Those who remember Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares will know the magic of the Bulgarian village harmonies, a rural singing style that seemed out of place in the modern age with its odd micro-tones and weird harmonizations. You won't find quite the same thing with the
Perunika Trio, but the time is different -- and so, most definitely, is the place. The three young women who make up the group may all be Bulgarian, but they're based in London, having been raised not in the Bulgarian countryside, but in its cities; one of them is even a classically trained musician who spent time in a rock band. How much that influences the music is up for debate, though. There are some pieces with those ineffable diaphonic harmonies, but many more aren't, looking out toward Macedonia or Rhodope, bringing ideas in from Orthodox Church liturgical music and, in the case of the very unusual "Morf' Elenku," taking the na atsane tradition from the Bansko region. All of that could make it an academically rich CD, but lacking in emotion. Instead, the mostly traditional pieces ("Perunika" was written by one of the singers,
Eugenia Georgieva) hang together well to form a whole with one seamless sound made from many facets and suffused with beauty and passion. ~ Chris Nickson