A Conversation with Bulgarian Folk Singer Valya Balkanska [Interview Video]

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A Conversation with Bulgarian Folk Singer Valya Balkanska [Interview Video]

In November 2019, Smithsonian Folkways released Martin Koenig’s documentation of Bulgarian folk music and culture as ‘Sound Portraits from Bulgaria: A Journey to a Vanished World.’ In this video, he interviews Valya Balkanska who is featured on the album singing the Bulgarian folk tune “Izlel ye Delyo Haydutin (Delyu the rebel went out).” Balkanska talks about the origins of the song and its inclusion on the Voyager Golden Record, her earliest memories growing up with folk music in the Rhodope Mountains, and more. Video Production Directed by Gena Traykova, Martin Koenig, and the film crew from bTV Camera and Sound by Boris Pintev and Evgeni Genov Filmed at the National Art Gallery in Sofia, Bulgaria Video Translation by Detelina Kokarchina 'Sound Portraits from Bulgaria: A Journey to a Vanished World' is available as 2xCD Book Set and Digital. Stream/download/purchase: Smithsonian Folkways: https://folkways.si.edu/sound-portraits-from-bulgaria Bandcamp: https://smithsonianfolkways.bandcamp.com/album/sound-portraits-from-bulgaria-a-journey-to-a-vanished-world All other platforms: https://orcd.co/soundportraitsfrombulgaria Between 1966 and 1979, educator and cultural documentarian Martin Koenig made half a dozen trips to Bulgaria. Working in villages throughout the country, Koenig filmed, recorded, and photographed the lively, yet endangered, aspects of Bulgaria’s traditional culture. The results are indelibly gathered in Sound Portraits from Bulgaria: the vibrant rural life he experienced, the virtuosic musicians and dancers he met, the extraordinary music they made, and the joyous rituals and festivals he witnessed. This collection celebrates a way of life that has largely vanished due to industrialization, technology, globalization, and emigration. Valya Balkanska Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/%D0%92%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%8F-%D0%91%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0-43581395422/ Smithsonian Folkways: https://folkways.si.edu Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smithsonianfolkwaysrecordings Twitter: https://twitter.com/Folkways Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smithsonianfolkways The content and comments posted here are subject to the Smithsonian Institution copyright and privacy policy (www.si.edu/copyright). Smithsonian reserves the right in its sole discretion to remove any content at any time.

9 min 58 sec

music folk "Woody Guthrie" "Pete Seeger" Smithsonian Folkways old-time non-profit