Traditional Bulgarian musical instruments

KAVAL  Kaval  is  one of  the favorite  and  widespread musical   instruments in Bulgaria and  part of the  national  culture. Kaval can be used for both solo and as part of a folk orchestra or other contemporary groups.  The Kaval sounds very soft and warm and has a rich tone and timbre.     It belongs to a group of wooden wind musical instruments. Made mostly of plum tree, cherry tree, dogwood and boxwood.                                         

KAVAL The device of the pipe is very simple - a cylindrical wooden tube. There are three parts which mentor one another. Top part (the one that is placed in the mouth) has no openings and the end is slightly rounded and serves as a mouthpiece where actually injected air jet, which produces flutes. The middle part has eight holes - seven in the front and one at the rear. By clogging and unclogging of these holes are played different tones. The third part has four differently arranged holes in playing not clog. They serve to enhance the sound of the instrument. They are called soul or hellhole.

GAIDA Gaida ( bagpipe ) is a favorite instrument close to the life and the spirits of the Bulgarians. The main sounding part is the Gaidunitsa ( chanter ). It has 8 holes and produces the melody. The other part is the Rouchilo ( drone ).The drone’s sound is constant and accompanies the melody. The other parts of the Gaida are the Bag and the Mouthpiece.

GAIDA There are two types of Bulgarian Gaidas: Djura and Kaba. The Djura Gaida has a smaller size and sounds high and sharp. The Kaba Gaida is typical for the Rhodope Mountain Region and sounds low and soft.

TAPAN Tapan is the pulsate instrument which is widely used in Bulgarian music. It has a cylindrical wooden body stretched skins (membranes). The skins are fastened with hoops.

TAPAN Hoops are tied with ropes that stretch or supply skins to get a different sound from the instrument. The membranes of the drum are beaten with batons called kayak (thicker) and stick.

GADOULKA Gadoulka is one of the most famous stringed instruments. Her body looks like a pear cut. Made from whole piece of wood(cherry, acacia, pear, maple and others) that is gnawing.

GADOULKA There are three main strings and eleven runner. To make strings in the past has used animal intestines were entangled by a rope.

Tamboura The tamboura is a wooden stringed instrument. Made of maple, walnut, acacia, cherry. Corps of tambura is digging of whole tree, so in some parts of Bulgaria call it ,,kopanka,,.

Tamboura The sound of the tamboura is obtained by pulling strings with plate - feather. In the past it was a piece of cherry bark. Tambura is often used as solo instrument.

Famous Bulgarian musical instrument players

Vasko Vassilev-The violinist 7 years old is a soloist of the Bulgarian Chamber Orchestra in the hall Bulgaria. Studied at the prestigious Music School for Gifted Children in Moscow. Won international competitions in Paris, Genoa and London. In 1994 became the youngest concertmaster of the orchestra of the Royal Opera House in London. Founder and leader of his own group - “Laureate", which performs classical pieces with a modern sound. Vasko Vassilev gave concerts worldwide.

Mincho Minchev- The Laureate Exports of nine years his first solo concert. Became a laureate of all national competitions laureate is of international competitions such as Paganini and Carl Flesch. He has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Bolshoi Theatre and others. He worked with great conductors such as Sir Neville Marriner, Sir Leonard Slatkin, Alexander Gibson. In 1990 he became professor of violin in Essen, Germany.

Veselin Ashkenazi -The classic Small acts as an orchestra leader. Eleven years old became concertmaster of the Youth Philharmonic Orchestra. Graduated from the Music Academy in Sofia. In 1990 he moved to London, where he completed a master class for soloists. Laureate of the International Violin Competitions in Beijing and London. Performs in Europe, USA, South America, India and China. He is currently concertmaster of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam.

Theodosii Spasov He has won many awards, including the prize of the International Academy of Arts in Paris (1996), "Musician of the Year" (1997) and (2002) statuette of Apollo Toksoforos for his years bright presence in Bulgarian music life and his success on the world stage (2001). He has released over 20 CDs with solo and with various musical ensembles. In 1994 his name was included in the World Encyclopedia of Music, published in London.

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