Bulgaria and the Balkans
Bulgarian
Folk dances in 7/8, 9/8 and 11/16, with the beat grouping drawn in.
This room is being written.
Its tunes are being read from the original printed collections now, checked note by note against the scans. They will appear here as soon as each one is checked.
Why everything here is free to use
The rule
A piece is free here only when both are true:
- India: every author died before 1 January 1966. For a folk song, this means whoever collected and wrote it down.
- USA: it was first published in 1930 or earlier.
Sources
- Sbornik za narodni umotvorenia (Сборник за народни умотворения, Sofia, published from 1889). Volumes 1–24 (1889–1908) qualify on the US date. Each song's notator must also have died before 1966. We have not yet found an online scan of a volume with music, so this source is a lead.
- Other collections printed before 1931 by collectors who died before 1966 (for example Dobri Hristov, d. 1941) may be added after the same checks.
For learners
Bulgarian dances are in odd metres: 7/8, 9/8, 11/16. Every tune shows its beat grouping (for example 2+2+3), the way a dancer counts it.
Not allowed
Field recordings made after 1930, modern arrangements, and any recording.