FUNDAMENTAL REASONS FOR THE EVOLUTION OF THE REGIONAL BAGPIPING STYLES IN BULGARIA

Abstract

The art of playing the bagpipe existed in our regions for thousands of years. However, the non-existence of recordings of authentic performers from 19th century limits tracking the evolution of the styles in the range of about one hundred years. For certain specifics of the bagpiping, for the preferences regarding bagpipe tuning in different regions and for the intonational “precision” of the performers, we can infer only by using theoretical sources. Even if in the recordings of the virtuoso bagpiper Ahmed Saliev from the 30ies of the 20th century can be noticed speedy tempos, virtuosity, full chromatic scale, rich ornamentation - all rather specific to the contemporary universal bagpiping style, but due to the limited communications during the historical period in which he lived and lack of the enough media coverage, his mastery did not become a significant factor in the evolution of the Bulgarian bagpiping performance.
The regional mannerism preserved to its maximum, combined with the sound of the “kaba” bagpipe, characterizes the bagpiping performance in the Rhodope folklore region as relatively unaffected by the general evolutionary process. The “conservation” of the style includes all the elements – the link to the song samples, tonality, rhythmically, like tempo, ornamentation state of the authentic musical piece, the selection of the instrument, techniques, materials and even tools for the manufacturing of the bagpipes. In Southwestern and Northwestern Bulgaria, the authentic bagpiping performance has almost entirely disappeared, and in Central North Bulgaria it is disappearing. The regional style of these regions is being preserved primarily by introduced from elsewhere or professional bagpipers. In Dobruja, Northeastern Bulgaria, Strandja, and Trace, commonplace coexist the “authentic” – as preserved in the villages, and the “professional” regional style. The performers with the “professional” regional style usually represent the “universal” bagpiping style. Significant part of the today’s bagpipers is trying to preserve the regional specifics of their native region’s folklore styles, as much as it is possible. Supporting a specifically regional repertoire at the same time with the inclusion of repertoire from other folklore regions, combined with “non-bagpipe” specific techniques and skills, “non-folklore” melodies, atypical modulation and chromatics, inevitably changes the presence of the “regional” bagpiper. In the development of the bagpiping performance there could be identified four stages: till the 50ties of the 20th century, till the 70ties, till the 90ties, contemporary.
The conclusion – the result of the investigation of the evolutionary processes in the bagpiping performance in the various folklore regions is that the “above-regional” common Bulgarian “universal” bagpiping style is a fact.