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"Sacred Space I"

Le Mystère Des Voix Bulgares

Friday, March 17 • 8pm

“Mesmerizing...performances that are breathtaking in their beauty.”—Newsweek

Famed for their otherworldly harmonies—by turns joyous, playful, and haunting—the Grammy-winning Bulgarian Women’s Choir (the artists behind the internationally acclaimed series of recordings Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares) perform in their first SFJAZZ concert in more than a dozen years. In the Boston Globe’s words: “The sound these Bulgarian women make is wonderful, unlike anything else, and unforgettable.”

Note: Grace Cathedral's soaring vault produces a natural, seven-second reverberation. This effectÚfar different from typical concert hall acousticsÚwill be an integral component of this performance.

Program Notes

Famed for their otherworldly harmonies—by turns joyous, playful, and haunting—the Grammy-winning Bulgarian Women’s Choir (the artists behind the internationally acclaimed series of recordings Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares) perform in their first SFJAZZ concert in more than a dozen years, and the first of two “Sacred Space” programs at Grace Cathedral this spring (saxophonist Pharoah Sanders appears solo in “Sacred Space II” on April 21).

Representing various regions of Bulgaria, the singers in this 50-year-old choir transform centuries-old traditional songs with striking modern arrangements, with soloists often taking flight over drone notes and harmonies that shimmer with dissonance. This sound first captivated American listeners in late 1987, upon the release of the first Le Mystère album, which became the top-selling title of summer 1988 for Nonesuch Records. Critical sentiment mirrored the public’s embrace of this formerly esoteric music: Newsweek hailed the “mesmerizing...performances that are breathtaking in their beauty”; the Boston Globe wrote, “The sound these Bulgarian women make is wonderful, unlike anything else, and unforgettable”; and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch simply called it “the most beautiful music on the planet.” A second Le Mystère volume followed later that year, coinciding with the choir’s first-ever U.S. tour.

During a subsequent U.S. tour in 1992, The New York Times called this music “both angelic and, to American ears, gorgeously alien.” Grateful Dead leader Jerry Garcia echoed the heavenly comparison, proclaiming, “They’re like angels…exceptionally pure, really polished.” And, in singer Graham Nash’s emphatic words: “Every musician that considers himself accomplished should listen to this record and re-think everything he knows.”