# Best Albums for Traditional Bulgarian/Balkan Music



## adriesba (Dec 30, 2019)

This might be too niche, but I figured it's worth asking. What are good albums for traditional music of Bulgaria and the Balkan region in general? Maybe some that have translations to sung texts? I'm thinking of the types of pieces that have been handed down for generations.


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## Room2201974 (Jan 23, 2018)

They have several albums, all good!


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## Andante Largo (Apr 23, 2020)

My favorite performance of this traditional Serbian song.


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## Andante Largo (Apr 23, 2020)

Another traditional song from Serbia.


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## Andante Largo (Apr 23, 2020)

@adriesba
I recommend you Isihia's "Isihia" (2001), "Orisiya" (2003) and "Stihiri" (2010) albums. This band is not playing pure Traditional Bulgarian Music, but quoting from Wikipedia: "... the style of which unites elements of Bulgarian folklore and Hesychast Christian chant of the 14th century to create an atmosphere of Balkan spiritual mysticism.".


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## Boychev (Jul 21, 2014)

Bulgarian here.

Depends on what you want to listen to. There are different dances, there are songs from different regions with different instruments... There's wedding music, there's music primarily played in pubs, there's stylized and almost classically reworked choir music like The Mystery of Bulgarian Voices, there are 19th century revolutionary songs as well as Macedonian revolutionary songs, there's the music of the Orthodox church, there's a huge legacy of music around here. I can't pretend to be knowledgeable about it, but here are some random tunes.


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## adriesba (Dec 30, 2019)

Boychev said:


> Bulgarian here.
> 
> Depends on what you want to listen to. There are different dances, there are songs from different regions with different instruments... There's wedding music, there's music primarily played in pubs, there's stylized and almost classically reworked choir music like The Mystery of Bulgarian Voices, there are 19th century revolutionary songs as well as Macedonian revolutionary songs, there's the music of the Orthodox church, there's a huge legacy of music around here. I can't pretend to be knowledgeable about it, but here are some random tunes.


Dance music would be interesting, and I would like to hear the various instruments used as well. I'd like to hear just about anything traditional.


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## Duncan (Feb 8, 2019)

Doing a little homework never hurts and it will provide you with a sense of direction...

Music of Bulgaria -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Bulgaria

Music of the Balkans -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balka...is a type,Ciocarlia, and No Smoking Orchestra.


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## adriesba (Dec 30, 2019)

Duncan said:


> Doing a little homework never hurts and it will provide you with a sense of direction...
> 
> Music of Bulgaria -
> 
> ...


I've searched some things before, but I feel lost. I don't think I'm seeing everything since several things are in Bulgarian characters which I can't search for effectively not knowing the language. It would also be good to find translations of various songs as that has been a challenge when I have looked up traditional music before.

One group I've heard a bit of and like is Trio Bulgarka.

View attachment 139390


It seems that some of their albums, including the one pictured, are not available on streaming though.


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## Jay (Jul 21, 2014)




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## adriesba (Dec 30, 2019)

Anyone ever heard this album?

View attachment 139894


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