Bulgarian Harmony

In Village, Wedding, and Choral Music of the Last Century

Kalin S. Kirilov

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781351954105
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Ethnomusicology

An in-depth study of the Bulgarian harmonic system is long overdue. More than two decades since the Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares choir was awarded a Grammy (1990), there is no scholarly study of the captivating sounds of Bulgarian vertical sonorities. Kalin Kirilov traces the gradual formation of a unique harmonic system that developed in three styles of Bulgarian music: village music from the 1930s to the 1990s, wedding music from the 1970s to 2000, and choral arrangements (obrabotki) - creations of the socialist period (1944-1989), popularized by Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares. Kirilov classifies the different approaches to harmony and situates them in their historical and cultural contexts, establishing new systems for analysis. In the process, he introduces a new system for the categorization of scales.

Kirilov argues that the ready-made concepts that are frequently forced onto Bulgarian music - 'westernization', 'socialist' or 'Middle Eastern influence', are not only outdated but also too vague to be of use in understanding the sophisticated modal and harmonic systems found in Bulgarian music. As an insider who has performed, composed and arranged this music for 30 years, Kirilov is uniquely qualified to interpret it for an international audience.

Chapter 1

Introduction

Overview

This study traces the development of harmonic vocabulary in Bulgarian music. It analyzes the incorporation of harmony¹ into village music from the 1930s to the 1990s, “wedding music” from the 1970s to 1990s, and choral arrangements (obrabotki),² which were creations of the socialist period (1944–1989).³ This study also explains how terms frequently applied to Bulgarian music, such as “westernization,” “socialist-style arrangements,” or “Middle Eastern influence,” depict sophisticated networks of non-codified rules for harmonization which to date have not been studied. The book classifies different approaches to harmony in the above-mentioned styles and situates them in historical and cultural contexts; examines existing principles for harmonizing and arranging Bulgarian music; and establishes new systems for analysis. It suggests that the harmonic language found in Bulgarian music is based upon systems of rules which can be approached and analyzed using Western music theory. My analysis of harmony in Bulgarian music focuses on representative examples of each style discussed. These selections are taken from the most popular and well-received compositions available in the repertoire.

As a study written in the twenty-first century, this book aims to investigate a music phenomenon by looking beyond the conventional borders of the Balkans defended by nationalism-influenced scholarship. The remarkable cultural crosspollination found in the Balkans was observed by Bartók nearly a century ago. According to him, “[c]omparison of the folk music of these peoples [Eastern Europeans] made it clear that there was a continuing give and take of melodies, a constant crossing and recrossing which had persisted through centuries” (1976: 30).

Research Issues

This study discusses a number of issues related to the study of Bulgarian music, such as the formation of the Bulgarian harmonic practice, comparisons between Bulgarian and Western harmony, and existing analytical models. The main research issues confronted in this book are systematized in four categories below:

Problems of Current Scholarship and Limitations of Existing Musical Vocabulary

1. The relevance of existing scale and meter classification systems to the analysis of harmonized repertoire and the need for the establishment of a new system that reflects changes in Bulgarian music under the influence of harmony.

2. Problems in Bulgarian scholarship which prevent a thorough study of Bulgarian harmony, such as nationalism, “authenticity,” and the use of the Bulgarian system for functional harmonic analysis.⁴

Harmony in Historical Context

1. The formation, development, and gradual expansion of the Bulgarian harmonic practice and the impact of monophony and drone-based polyphony on the development of Bulgarian harmony.

2. Precursors in older layers of the Bulgarian musical tradition for tonicizations and modulations in the harmonized repertoire.

3. Western influences on harmony in Bulgarian music.

4. Trendsetting composers, performers, and arrangers of harmonized Bulgarian music as well as influential repertoire.

Analysis of Bulgarian Harmony

1. The adaptation of Western analytical methods (Roman numerals,⁵ pitch-class set analysis, motivic analysis, Schenkerian analysis, and formal analysis) to examine representative examples of Bulgarian music.

2. The importance of interrelated aspects of Bulgarian music (meters, rhythm, form, and ornamentation) in understanding harmony.

Bulgarian and Western Harmonic Traditions

1. Similarities and differences between Western chordal vocabularies and those applied to Bulgarian scales.

2. The structure of cadences in Bulgarian harmonized repertoire without the presence of leading tones and major-minor seventh chords.

3. Tonicizations and modulations in modal contexts.

4. Chord qualities and functions.

5. Relationships between Bulgarian polymodality⁶ and harmony.

An Interdisciplinary Study of Bulgarian Harmony

The folk music of Bulgaria is an excellent example of a complex musical tradition which has increasingly gained the appreciation of audiences worldwide in recent decades. This book is part of a growing trend of modifying Western analytical tools to examine new repertoires currently outside the scope of Western Art Music.⁷ Currently defined as the Analysis of World Music, this academic subfield bridges the fields of ethnomusicology and music theory. As a music theorist, an ethnomusicologist, and most importantly a performer of Bulgarian music who grew up in the culture, I find myself in a unique position to fill the gaps in the scholarship regarding analysis of harmonized Bulgarian repertoires.

