Le Mystère des voix Bulgares

Originally formed in Bulgaria in 1951, by Philip Koutev, this is an all-female choir. They also have been known as the Bulgarian State Television Female Vocal Choir and the Ensemble of the Bulgarian Republic.

Their music is based on over a thousand years of Bulgarian musical tradition. The melodies and harmonies they use are unusual to western ears. The quality of the voices are very open and vibrato-free. most of the songs are a capella. The singers are from the rural regions of the country.

They have also worked with Bulgarian conductor Dora Hristova.

Their initial commercial release was in 1966 with the album "Music of Bulgaria" on the Elektra label. Seven albums followed during the late 80s and 90s, including one live album "A Cathedral Concert" in 1987 and a remix album "From Bulgaria With Love: The Pop Album" in 1993. To-date their last release was in 2001.

In the UK, their reputation was secured by the re-release of Le Mystere Des Voix Bulgares, recorded by Marcel Cellier, on the 4AD label. The individual recordings, made by Cellier in the field, were technically of a mixed quality, but artistically utterly unlike anything produced by either British folk or classical traditions.