8. Bulgarian State Radio & Television Female Vocal ChoirLe Mystère de Voix Bulgares

Growing up, one of my favourite films was Willow. James Horner composed the soundtrack and when I heard ‘Mir Stanke le (Harvest Song from Thrace)’ on this album, I immediately recognised the melody from the film’s main theme tune. Turns out Horner pilfered it! Some years ago, I was lucky enough to see the choir live. Throughout the whole show, they were smiling, so full of joy. There are all these dissonant clashes in the music, powered by bodily, physical emotion, very different from Western European choral singing which is often so gentle. Spirituality is definitely there in their voices, but it’s different, somehow more grounded in collective experiences, in the real world. And their strength and solidarity as a group of female singers absolutely captivated me.