Abstract
The avtorski pesni v naroden duh (authored songs in folk spirit) are a modern and multifaceted phenomenon, which has accumulated a rich history in Bulgarian musical culture. This research presents the essential characteristics of these songs and a two-part typology (1. authorized/avtorizirani folk songs; 2. newly composed songs ‘in folk spirit’), which is based on both models of authorship (according to Michel Foucault, authorial function is manifested in two basic forms of authorship—plagiarism and appropriation). This study provides an overview of some of the thematic debates that attempt to resolve the inevitable contradictions and tensions surrounding songwriting in folk spirit. The avtorski pesni v naroden duh have attracted the critical attention of Bulgarian musicians and society and have been the subject of lively discussions, criticisms, and controversy in numerous publications from the first decades of the 20th century to the present. This survey offers different perspectives, opinions and arguments focused on one of the main discussion topics related to the creation and functioning of the avtorski pesni v naroden duh: pro and contra the obrabotvane (transformation, polishing, processing, cultivation) of folklore. This problem has been at the heart of intellectual discussions since the 1930s and during the 1950s–1980s. The critical discussion of the question pro and contra the obrabotvane of folklore, with its whole inconsistency, complexity and impossibility to be reduced to unambiguous answers, leads to sharp confrontations between the holders of different opinions.
Highlights
From a formal point of view, newly-composed songs ‘in folk spirit’ can be reduced to a code, which is transcoded by the teams of authors. Due to this connection with the music-folklore code of the Bulgarians, the authorized/avtorizirani folk songs and the newly-composed songs ‘in folk spirit’ are in some sense manifestations of a common beginning and in this case refer to the same phenomenon, labeled with the category avtorski pesni v naroden duh
In the mid-1980s, Stoyan Dzhudzhev, a famous Bulgarian ethnomusicologist was one of the huge critics of grafting of foreign musical languages, styles and habits onto the inner structure of the musical language of the Bulgarian people (Dzhudzhev 1977, p. 174). He drew his readers’ attention to the specific structural transformations of the folk songs and noted that the canonical requirements of “purity and authenticity” are not abided by when composers create avtorski pesni v naroden duh. He writes about the shared public nature of the folk music language and raises a number of critical questions about its use by contemporary creators, citing several specific “distortions of the folk music language” that are associated with the obrabotvane of folk songs
The debates about the phenomenon of avtorski pesni v naroden duh presented in this text are among the most heated discussions in the past, because they explain the existing differentiations and pressures, which accompany the process of Europeanization and modernization of the old folklore music from Bulgaria
Summary
The avtorski pesni v naroden duh (authored songs in folk spirit1 ) are related to the obrabotvane (transformation, processing, polishing, cultivation, treatment) of folklore and have a rich tradition in Bulgaria and are extremely stable in Bulgarian music history and culture, including to this day. Numerous lines mark their evolution and modification from the mid-19th century to the present day. In a musical structural sense, avtorski pesni v naroden duh are a syntactically and stylistically heterogeneous phenomenon—they are a variety of compositional forms, a style mix, a new kind of hybrid alloy, in which they cross and meet different styles from different periods, developed over the years in the history of Bulgarian music. The current research supports the thesis that the pre-modern folk music from Bulgaria is a powerful tradition which is innovated and transformed into modern musical realities and forms
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