Translated by Christopher Culver
Until now there has been no presentation for the English-speaking music fan of the lyrics and translation of the various songs which appeared in Nonesuch’s series Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares and other CDs of Bulgarian folk music arrangements sold in the West.
There are some difficulties in organising this material. For one, various transliteration schemes have been used for song titles. Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares, for example, first compiled by Marcel Cellier for the French market, uses an idiosyncratic transliteration somewhat based on French orthography, while other releases use a more standard form of rendering Bulgarian in the Latin alphabet. Here I have chosen to place the songs in alphabetical order by the Cyrillic title and afterward giving an English translation, doing away with transliteration.
Various recensions of the same songs have appeared on each recordings. For example, the song Притури се планината lacks a couple of verses on the Nonesuch recording, while it appears in complete form on other discs.
Полегнала е Тодора, мома Тодоро, Тодоро
под дърво, под маслиново
Повея ветрец, горнинец
откърши клонка маслина
че си Тодора събуди
А тя му се люто сърди:
Ветре ле, ненавейнико
сега ли найде да вееш!
Сладка си съня сънувах
че ми дошло първо либе
и донесло пъстра китка
И донесло пъстра китка
а на китка златен пръстен!
Todora has lied down, maiden Todora, Todora
Under a tree, under an olive tree
A wind blew, the north wind
It broke off an olive branch
So Todora woke up
Now she angrily yelled at it:
Unwelcome wind,
So you’ve now decided to blow?
I was dreaming a sweet dream.
That my first love has come
And he brought a colourful bouquet
And he brought a colourful bouquet
And on the bouquet a gold ring.
The music was written by Philip Koutev, who used as its basis a folk tune in four measures in a meter of 11. His wife Maria Koutev composed the text on a folk theme.
През гора вървяха
Два вакли овчеря
Със каръм калпаци.
На калпаците им —
Пера паунови.
Перата триперят
Гората люлеят
И на гора думат:
Горо ле, зелена
Ти вода студена.
До днеска сме били
Два вакли овчеря
Със каръм калпаци.
От утре ще станем
Два верни другаря
Със две остри саби.
Through the forest go
Two black-eyed shepherds
With karum caps.
On their caps are
Peacock feathers.
The feathers shake,
The mountain sways,
And they say to the mountain:
Oh green mountain,
Your waters are cold.
Up to today we have been
Two black-eyed shepherds.
Starting tomorrowing we’ll be
Two true comrades
With two sharp swords.
Притури се планината, че затрупа два овчеря, че затрупа два овчеря, два овчеря па другаря. Първи моли, пусни мене, мене чака първо любе. Втори моли, пусни мене, мене чака стара майка. Прага отваря планината, ха ги пази два овчеря, любе жали ден до пладне, майка жали чак до гроба.
Something happened in the mountains, and two shepherds were buried, two shepherds were buried, two shepherds who were friends. One prays, let me go, my first love is waiting for me. The other prays, let me go, my old mother is waiting for me. The mountain opens up and keeps the two shepherds. The beloved girl mourns for a little while, the mother mourns waiting until the grave.
Зададе се, Стояне ле, зададе се, Стояне ле, тъмна ми мъгла голяма, тъмна ми мъгла голяма. Не ми била, Стояне ле не ми била тъмна мъгла голяма ле: най ми било, Стояне тежка ми сватба болярска.
It’s coming, Stoyan, it’s coming, Stoyan, a great dark fog, a great dark fog. But it’s not, Stoyan, it’s not a great, dark fog: it turns out to be a bolyar’s big wedding.