Bulgarian wedding music is a genre of Svatbarska muzika (Bulgarian : сватбарска музика) or a "wedding music" style that evolved in the late 1960s in Bulgaria. Its popularity has spread in Europe and North America. This style of music is performed elaborately in weddings in a festive atmosphere, and also on other happy occasions. It was not given state privilege initially by the socialist regime of Bulgaria as it was considered folk music. [1] The music is a fusion of "an eclectic array" of Bulgarian, Romani, Turkish and Macedonian music and is very popular in the southern Balkan region. [2] Following the end of the People's Republic of Bulgaria in 1989, the popularity of wedding music has soared. [1]
Ivo Papazov, a musician of Turkish and Romani origin, is the leading proponent of ensembled wedding music. A saxophonist, he introduced clarinet into the ensemble. However, his music generated controversy during the communist regime which continues even now among Bulgarians as there was perceptible influence of Turkish music and Romani music (Gipsy music). Yuri Yunakov also of Turkish Roma (Gipsy) origin was a member of Ivo Papazov's ensemble. [1] Yunakov has popularized Bulgarian wedding music in the United States and his music band presents a "number of dances at breakneck speed, warbling their instruments all the way". [3]
The international marketing of wedding music includes Klezmer, Scottish, and Rom(an) music of Bulgarian roots. [4] Ivan Paparov, the clarinetist, is considered the creator of the genre of wedding music in Bulgaria. In 1974, he established two bands as orchestral ensemble in the town of Stara Zagora in Thrace. He improvised the stylistic and eclectic forms of Narodna muzika , a Bulgarian form which incorporated music styles of Greece, Turkey, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Gypsies. This type of music is unlike concert music and involves participation by the dancers and the wedding party and hence it is "loose, spontaneous and dynamic" in structure. Solos are also part of the music which normally accentuates the final shape of the music. [2] There is significant impact of American jazz (a feature noted in the music of Bulgaria since the 1950s) in the wedding music. [5] Papasov termed this type of music also as of balkanski dzhaz (Balkan jazz). [2]
Todor Zhivkov, the autocratic dictator, during the period from 1954 to 1958, in his determination to preserve and promote Bulgarian folk music, took a particularly repressive approach against non-Bulgarian music of gypsy origin, which was the Bulgarian wedding music a genre of music well beyond the concept of traditional music. [6] During his regime, in all official media, it was only folk music which was broadcast and promoted. [7] In view of the external influence in this music the totalitarian regime (Leninist regime) in Bulgaria officially discouraged this music though it was very popular among the public. With the demise of the communist regime in 1989, this music form became even more popular. [5]
Wedding bands may contain both Bulgarian and Gypsy musicians who are master improvisors. Their instruments may include accordion, clarinet, electric bass, saxophone, and synthesizer. [8] A chief characteristic is loudness. [9] In Bulgaria, wedding music has a pivotal role in the rituals known as daruvane (meaning: reciprocal exchange of gifts), in the banquets, and the dancing that follows and is performed for several hours. There are two categories of wedding music which are popular in the Bulgarian music culture. One is the Bulgarian wedding music and the other is Roma music. Bulgarian wedding music in particular covers a wide repertoire and includes "all the additive meters of traditional music, but favors pravo horo (2/4), rachenitsa (7/16, 2-2-3), and lesno." [10] The music, considered "heartfelt", is akin to the Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, and East European forms. [5] However, wedding musicians encounter several issues within their industry, such as auditions, registration, ethnicity, freedom, money, and nationalism. [11]
Several western musicians have been influenced by Bulgarian wedding music, particularly its unusual time signatures. American rock guitarist Steve Vai has professed a love of Bulgarian wedding music, describing its time signatures as "completely alien". Bulgarian wedding music was a source of inspiration for the song "Freak Show Excess" from Vai's 2005 album Real Illusions: Reflections . [12]
Klezmer is an instrumental musical tradition of the Ashkenazi Jews of Central and Eastern Europe. The essential elements of the tradition include dance tunes, ritual melodies, and virtuosic improvisations played for listening; these would have been played at weddings and other social functions. The musical genre incorporated elements of many other musical genres including Ottoman music, Baroque music, German and Slavic folk dances, and religious Jewish music. As the music arrived in the United States, it lost some of its traditional ritual elements and adopted elements of American big band and popular music. Among the European-born klezmers who popularized the genre in the United States in the 1910s and 1920s were Dave Tarras and Naftule Brandwein; they were followed by American-born musicians such as Max Epstein, Sid Beckerman and Ray Musiker.
Romani music is the music of the Romani people who have their origins in northern India but today live mostly in Europe.
