music consisted of songs wishing the couple
good luck, prosperity, and fertility. Simultaneously, instrumental players would be
playing tunes that inspire group horo dancing (Rice 50: 1980). The cultural significance
of wedding music continued into the modern era, and peoples actions during wedding
festivities are taken very seriously. During one field study in the late 1980s, a bride chose
not to engage in the wedding songs and dances. Although this may not seem like much,
the grooms family interpreted her inaction as a sign of disrespect for the family into
which she had just married (Rice 26: 2001). The offense that the grooms family took to
this demonstrates that such folk traditions are not arbitrary nor are they merely
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musicians to earn a secure and comfortable living. Ti also lead to folk music being treated
as a product or commodity available for commercial sale.
That being said, Bulgarian folk orchestras, or orkestrani, did preserve a significant of
the folk tradition. Although the music was notated, most performers still learned largely
by ear and played from memory, using the score only as reference and rarely carrying
them to rehearsals (Buchanan 185-187: 2006). Additionally, concert music still
emphasized ornamentation as the hallmark of a quality performance, a center point of
music students formal conservatory training (Buchanan 191: 2006). This is a definite
remnant of village tradition applied to the more modern context of academic training and
professional performance of music. Furthermore, composers developed the style
obrabotka, meaning to cultivate or polish and refers to a cultivated, polished
rendition of a traditional village tune or song. Obrabotkas preserved the traditional sound
of the horo or other tune they were based on, but were sometimes disliked by concert
goers who found them cheesy or an inaccurate representation of the tradition (Buchanan
196: 2006). As heard in the Koutev orchestra pieces such as Yana Tzvete Brala, the
female vocalists preserve the tradition of using heavy tresene as a centerpiece of their
vocal style, and the instrumentation remains the same as that used in traditional folk
music. The track Kermensko Horo demonstrates the emphasis on melodic
ornamentation in instrumental melodies as well as the traditional, energetic feel of group
dance music. (Koutev Bulgarian National Ensemble). Whats different about this
recorded ensemble, however, is that the instrumentals and vocals seem to be more closely
related to each other than they had been in village music. This gives the music a more
Western feel by using the concept of instruments acting as accompaniment to vocals, as
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opposed to simultaneous yet independent entities. The commercial and artistic aspects of
modernized folk music in this era revealed the governments obsession with control,
modernization, and a hierarchy of power. Music was used largely as propaganda for the
government to promote a positive image of itself as an instrument of progress.
The end of the Soviet, era saw growing public dissent towards the oppressive
government. It was in this era that wedding music took on a new role as an agent for
protest against government oppression. Wedding music used loudness, improvisation,
and technical virtuosity as symbols of freedom, individuality, and hopes for a new free
society in the future (Rice 33: 2001). This demonstrated not only public frustration with
Communist censorship and control, but also the Partys limited ability to control musical
meaning and creative expression. Here, music was being used as a symbol of the freedom
Bulgarian citizens were hoping to obtain.
The changes Bulgarian folk music has gone through have been largely related to the
changes in government. This music has been both a reflection of society and an agent for
social and political change. Despite all these political and social changes, however,
Bulgaria has been more consistent about preserving folk tradition compared to other
countries that have gone through frequent political changes.
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