11. Le Mystère des Voix BulgaresLe Mystère des Voix Bulgares
That’s the Bulgarian women’s choir – The Mystery of the Bulgarian Voice. I think the first time I heard this choir was on a Kate Bush record, on the song ‘Deeper Understanding’. She has the Trio Bulgarka, which is a trio that comes out of this choir, three highlighted singers.
I don’t speak Bulgarian, I’m not sure what they’re talking about, but it’s a pure sound that I’m wrapped in. I don’t comprehend what they’re saying, but there is no language barrier. Because the communication is there…I don’t need to have a narrative.
‘Polegnala E Todora’ off this record resonates with the part of me that loves chamber music and choral singing. You have these really beautiful, soft sopranos, and then you have these – all of a sudden – very striking alto singers. The Balkan harmonic aesthetic informs a lot of what I do, I think. Since I heard this choir sing, I’ve been drawn back to it in terms of how I hear harmony, and also the timbres that they’re using…it’s hard to grasp how they’re achieved it, how they’ve learned to sing as one with each other.