The music of Albania is associated with the country of Albania and Albanian communities. Music has a long tradition in the country and is known for its regional diversity, from the Ghegs in the North to the Tosks in the South. It is an integral part of the national identity, strongly influenced by the country's long and turbulent history, which forced Albanians to protect their culture from their overlords by living in rural and remote mountains.
The music of Bulgaria refers to all forms of music associated with the country of Bulgaria, including classical, folk, popular music, and other forms.
Ivo Papazov, nicknamed Ibryama (Ибряма), is a Bulgarian clarinetist. He leads the "Ivo Papazov Wedding Band" in performances of jazz-infused Stambolovo music, and is one of the premier creators of the genre known as "wedding band" music in Bulgaria, along with the violinist Georgi Yanev, saxophonist Yuri Yunakov, clarinetist Neshko Neshev and accordionists Ivan Milev and Peter Ralchev. Together with Emilia they are known as Mames 2001. An orchestra that had great success in the TV show Познай кой е под масата.
Čoček is a musical genre and dance that emerged in the Balkans during the early 19th century. It features prominently in the repertoire of many Romani brass bands.
Fanfare Ciocărlia is a twelve-piece Romani Balkan brass band from the northeastern Romanian village of Zece Prăjini. They are known for their fast, high-energy music with complex rhythms and high-speed staccato clarinet, saxophone, and trumpet solos.
Esma Redžepova-Teodosievska was a Macedonian Romani vocalist, songwriter and humanitarian. She was nicknamed "the Queen of the Gypsies" per her contribution to Romani culture and music.
Alihan Samedov is an Azerbaijani musician known for playing wind instruments and Azerbaijan folk instruments.
"Ederlezi" is a popular traditional folk song of the Romani people in the Balkans.
Čalgija or Chalgiya is a Bulgarian music genre, which also is a subgenre of the old urban traditional folk music of Bulgaria.
Starogradska muzika is a kind of urban traditional folk music found in Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Serbia.
The Romani people in Turkey or Turks of Romani background are Turkish citizens and the biggest subgroup of the Turkish Roma. They are Sunni Muslims mostly of Sufi orientation, who speak Turkish as their first language, in their own accent, and have adopted Turkish culture. Many have denied their Romani background over the centuries in order to establish a Turkish identity, to become more accepted by the host population.
The Romani people are known by a variety of names, mostly as Gypsies, Roma, Tsinganoi, Bohémiens, and various linguistic variations of these names. There are also numerous subgroups and clans with their own self-designations, such as the Sinti, Kalderash, Boyash, Manouche, Lovari, Lăutari, Machvaya, Romanichal, Romanisael, Kale, Kaale, Xoraxai and Romungro.
The term Romani style refers to the way Eastern European music is played in coffeehouses and restaurants, at parties, and sometimes on-stage in European cities. Music played in this style differs from actual Romani music played by Romani and Sinti people, many of whom regard the term "gypsy" as a slur when applied to their community.
Yuri Yunakov is a Bulgarian Romani musician, who is known for participating in the development of Bulgarian wedding music, and introducing it to the United States. He grew up in a Muslim family in Thrace, and started playing music as a boy, sitting in with his father's band. He eventually took up the clarinet, the same instrument as his father. After serving in the army he was a professional boxer, but music turned out to be more lucrative. He was invited to participate with the band of accordionist Ivan Milev, on the condition that he took up the saxophone instead of the clarinet. He trained intensively on the saxophone for a month before his first appearance with Milev's band. Milev's band played Slavic music and Yunakov eventually wished to return to his roots and did so in 1983 when he started to play with the wedding band of Bulgarian clarinetist Ivo Papazov. In socialist Bulgaria, Romani music was considered anti-Bulgarian and consequently stigmatized, and musicians playing it were a target of government repression. Jazz music was also prohibited and Yunakov started experimenting with both.
Barbaros Erköse is a Turkish clarinet player, ensemble leader, and composer. Erköse began to play the clarinet at age 9. While he was in secondary school, he was playing at wedding ceremonies. Around the same time, Erköse quit school. When he was 12, the musician took clarinet lessons from Saffet Gündeğer. Erköse played fasıls as an opening for plays at Şen Tiyatro in Ankara, and after working here for five years, he took the entrance exam at Ankara Radio in 1955 and was employed by the organization. In 1961, after travelling to Istanbul for an entertainment show, Erköse began to work at Istanbul Radio. He played with such famous names as Nesrin Sipahi and Zeki Müren. Erköse also recorded with musicians such as Anouar Brahem and Peter Pannke and played numerous concerts abroad.
The history and development of jazz in Bulgaria was significantly influenced by the cultural and political changes in the country during the 20th century, which led to the emergence of a genre blending western jazz styles with Bulgarian folk music influences.