Where the end of the land meets the edge of the water, eight Bulgarian women sang to the North Sea. The women were the Bistritsa Babi (the Bistritsa Grandmothers), one of Bulgaria's finest groups of traditional singers. They sang at the edge of the North Sea near Craster on the unspoilt Northumbrian coastline over three evenings in late July. Pitched into the wind, the haunting melodies of the Bulgarian women combined with the rumbling of the sea to create a unique polyphony of sound and voice.
Conceived by artist Bethan Huws, A Work for the North Sea brought a tradition from the cradle of European civilisation to its Northern edge. It was the first visit of the Bistritsa Babi to Britain.
[Read more...]