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Wednesday, December 3, 1997

MUSIC:

Eurasian folk music has an impact on musical tastes, attitudes world-wideBy Jessica Holt

Daily Bruin Contributor

Velveeta. That gooey processed cheese that goes on just about anything. Velveeta is to cheese as the Bulgarian Voices "Angelite" is to cultural music.

On Saturday, the newest arrival of world music will descend upon American audiences. The Bulgarian Voices, Angelite, with special guests Huun-Huur-Tu "The Throat Singers of Tuva" and Russian clarinetist Sergey Starostin, will perform at the Veteran's Wadsworth Theater at 8 p.m.

"It's completely processed. It's Velveeta. It's the intersection (of music)." says Timothy Rice, chair of UCLA's department of ethnomusicology.

The Bulgarian Voices, a women's choir that sings from the throat and chest to create a resonant, piercing sound, present themselves as an authentic representation of an exotic cultural tradition. Yet Rice counters that their music is anything but that.

When discussing this music, which has had such an impact on world music charts in the United States, Rice displays a detectable amusement, even jadedness about this music's popularity.

"People would come up to me when this music first started coming out and say 'I hope it's authentic.' There is this romantic notion, when we listen to music of other cultures, that it should be somehow representative, primitive, exotic, something very different, that ought to spring from the hearts and souls of the people," Rice asserts. "We're looking for some kind of lost traditions of our own, some kind of lost past. We're reflecting our own sense of uprootedness from cultural traditions. So when we see them expressed, we hope they are "authentic" because it fills some need or notion we have of being "authentic."

Despite Rice's amusement coming from the fact that this music has been changed and reconstructed to please Western ears, Rice maintains the music's beauty and validity as an art form.

"We all agree that the music is beautiful," Rice says.

The modern world is largely the reason behind the music's transformation. Bulgarian music of today has changed dramatically from the traditional melodies that permeated village life.

Half a century ago the Communist regime that took over after World War II recognized that the music represented a symbol of national identity. The government took the music and put a shine on it.

"The fact that you could take this simple peasant song and put it into Western, progressive, modern clothes made the point that Bulgaria had a very rich folk tradition and that the traditions of Bulgaria could participate in the progress towards the ideal that the communists were holding before this society," Rice says.

The music thus changed and became Westernized, employing three part harmony where before there was none. It was to serve as a musical symbol for the people.

The music changed further as Western avant-garde composers recognized the connection between traditional harmonies and avant-garde harmonies. The music that we hear today is a reflection of these changes.

"Now, Bulgarian music, of all things, or Tuvan music, even weirder, is doing cultural work in the United States; helping people understand themselves as part of a world community," Rice says with a smile.

The three groups from Eurasia are promoting a recent collaborative CD entitled "Fly, Fly My Sadness" which showcases each group's individuality while merging the three sounds for an entirely new creation.

Angelite, which means angel in Bulgarian, consists of 24 members, including members of the original Grammy Award-winning choir Le Mystere Des Voix Bulgares.

The group uses two groups of singers or two soloists to alternate and complement one another to produce a resonant and pristine sound that originates in the throat and the chest. The sound and style of singing differs from Western singing techniques.

"It is something we grow up with," says Angelite's musical manager Tanya Andreeva. "It's hard to explain when you do it naturally. We use the throat and the chest as a resonator but it's a different technique. This is not a technique that (the singers) study or that they learn."

The technique is an old one, going back centuries. In fact, it is this vocal technique that forms one of the links between the Tuvan singers and the Bulgarian singers.

The Tuvan Throat Singers come from the Siberian republic of Tuva, sandwiched between Siberia and Outer Mongolia, and use a system of overlaying guttural tones and harmonies to create a low rumbling growl.

Like the Bulgarians, they also use their throat and chest to produce sounds unlike anything in Western music. Interestingly there may be a reason for this link between vocal techniques.

"The proto-Bulgarians came from Central Asia which is where the Tuvans came from as well so it is a kind of coming back to the roots, like meeting some cousins," Andreeva laughs.

Although there may be some historical connection, Rice believes that the main reason these two groups work together centers around the way they use their throats to sing and not their geographical origin as Andreeva asserts.

"My theory is that there may be some long ago historical connection because the word Bulgar refers to a tribe of central Asians that came into Eastern Europe," Rice says. "It may be that the vocal effects of Bulgarian music are somehow reminiscent of certain effects from Central Asia. But it's a romantic notion."

Nonetheless, performing separately and together, the two groups captivate the listener with their interesting styles of singing.

"The music of the Tuvan singers and our singing matches very well," Andreeva says.

The words of the songs are about many aspects of Bulgarian life. They reflect the culture and act as a history book recording Bulgarian history.

"Bulgaria has been five centuries dominated by the Turks, and Bulgaria is a different language, different religion, different culture. (Music) was the only way our culture was preserved," Andreeva says. "It was the songs and the lyrics and the music that you can find the whole history of Bulgaria related."

The songs were traditionally sung by the women while working in the fields or at home and with topics ranging from heroic adventures to holiday parties. Tradition tempers the words of Andreeva as she relates these aspects of the songs and their history.

Different perspectives color the way people look at the world. This music may have many different layers of meanings to many different people, Bulgarians, Americans, ethnomusicologists, or Tuvans, but as Andreeva says in an absolute way, "music doesn't need an explanation. It doesn't need talking about. The feeling it will make will reach and touch an audience."

Isn't that what music should be about anyway?

MUSIC: The Bulgarian Voices Angelite with special guests Huun-Huur-Tu, "The Throat Singers of Tuva," and Russian clarinetist Sergey Starostin perform Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Veteran's Wadsworth Theater. Timothy Rice, Chair of the UCLA Department of Ethnomusicology will present a CenterStage Lecture at 7 p.m. Tickets are $30, $27, and $9 with UCLA ID. For more information, call (310) 825-2101.

Shanachie

Angelite and Huun-Huur-Tu, "The Throat Singers of Tuva," perform their unusual singing styles and collection of modernized folk tunes Saturday at the Veteran's Wadsworth Theater.