AltaiRila

Under the artistic direction of Milena Jeliazkova and Johanni Curtet, the seven artists, from distinct backgrounds and rich in their traditions, unite to share their passion and create a show blending traditional Bulgarian and Mongolian repertoires.

Their playground is the voice in all its forms: polyphonic, overtone, clear, guttural, high, deep… As many possibilities as there are landscapes to explore, from one culture to another, at the crossroads of their paths.

In Mongolia as in Bulgaria, traditional music celebrates Nature. Bulgarian and Mongolian songs bear witness to the inseparable bond between humankind and Mother Earth. Nature provides a setting for love, work, people’s daily lives, personal introspection, and the celebration of the Divine.

The depth of Mongolian voices meets the vocal delicacy of Bulgarian songs; odd rhythms unfold above the riffs of the horse fiddles, the percussions go into a trance to pay tribute to the spirituality of the mythical figures populating the Bulgarian pantheon. The voices of dragons and dryads are juxtaposed, blended, intersected, and evolve in parallel, while respecting the natural pulsations of the Sun and the Moon, or, conversely, stretching out like eternity, in order to transcend human time.

References

World Premiere at Tibet Museum, Gruyeres (CH) the 5th of July 2026,
Rencontres musicales de Vézelay, Abbaye de Sylvanès, Festival Le rêve de l’aborigène…