The Whole Music Experience

World Perunika Trio A Bright Star Has Risen Arc Music In the late 1980s, Bulgarian choir music reached international audiences when Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares and Trio Bulgarka enjoyed popularity among world music fans.   Trio Bulgarka appeared on Kate Bush’s Sensual World which introduced Bulgarian vocal music to pop and rock audiences.   Further more, Philip Koutev, an arranger and composer also enjoyed popularity while western ears were introduced to open-throat singing and folkloric music of Eastern Europe.   Closer to home, San Francisco-based Kitka also includes Bulgarian folk songs in its repertoire that also includes Balkan, Russian, Ukrainian, and Hungarian songs. Bright, young and beautiful, the women vocalists who comprise Perunika Trio sing polyphony complete with the exclamatory whoop.   Lead by Eugenia Georgieva, the women hail from Bulgaria and Serbia originally and now make their home in the UK where they have won the ...

Cantus That Eternal Day Independent release I’m not a religious person, but I enjoy some choral music especially when it’s sung a cappella as it is on Cantus That Eternal Day. The Twin Cities (Minnesota) nine voice men’s choir has already been lauded with praise by Fanfare and for good reason. The men sing perfectly calibrated harmonies delivered with contagious enthusiasm—think African American gospel (listen to the driving Run On ),  and Shaker songs. Think Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring rendition of  Simple Gifts which appears also appears on this disk. Listening to this collection of songs ranging from African American spirituals, to Sacred Harp Hymns, and Shaker tunes, you can hear the love and research that went into this project. From American colonial composers to Goin’ Home by Antonìn Dvořàk and Bobby McFerrin’s The 23rd Psalm , Cantus pulls many colorful threads together into a musical quilt. The album can be viewed as a music history document, a co...