TEHRAN – A Persian translation of “Music in Bulgaria: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture” by Timothy Rice, a professor of ethnomusicology at UCLA, has been published by Mahoor Publications in Tehran.

Behnaz Shayeq has rendered the book into Persian. The book is packaged with a CD containing examples of the music discussed.

Music in Bulgaria is one of several case-study volumes that can be used along with Thinking Musically, the core book in the Global Music Series.

Thinking musically incorporates music from many diverse cultures and establishes the framework for exploring the practice of music around the world. It sets the stage for an array of case-study volumes, each of which focuses on a single area of the world. Each case study uses the contemporary musical situation as a point of departure, covering historical information and traditions as they relate to the present.

Music in Bulgaria presents a focused introduction to the rich and varied tradition of Bulgarian music. Taking readers on a tour of the country’s musical landscape, it explores ways in which Bulgaria’s rural traditions affect the expression and interpretation of its music and examines how Bulgaria’s history has influenced its music over many decades.

The book also shows how musical traditions have been preserved and have flourished despite the social changes brought about by the post-WWII era of industrialization, modernization and urbanization. Timothy Rice demonstrates how Bulgarian music, in addition to being an art and an entertainment, is deeply embedded in the cultural, social, economic and political life of the country. He analyzes how this music has spread to other cultures and how it has made its mark on new forms of popular music. Brief lessons on how ethnomusicologists conduct their research are also included.

Written in a lively style accessible to both students and general readers, “Music in Bulgaria” features vivid eyewitness accounts of performances, interviews with performers and glossaries of Bulgarian and musical terms. Incorporating numerous listening examples and other activities that help readers learn to listen, sing and dance to Bulgarian music.

Photo: Front cover of the Persian translation of “Music in Bulgaria” by Timothy Rice. 

RM/MMS/YAW