Irmelin is a trio of female singers, who mostly (or maybe only?) sing Swedish folk songs.

Black Sea Hotel is a trio of female singers, who mostly (or maybe only?) sing Bulgarian folk songs.

Today’s concert with both of them was wonderful.

Irmelin’s pure, sonorous voices sounded beautiful in this small and intimate venue. There isn’t much that beats the joy of listening to melodious unaccompanied human voices, singing simple songs that speak to the deepest part of me. I do not listen to that kind of music analytically, with my intellect. I listen with my body and soul. The wordless dances and wedding marches are especially hypnotizing.

The Swedish singing tradition is clear and natural. Bells and trickling water and tinkling icicles come to mind. Bulgarian singing has a very different sound. There is something sharp and nasal about it, which to my ears is verging on the unpleasant. This kind of music I can observe rather experience.

To my untrained ear, the rhythms and tones of Bulgarian folk songs seem very far from mainstream Western music. I wonder if it is possible at all to transcribe it using standard musical notation, and then perform it based on that transcription, and come anywhere near the original – or if it can only be truly passed down as a living, oral tradition.

Each act ended with all six singers performing a song together. Together, they sounded like what I imagine magic (of the fantasy book kind) might sound like. It swirls and billows, and then there is some tiny part that goes off on its own for a little while and then joins the main swell again.