The melodic foundation of Bulgarian music is formed by a complex amalgam of Middle Eastern makams, regional microtonal structures, pentatonic scales, diatonic modes, and major and minor collections. This study compares these melodic structures using a scale classification system established by Bulgarian ethnomusicologists such as Stoyan Dzhudzhev (1970: 258–349). In order to provide an appropriate analysis of pieces based on the scales listed above, in this book each scale is analyzed systematically, focusing on the derived vertical harmonies and resulting chordal functions. Additional interrelated aspects of the Bulgarian musical tradition, such as ornamentation and asymmetrical meters, are explained in detail as well.

This book combines several methodologies from the fields of music theory and ethnomusicology. On the one hand, it employs standard Western methods of music analysis adapted to the specifics of Bulgarian music. On the other hand, it applies ethnomusicological methods (participant observation and consultations with Bulgarian musicians) which situate the musical analysis in cultural and historical contexts.

The analysis of chordal verticals by Roman numerals is a standard Western theoretical approach to indicating harmony which to date has not been applied to Bulgarian music. Other than Abrashev’s study Obrabotka i Orkestratsia na Bŭlgarskata Narodna Muzika (1990 and 1995), there are no other published analyses of Bulgarian harmony. In the first volume of his book, Abrashev provides analysis through functional Roman numerals for his own examples of harmonization.⁸ Functional harmonic analysis, as applied by Abrashev, is related to Roman numeral analysis, with a stronger emphasis on labeling harmonic functions: tonic, subdominant, and dominant. This system, initially developed by the German theorist Hugo Riemann in the nineteenth century, is currently used in Russia, Bulgaria, and most of the East European countries of the former Soviet bloc. This type of harmonic analysis is less appropriate than the Roman numeral approach for analyzing Bulgarian music, as functional harmonic theory is rooted in the Western major/minor system, which is not the predominant system in Bulgarian music. Roman numeral analysis, as applied in the present study, is also rooted in the Western system, but it does not emphasize harmonic functions. Functional harmonic analysis, as used by Abrashev, applies only to a limited portion of the Bulgarian repertoire and creates major difficulties in analyzing pieces which are modal or based on makams.

To a limited extent, I have incorporated two modern Western theoretical tools: pitch-class set theory and Schenkerian analysis. Pitch-class set analysis, a theoretical approach typically associated with atonal music, is applicable for the examination of certain avant-garde choral arrangements which are not based on triadic harmony.⁹ A Schenkerian reduction illustrates the existence of a background fundamental structure (Ursatz). As will become evident in Chapter 7, a reductive graph adapted to the specifics of the Bulgarian scales and harmony can illustrate remarkable parallels between the complex harmony of a choral obrabotka and traditional, drone-based polyphony.¹⁰

For this study, I use recordings that I collected during the 1980s and early 1990s to illustrate the styles that I discuss. My field recordings primarily feature performers in wedding bands who learn and transmit their repertoire orally. My experience as an active Bulgarian musician has offered the advantage of having professional interactions with musicians and composers from all styles discussed in this book. My personal contacts with professional and amateur musicians, composers, and arrangers from Bulgaria have provided me opportunities to gather a variety of perspectives about the changes in Bulgarian harmonic style and the processes which have influenced those changes. Regarding the selections of repertoire analyzed in this study, for which I did not have first-hand performance experience, I consulted Tsvetanka Varimezova, Bulgarian singer and a music instructor at University of California, Los Angeles; Stoyan Kostov, a tambura¹¹ player currently residing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Vassil Bebelekov, a gaida¹² player currently residing in San Jose, California.

Book Structure

The first two chapters of the book include introductory material and a historical overview of the three musical styles at the core of this inquiry. Chapter 3 provides the foundation for analysis through the establishment of a musical vocabulary appropriate to Bulgarian folk music. This chapter summarizes structure and phrasing in the three styles analyzed, existing systems of scale classification, aspects of metric organization, and primary ornamentation vocabulary. Chapter 3 also discusses traditional Bulgarian polyphony as a precursor of harmony. The core chapter of this book, Chapter 4, provides essential information for the understanding of Bulgarian harmonic repertoires. This chapter introduces a new system of scale categorization, explains chord derivation, and discusses chordal vocabularies in scales found in the harmonized repertoire. The content of Chapter 4 serves as primary reference for the subsequent analytical chapters, as it provides summaries of standard chord progressions and typical cadences for each mode and scale found in the harmonized Bulgarian repertoires analyzed in this book. Chapters 5–7 analyze repertoires that illustrate the formation and expansion of a unique harmonic practice. In each of the chapters devoted to a particular style, I trace the incorporation of harmony, beginning with less harmonically complex pieces and proceeding with more harmonically intricate repertoire.

This book includes several appendices and a compilation CD which provides the source recordings for my music transcriptions.¹³ Appendix A includes a complete trac...