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Rhythmic and Metric Aspects of Contemporary Bulgarian Wedding Music

Kalin Kirilov, Towson University

The traditional music of Bulgaria is an excellent example of a complex musical tradition
which combines Middle Eastern makams, diatonic modes, pentatonic scales, and microtonal
structures with sophisticated ornamentation, modal harmony, and asymmetrical meters. This
presentation explores some advanced metric concepts developed by Bulgarian Wedding style
musicians. Bulgarian Wedding style formed as a layer of traditional Bulgarian music in the late
1970s. In the 1990s, Wedding music became popular worldwide through the performances of Ivo
Papasov and his Trakiya (Thrace) orchestra.
My presentation begins with a brief overview of the Bulgarian metric system paying
particular attention to the perception of syncopations in asymmetrical meters (Example 1) and
the structure of combined metric groups (several asymmetrical meters recurring periodically) and
heterometric rows (meters which do not follow a particular pattern) (Examples 2 and 3). After
providing essential background information, I focus my presentation on three innovative metric
concepts: changing meters within meagameasure structures, shifting meters within hypermetric
frameworks, and generating hybrid meters in polymetric contexts.
The terms megameasures and megameters describe the grouping of measures of the same
meter which produce rhythmic patterns conceived across a bar line. I propose a different
terminology from the established Schenkerian concept of hypermeter and hypermeasure due to
the fact that although similar, the concepts are not analogous. In Schenkerian terms,
hypermeasure is defined as a group of measures in which the measure itself serves as a beat. In
Bulgarian music, megameasure is defined as a combined group of measures whose cumulative
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beats allow for different internal metric and rhythmic organization. This forms a larger metric
structure ultimately perceived as a unit due to accents and grouping. In Schenkerian terms,
hypermeter is defined as meter above the notated measure. In Bulgarian music, megameter is the
cumulative meter within a megameasure. For example, a megameter of two measures of 15/16 is
30/16. The produced megameasure involves a rhythmic pattern within 30 sixteenth notes or 14
beats (Example 4).
In megameasure generating processes, primary meters (generators) multiply by even
numbers. An asymmetrical 7/8 may expand to 14/8, 28/8, and even 56/8. Each of the resulting
megameasures and megameters features different internal organization in terms of hypermeter
and groupings of twos and threes compared to the generator, 7/8. However, in all megameters,
regardless of their length and internal structure, the basic level of pulse (subdivision level)
remains consistent. During performances, instrumentalists shift freely between 5/8, 6/8, 7/8 and
8/8 within larger megameasures. Over the years, performers master the technique of entering
and exiting the generating meter, a skill which is highly praised as one of the highest level of
musicianship.
Shifting meters within a hypermetric framework is a phenomenon which typifies the
concert genre of Bulgarian Wedding style from the late 1990s. Steady hypermeters allow
performers to shrink and expand their melodic and metric structures by increasing or decreasing
the number of notes included in a measure. Depending on the speed of the hyperbeats, changing
meters may vary from 2/4 to 9/8 or 11/8 (Example 5).
Bulgarian musicians frequently argue over the correct meter of one particular dance tune,
Petrunino Horo (Petrunas dance). Musicians divide in two camps: those who believe that the
tune should be transcribed in 13/8 and those who insist that the tune can be perceived only in
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14/8. My recent research has shown that the most accurate meter of Petrunino Horo is a hybrid
meter produced from the opposing forces of the simultaneously occurring 13/8 and 14/8
(Example 6), i.e. a metric compromise resembling a 13.5/8 meter.
Similar phenomena become evident in a Romani tune in a compound 6/8 meter
performed by Papasov in 1989. A closer look at the metric structure reveals a rather unusual
process. The piece begins with precomposed melodies in a steady 6/8 meter. After the opening
section, the piece continues with improvisation which gradually shifts the meter from 6/8 to 7/8
(second meter is introduced and established). In the middle of the improvisation, 7/8 and 6/8
occur simultaneously (polymeter with opposing forces) and multiply into megameters (12/8 and
14/8). As a result of the opposition, a shortened 7/8 and extended 6/8 is achieved as a hybrid
meter (Example 7).
My observations of Petrunino Horo and Papazovs tune form an unusual hypothesis. This
hypothesis suggests that certain polymeters lead to the creation of new, unstudied hybrid meters.
In order for us to perceive and analyze the fine nuances of such meters, we have to further refine
and calibrate our listening and analytical tools.








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EXAMPLES

Normal pattern
(slow tempos)


Beat level
(moderate tempos)


Hypermeter level
(fast tempos)

Syncopation 1

Syncopation 2

Syncopation 3

Example 1. Syncopations in 7/8








Example 2. Combined Metric Group





Example 3. Heterometric Row

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Normal subdivision

Beat level

Megameter 1

Megameter 2

Example 4. Megameasures of 30/16


Hyperbeats X X X X X X X X X X X X
Meters 6/8 6/8 6/8 5/8 5/8 5/8 7/8 7/8 7/8 8/8 8/8 7/8


Hyperbeats X X X X X X X X X X X X
Meters 6/8 6/8 12/8 12/8 14/8 14/8 14/8
(megameter) (megameter)


Example 5: Shifting Meters within a Hypermetric Framework
















Example 6. Petrunino Horo Hybrid Meter Generator



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Example 7. Forces in 6/8 and 7/8 Producing Hybrid Meter