Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares (translated as "The Mystery of Bulgarian Voices") is an album of Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

n folk songs performed by the Bulgarian State Radio & Television Female Vocal Choir with guest-soloists Yanka Rupkina, Kalinka Valcheva and Stefka Sabotinova.

The album was the result of fifteen years of work by Swiss ethnomusicologist and producer Marcel Cellier

Marcel Cellier

Marcel Cellier is a Swiss organist, ethnomusicologist and music producer, internationally known for his Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares project presenting Bulgarian traditional music and his work with Gheorghe Zamfir....

 and was released in 1975 on his small Disques Cellier label.

In the 1980s, Ivo Watts-Russell

Ivo Watts-Russell

Ivo Watts-Russell was joint-founder with Peter Kent of the English indie record label 4AD. He has also produced several records, himself preferring to use the term "musical director" to explain his role in the creation....

 (founder of 4AD) was introduced to the choir from a third or fourth generation audio cassette lent to him by Peter Murphy

Peter Murphy (musician)

Peter John Murphy is an English rock vocalist. He was the vocalist of the rock group Bauhaus, and later went on to release a number of solo albums, such as Deep and Love Hysteria...

, singer from the band Bauhaus

Bauhaus (band)

Bauhaus was an English rock band formed in Northampton in 1978. The group consisted of Peter Murphy , Daniel Ash , Kevin Haskins and David J . The band was originally Bauhaus 1919 before they dropped the numerical portion within a year of formation...

. He became thoroughly entranced by the music, and tracked down and licensed the recordings from Cellier. So in 1986, it was re-released on the 4AD label in the UK, in 1987 the Nonesuch

Nonesuch Records

Nonesuch Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Bros. Records.-Company history:Nonesuch was founded in 1964 by Jac Holzman to produce "fine records at the same price as a trade paperback", which would be half the price of a normal LP...

 label in the US and on the Philips

Philips Records

Philips Records is a record label that was founded by Dutch electronics company Philips. It was started by "Philips Phonographische Industrie" in 1950. Recordings were made with popular artists of various nationalities and also with classical artists from Germany, France and Holland. Philips also...

 label in other territories.

Track listing

1. "Pilentze Pee" [Pilentze Sings] - 2:31
2. "Svatba" [The Wedding Procession] - 1:27
3. "Kalimankou Denkou" [The Evening Gathering] - 5:06
4. "Strati Na Angelaki Doumasche" [Haiduk Song] - 2:37
5. "Polegnala E Pschenitza" [Harvest Song from Thrace] - 2:02
6. "Messetschinko Lio Greïlivko" [Love Song from the Mountains] - 2:31
7. "Breï Yvane" [Dancing Song] - 1:31
8. "Erghen Diado" [Song of Schopsko] (Lionder) - 2:50
9. "Sableyalo Mi Agontze" [The Bleating Lamb] - 4:31
10. "Prïtourïtze Planinata" [Song from the Thracian Plain] - 2:45
11. "Mir Stanke le" [Harvest Song from Thrace] - 3:10
12. "Schopska Pesen [Diaphonic Chant] - 1:27
13. "Polegnala E Todora" (Love Song) - 3:38