1, Shopsko horo Str.

, Bistritsa, 1444 Sofia, Bulgaria

www.bistritsa.hit.bg
e-mail: bistritsa@abv.bg

Founded in 1949 in the village of Bistritsa, near Sofia, ensemble BISTRITSA comprises singers,
dancers and musicians.
The artistic program of the grope is focused on:
performance of archaic authentic songs, that according to the scientists date from pre-Greek times.
original fast-step dances from the village of Bistritsa and Shopie region.
music, played on traditional instruments, using even and uneven rhythms.
re-enactment of village rituals.
hand-made, richly ornamented and embroidered costumes, inherited from grandparents.
workshops for audience.
The ensemble is UNIQUE with performing of ancient singing tradition through which, the legendary
Bistritsa Grannies, who form the core group, were honored by UNESCO as a "Masterpiece of the
Intangible Heritages of Humanity: http://www.unesco.org/culture/intangible-heritage/08eur_uk.htm
The inheritors of the Grannies, their Granddaughters, master the difficult vocal technique of closeharmonized antiphonal singing in a natural manner by listening and performing together with the elderly
ladies. The three-part songs of Bistritsa with their strong dissonance and specific performance style are
true pearl of Balkan region culture that attracted the observation of Paris radio station, BBC, Japanese
television
and
many
others.
For
a
sample
of
the
singing
please
visit:
http://www.deepdownproductions.com/bistritsa-grannies-their-granddaughters-authentic-bulg-p105.html?osCsid=a5ba1d7e43c22617f805fbb5dbd9ae43

The orchestra consist of traditional instruments: bagpipe, rebeck, six string pandora, wooden flute and
accordion. Different ritual and dancing melodies are played using variable Bulgarian rhythms: 7/8, 5/16,
11/16 etc. In 1952 four musicians from Bistritsa group initiate the formation of Bulgarian National Radio
Orchestra.

The dancers perform original dances from Bistritsa as well as from other ethnographic regions.

The Bistritsa chain dances are fast, involving quick, dainty and intricate footwork and performed with
amazing lightness, which is typical of the Shop dance style. An interesting fact discovered by
musicologists studying the Bistritsa dances is that the steps do not mirror the music: they are independent
and are in harmony with the music at a deeper level as a pulse rather than as a fixed rhythm.
Another typical feature are the uneven meters. Commonly found are 5/8, 7/16, 11/16 as well as
combinations of these, 13/8, 15/8 and beyond!
In its repertoire the ensemble performs many rituals and customs in their entirety songs, dances and
stories among these a Village Wedding, Lazaritsa Day the springtime girls rite of passage,
Koleduvane the mens Christmas wassailing ritual and Babin Den when the village midwives get
dunked in an icy stream! One of the most colorful customs preserved in Bistritsa and still enacted on the
Saturday and Sunday before Easter is Lazaritsa. On this festive occasion adolescent village girls lazarki
- put on maidens dress for the first time and move through the village, singing and dancing in each
house, to bring health and fertility to the household and their animals. The most typical decoration for the
occasion is an elaborate head-dress. The waist-long hair of the girl is plaited with symbols of fertility such
as multi-coloured spring flowers, beads and coins. The head-dress is put on the day before and so the girls
have to sleep all night sitting up in a chair.
The lazarki sing special songs dedicated to the various members of the household. At houses with
bee-hives or sheep-pens the hostess would urge the lazarki to sing to the bees or the lambs. The girls
make a tight circle, taking one another by the hand, and start a slow, entrancing ring-dance.

Focused on the authentic folklore in the form of songs, dances, music and re-enactments of village
rituals Ensemble Bistritsa have aroused loud applauses all over the Word where they have performed.
The costumes that the ensemble members wear are inherited from their grandparents and show all the
beauty of the ancient embroidery, ornaments and tracery.
Each of the groups singers, dancers and musicians could perform its own individual repertoire and is
available for workshops and tuition for audience.
SOME FILMS AND RECORDS: BBC Television (1996), Howard Goodalls Choir Works:
Bulgaria
Japanese National Television (2003) The Earth Sings: womens singing resonates throughout mother
earth
CD Bistritsa Grannies and their granddaughters GEGA NEW
AWARDS AND PRIZES:
The European Award for Folk Art granted by the Alfred Topfer Foundation in Hamburg in 1978 for
artistic excellence in the sphere of traditional musical culture.
UNESCO List of "Masterpieces of the Intangible Heritages of Humanity

CONCERT TOURS AND FOLK FESTIVALS.

Concert tours and dance tuition in the United Kingdom - 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1993, 1997, including the
Union Chapel, London and the University of Aberyswyth UK.
Days of Bulgarian Culture - Kill - Germany - 1986.
1-month concert tour in USA - New York, Washington, Philadelphia, etc.- 1990.
Concert tour - Sardinia Italy - 1990.
International Folk Festival - Dijon (CIOFF) - France - Silver medal - 1992.
Concert tour Hungary - 1992.
Concert tour by invitation of Musical Academy Toulouse - France - 1994.
International Folk festival - Tuchlovitze - Czech Republic - 1995.
International Folk Festival - Sent Giroun (CIOFF) - France - 1998.
International Folk Festival - San Ciprian - Spain - 2001.
Festival Van Vlaanderen - Belgium - 2001.
Concert tour Lintz - Austria - 2001.
EUROPALIA Bulgaria Art Festival - Belgium - 2002.
37 International Folk Festival - Zagreb - Croatia - 2003.
International Folk Festival Roznov pod Radostem - Czech Republic - 2004.
International Folk Festival BALTICA - Vilnius - Lithuania - 2005.
International Folk Festival HARMAN Istanbul Turkey 2006.
Concerts tour France 2006.
Concert for Italian Institute of comparative musicology Venice Italy 2006.
Concerts tour Greece 2007.
International Folk Festival Mjava- Czech Republic 2008.
International Folk Festival Agios Stefanos Greece 2008.
Concert Tour Universitt fr Musik und Darstellende Kunst - Wien Austria 2008.
Concert Tour Bologna Italy 2008.
Bulgarian Culture Fest Yerevan Armenia 2009.
43 International Folk Festival - Zagreb - Croatia 2009.
44 International Folk Festival - Zagreb - Croatia 2010.
International Folk Festival Piran Slovenia 2011.
International Gathering of Intangible Culture Heritage on the Whitsun weekend Budapest Hungary 2012.
XXX International Folk Festival BALTICA Riga Latvia 2012.
II International Folk Festival EARTHDANCERS Athens Greece -2012.
5th International Folk Festival UPSKA BERBA of Aleksandrovac and Vrnjacka Banja Serbia - 2013
UNESCO celebration of 10th anniversary of convention on the protection of intangible cultural heritage Skopje Macedonia - 2013

Days of Bulgarian culture in Moscow Russia 2013 participation of the group of Bistrtsa Grannies.
Danube International Folk Festival Kalocsa Hungary 2014
46 International Festival of Highland Folklore Zakopane Poland 2014 awards: Golden Zbyrkada /bell/ for folk
singers group, Silver Ciupaga /axe/ for folk ensemble, Bronze Zbyrkada /bell/ for folk instruments group.