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What makes this recording so special is that it's the choir's first opportunity to showcase their virtuoso vocals in a finely recorded setting where solos rebound in sorrowful echoes and the ethereal power of the 20 women resounds. The new songs from Eddie Jobson melt into the Bulgarian folk tradition seamlessly and though a complex melancholy permeates the album, Voices of Life ends up being just what its title says. --Karen K. Hugg
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Reviews:
Sublime
This is choral work for the sophisticated listener. If you think the Beatles sing decent harmonies, this is not the album for you. If, on the other hand, you appreciate professionalism in music, this is as good as it gets. Each woman has a powerful, perfectly controlled voice. What they do as a group is amazing, their voices interact in ways that are both commanding and subtle. What I would give to sit in the front row...
Beautiful Voices
Mr Culver's review is certainly opinionated (and unfortunately expressed as fact) with respect to the producton of 'Voices of Life'. If he truly was up on his facts he'd know that Eddie Jobson didn't produce anything by Yes, but rather he is foremost a talented multi-genre violinist and keyboardist (UK, Roxy Music) as well as producer; but not for Yes. Eddie Offord was Yes' producer of choice for a time.
Fine production values do not lessen or dilute this performance. In particular, the version of Polegnala E Toudora presented on this work is wonderfully emotional, and I feel the ambient quality of the recording enhances the experience. Some other recordings I've heard of this song sound a bit flat by comparison.
Perhaps a 'purist' would differ, but this is a finely compiled work that I keep going back to.
Some world music crossover gimmickry, and what's more authentic has been recorded elsewhere.
When recordings of the Bulgarian State Television and Radio Female Vocal choir reached the West in the late 1980s under the name "Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares", a fad was sparked by the enchanting voices of some twenty women. Sure, this was not authentic folk music, but rather polished Communist-era arrangements, but the unusual singing techniques and strangely sexy dissonances was a pleasant surprise to music listeners abroad. The Bulgarian Women's Choir Angelite ("The Angels") continues this style of Bulgarian music for Western ears, and their album VOICES OF LIFE is mainly a series of Voix Bulgares staples. Three tracks (1, 3, and 6), however, have a different provenance, for former Yes performer Eddie Jobson worked with Angelite toward some material for a future album, and some of the results are here.
Much of the more traditional material here has been recorded elsewhere, and usually with better performance and/or production. "Polegnala e Todora", the faux folksong written by Philip and Maria Koutev, has strange reverb which was probably meant to give the song a more ethereal feel, but really just dilutes the power of the voices. "Pilentze Pee" is played at a much more languid pace than the legendary version on "Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares", with unexciting results. The one track I was happy with here is "Begala e Vena", which contains some thrilling vocal effects reminiscent of "Djore dos" from the "Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares Vol. 2". The three Jobson tracks are simply horrible, and totally incongruent with the rest of the album. Essentially, they are long, meandering synthesizer works with the Bulgarian vocals and instrumentation overlayed. "Nov Den" would have worked great had it consisted only of choir and gaida, but the cheesy keyboard playing ruins it all. On "Utopia", the Bulgarian singers are so low in the mix that even that part of the performance is difficult to enjoy.
If you enjoyed "Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares", and I imagine most people considering this album do, do yourself and the Bulgarian musical tradition a favour and begin seeking out more authentic folk music recordings. Nonesuch has two, one a Communist-era work that is closer to the real folk tradition, and the other a thrilling set of ethnomusicological gatherings. The lesser production on VOICES OF LIFE is disappointing, and the modern cross-over gimmickry of the Jobson tracks is culturally vacuous.
Beautiful
Singing is as usually amazing. I would reather prefer to listen is not arranged, although it is interesting too.
It is interesting to know from the Editorial Rewievs that the the Slav culture is at last considered as the source of "Western musical scale". But the main reason the south-slav culture was isolated from the rest ot Europe is not the separation of the church, but the fact that the Balcans were invaded by the Otoman Empire for 500 years. The culture was conserved and not developing for this time. It was also not mixed with turkish culture. They also stopped the Otoman Empire to spread through the rest of Western Europe. That is why the modern Bulgarian language is the closest to old-slav language, and we can hear this musical treasure that came to us through centuries.
From Bulgaria with Orpheus's Touch
What a CD? I was exploring deeper into other cultures when I came across this CD newly placed on the shelf. I remembered Bulgarian music as one of the most unique. After listening, I felt as if I had no need to acculturate myself with the Bulgarian culture any further. The music comes from the ancient land of Thrace, where the mythical musician Orpheus was said to have originated. This has been the first foreign adventure into cultural music since 2001 and I have found a new addition to foreign music. The women's choir has the ability to bring a chilling mood to its listeners evoking the world of color, beauty, harmony, and religion. A song such as Polegnala E Toudora has the ability to sooth its listeners as well as other tracks. This music comes from Bulgaria with the touch of Orpheus; thus, nothing negative can come about of this music.
