Marcel Cellier – Le Mystère Des Voix Bulgares

   Music was always memorized as a part of cultural tradition. Since migrations and culture clashes start threatized the preserving abilities of social memory, in different cultures musicians and scholars tried to find the way to perpetuate the endangered part of the heritage. Traditional music notation as we know it was only one of many possible systems. It was build during centuries and than it was shaping the way of musical thinking. This was one of processes divising and differentiating musical culture into official, professional music and folk, pop, unprofessional but living musical element. The invention of phonographic recording had revolutionary consequences. Since this moment music could be recorded in full of its complexity. One of pioneers of comparative ethnomusicology Erich von Hornbostel was using recorded material in his research, using modified notation and working on transcriptions of recorded music.
   Phonographic recordings gave researchers new possibilities. Preserved performances were subjects of multilateral analysis and comparisons. One of them was Marcel Cellier, Swiss organist and ethnomusicologist. He extensively researched and recorded Romanian music. He discovered Gheorghe Zamfir giving him chance to start his international creer. The next field of Cellier’s research was Bulgaria. In 1975 small record label Disques Cellier published first collection of recordings made by its founder and owner. It was the first presentation of Bulgarian folk singing outside Bulgaria and in very short time it become an international success, giving Marcel Cellier Grammy Award and Academie Charles Cros Grand prix international du disque.

Marcel Cellier – Le Mystère Des Voix Bulgares (1988)

   First album of Marcel Cellier’s recordings was released in 1975. The program contained 13 folk songs recorded by Bulgarian State Radio & Television Female Vocal Choir with soloists Yanka Rupkina, Kalinka Valcheva and Stefka Sabotinova. His second collection released in 1988 was effect of 15 years of research of Marcel Cellier. After great success of this choice, Swiss ethnomusicologist started collecting next album. This time the album program was set of various recordings. Marcel Cellier took songs mainly from Bulgarian Radio archives, recordings were made in 50’s to 80’s. For these listeners who didn’t bought first album, the same year Discques Cellier had published double album. Cover was the copy of first album design but inside were two records set of 29 Bulgarian folk songs.