The cultural achievements of the European civilization swept over the newly-liberated Bulgarian state at the end of the 19^th and start of the 20^th century, warmly received by the enthusiastic Bulgarians thirsty for new knowledge and experiences. How did the urban culture of that period come to life? It was precisely with the opening of the musical salons and the cultivation of a sophisticated taste in the audience – this is what the exhibition "The Song of the Wood" unveiled at the Ethnographic Museum of Plovdiv is all about.

The magic of the Bulgarian gaida (bagpipe), gadoulka (rebec) and kaval (shepherd’s flute), combined with the exquisiteness of classical music instruments, brings back to life the spirit of post-Liberation Bulgaria, according to the organizers of the exhibition, which is part of the events of Plovdiv - European Capital of Culture. Until the end of the month, visitors to the museum will be able to see some of the museum's most valuable exhibits and will learn more about how traditional Bulgarian instruments were gradually replaced by classical music instruments penetrating from Western Europe.

“One of the highlights of the exhibition is a very interesting gadoulka from the end of the 19th century – it is made of maple wood, beautifully carved, and has a mulberry bow”, says Dr. Bilyana Popova from the Regional Ethnographic Museum in Plovdiv. “This particular instrument used to belong to a peasant from the village of Vinitsa, Grandpa Radi Hadjiyata who used to be a dancing bear trainer (known as “mechkar” or “mechkadar” in Bulgarian). It was namely these bear handlers that used to preserve and spread the tradition of folk songs in the past. They used to deal with an unusual form of art which required from them to put on an attractive and spectacular show, so their musical instruments had to be bigger in size. The gadoulka instruments that bear trainers used, for example, were larger than ordinary ones because they would usually play outdoors and needed to produce a loud and clear sound.”

Visitors of the exhibition can also see the first bagpipe of the famous performer of Rhodopean songs, Georgi Chilingirov, and right next to it the harmonium of the prominent public figure from the National Revival Period, Naiden Gerov, as well as other European "aliens" - the string instruments qanun, zither, cimbalom, along with the familiar violins.

“While Bulgaria was still under the Ottoman Rule, a new type of urban society started to emerge here, which was imbued a new spirit and carried its new musical preferences”, Dr. Bilyana Popova continues.“Bulgaria started to gradually open itself to Europe - many traders and craftsmen began travelling abroad, purchasing musical instruments from Western countries and opening music shops here. European music arrived here with the emigrants, with the Protestant missions and their harmoniums (reed organs), and also with the Bulgarians who lived for some time abroad. After the Liberation from the Ottoman Rule in 1878, Bulgaria had its first professionally trained musicians coming back from abroad and with them came also the first master makers of classical musical instruments”.

The performers in the music salons of the time were outstanding Bulgarian musicians who received their training in Western conservatories and were highly demanded guest soloists in the most renowned concert halls around the world. The exhibition tells the stories of three Bulgarian musicians of that period: Sasha Popov - a gifted violinist and conductor, also the founder of the Tsar’s Symphony Orchestra, predecessor of the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra;Vasco Abadjiev - a child prodigy on the violin, dubbed the "Paganini of the 20the Century"; and Neda Fticheva - concert violinist and later violin professor at the Sofia Girls' High School.

“Concerts in Bulgaria were held not only in concert halls but also in ballrooms”, Dr. Bilyana Popova adds. “During a ball, the music would be performed by some of the guests or by a classical orchestra, yet following a strict program. It started with a polonaise dance, followed by a waltz and, of course, ended with a Bulgarian horo chain dance. In that period European classical instruments were still comparatively slow to penetrate Bulgarian culture so traditional instruments continued to be used and both interacted. There were even orchestras featuring both a gadoulka and a violin, as well as other resembling groups of instruments”.

During the exhibition days, visitors can also watch and listen to re-enactments of two types of traditional Bulgarian weddings - a typical wedding from the Rhodope Mountain and a typical urban style wedding, with their traditional instruments of the kaba gaida (bagpipe variety) and the zither, emphasizing on the contrast between the local Bulgarian traditions and the European culture gradually gaining more and more popularity in this country in the late 19^th-early 20^th century.

English Rossitsa Petcova