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THE MYSTERY OF THE BULGARIAN VOICES

Grammy Award winner in 1989 — Best Traditional Folk Recording category — for the album Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares, Volume II (1988).

For over 70 years, Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares (The Mystery of Bulgarian Voices) has redefined the boundaries of listening with its breathtaking vocal polyphonies. Led by twenty women with singular timbres, this ancestral choir transforms Bulgarian traditions into a collective chant of unheard-of power. Alternating between hypnotic, radiant, and mystical, their repertoire fuses complex a cappella arrangements, archaic ornamentations, and a raw energy that transcends eras.

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Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares is also a global phenomenon: more than 1,250 concerts and cult albums, including the original Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares (1988). More recently, BooCheeMish (2018), featuring Lisa Gerrard, marked a bold turning point with the introduction of beatboxing and contemporary percussion. Members of the choir have also collaborated with or been sampled by artists as diverse as Kate Bush, U2, and Drake.

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Under the artistic direction of Dora Hristova, the choir returns in 2025 with Voices & Strings, a creation in collaboration with the Quarto Quartet and composer Georgi Andreev. This new artistic chapter pairs the refinement of a string quartet with the vocal richness of the female ensemble, in a dialogue between tradition and innovation. The program includes original pieces composed for the occasion, as well as rearranged classics from the choir’s repertoire. While this creation introduces instruments to the stage, it remains faithful to the group's soul: an exploration of Bulgaria’s musical roots, transfigured by voices that seem to spring from another world.