Bulgarian folk music contains a special mixture of the musical traditions of Europe and Asia. In the folk music of Bulgarian Illyrian, Greek, Byzantie, Turkish, and Thracian element can be found. The balkan is a bridge between Europe and Asia, thus it is normal that both cultures had and still have had their effects on it.

The 500 years Turkish rule over Bulgarian inspired and stimulated the folk music in the country. Music, singing and dancing were the way of expression and th artistic connection among people in those hard days. All of them had their important role in the everyday life.
Some of the songs were sung on religous feasts, social events, while others helped the monotonous work in the fields and in the spining room. There were also dance tunes, for which people could dance for even an hour. The \\\"table songs\\\" were sung at convival evenings, engagements and christening feasts - a good singer was always a welcome guests at these events. Charasteristic music instruments are: goatskin bagpipe, kaval, tambura, duduk, gadulka (violin from the balkan), zuma (Turkish flute), tapan (double-bottomed drum) and tarambuka (side drum).

On album we would like to illustrate a part of the folk music from the Balkan featuring mostly the part-songs of South-West Bulgaria.

Szilvia Bognár - vocal
Tünde Farkas - vocal
Katalin Izsák - vocal
Judit Szluka - vocal

Attila Búzás - tambura
György Németh - kaval, bagpipe
Géza Orczy - tambura, tapan, darabuka