Search - Michailov, Bulgaria, Swc :: Mysterious Voices of Bulgaria

Of heaven and earth

05/25/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"this is my first bulgarian folk cd. i dont know a word of bulgarian. tadora seems to be a popular name. and philip koutev seems to be a big name in bulgarian music.despite how little i know about it, i am hooked.after watching snippets of a concert by a bulgarian women's choir on tv, i rushed out to get the first cd i could lay my hand on.how is this vocal harmony possible on earth? this is sound made in heaven, listen to 'a kaval playing'.and yet this is also sound of this earth. 'djore dos' is filled with joye de vivre. listen to the wedding song. mysterious it surely is, because it inexplicably touches the primeval instinct.but it is also totally earth bound, it is music of joy and celebration and nostalgia. i now see why they say music knows no boundaries."

Incredible Music

Pookie | VA United States | 10/03/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you like vocal groups at all, or you like folk music from other countries, or if you want a flavor of eastern Europe without having to fly there yourself, this is the CD for you. "Mysterious Voices" is right--it's hard to imagine this music without hearing it, and once you do, it's hard to imagine these are human voices and not some kind of angel choir. I listen to this CD a lot and the only complaint I have is that it isn't long enough!"

Nice... For A Cash-In

WaxNostalgic | Nom De Plume | 03/17/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"1n the 1950's, the first "Music of Bulgaria" disc surfaced. Its otherworldly harmonies influenced -- not just ivy league ethnomusicologists -- but the likes of Crosby, Still & Nash.



Fast forward to the 1990's, when Nonesuch records revived interest in this music with their "Le Mystere de Voix Bulgare" discs. The Bulgarian Women's Radio & TV Choir, featured on those discs, made a successful tour of the United States and they were quite the rage for a while... Enough so to inspire copycat discs like this one.



Given the talent of the choir on this CD (and their probable unwittingness in the whole enterprise) one hesitates to call this project a "cash in." But that's really what the people at the Laserlight label are doing, as if the title wasn't enough of a tipoff. (Kind of like the classical equivalent of the "fake Beatles" albums that flooded the shelves in the 60's)



Curious listeners will do better to buy the Nonesuch "Le Mystere De Voix Bulgare" discs first, then if interested in pursuing "the mystery" further, buy the subsequent volumes on other labels.



THEN, if you STILL want to hear more, buy this one. While it is worth a listen, you'll find that the few songs on this Laserlight release that are duplicated (though with different titles) on the Nonesuch releases are inferior (mostly in the recording quality, less so in performance)."