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Bulgarian Vocal Group's Sound is a Beautiful Musical Mystery
By TONY BROWN
There isn't much mystery as to whether you're at a concert by The Mystere de Voix Bulgares.
The 23 women and one man yip. They yelp. They drone. They ululate. Together, they create an aural presence that The New York Times called "both angelic and, to the American ear, gorgeously alien".
But how does the group whose French name means the mystery of the Bulgarian voices get that weird and wonderful otherworldly sound?
Founded in 1952 as the Bulgarian State Radio and Television Female Vocal Choir to preserve the regional folk vocal idioms of its native country, the group shot to widespread renown in the late 1980s with its Nonesuch release "Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares."
They'll bring their distinctive sound to Northeast Ohio Sunday, when the Cleveland Museum of Art's Viva! & Gala Around Town series sponsors a sold-out concert at the Shrine Church of St. Stanislaus in Slavic Village.
As for what the mystery is, exactly . . well, it turns out to be pretty complicated.
Conductor Dora Hristova, who has been working with the choir since 1972, gave this four-part answer via telephone last week from rural Pennsylvania during the group's current U.S. tour.
1 "First, there is our sound, our vocal style, the Bulgarian voice, the vocal technique. It's open-throat singing, or natural singing, with the larynx open and the intonation in the chest.
"It's a vocal technique of ancient origin, and while the several Bulgarian folklore regions have differing vocal styles, meaning the resonation, the ornamentation, the melodic, the diaphonic and polyphonic singing the manner of producing the voice is one and the same."
2 "The second aspect is our traditional vocal music. There are different modes for different regions.
"There is an Oriental aspect, Greek aspect, influences by ancient Greek modes, etc. All these modes exist in Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares.
"The key to understanding this is in the way we measure the beat. There are asymmet ric and symmetric measuring techniques, with symmetry hi the West and asymmetry in the East. The asymmetry results in dissonant intervals, which color our music."
3 "The third feature is our manner of arranging the music for groups.
"Our tradition in Bulgaria is monophonic, or one voice, and diaphonic, or two voices. Polyphonic is not typical in our musical history. Bulgarian con temporary composers arrange and orchestrate the traditional music for multiple voices.
4 "The fourth aspect is our choral sound.
"Our performers come from different parts of the country, each with its own sound. They are made to perform together under a very difficult circum stance.
"The conductor, the choir master, has the responsibility to mold the different voices together to form an ensemble. This is a professional choir that rehearses three hours a day each day to obtain a very high quality.
"So, the mystery is not only the voice, but also the music itself." 12/08/06
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