Bulgarian Singing & Vocal Creation

Description

Asymmetrical rhythms, amplified resonance, agile ornamentation, interfering harmonics: Bulgarian singing unfolds musical structures that are at once beautiful, powerful, and delightfully dissonant.

Coming to music through visual arts and theatre, Tui Mamaki has developed a pedagogical approach shaped by her vocal experiences in the Basque Country, New Zealand, Northern India, and especially Bulgaria, where she lived for four years. There, she immersed herself in a living lineage of traditional folk singers rooted in multiple ancient yet still vibrant sources.

Program

The workshop will explore the learning of two to three contrasting traditional songs, alongside the vocal techniques that bring them to life.

The work will focus on vocal interaction, the blending of linguistic colors, sound projection, and the natural amplification created by harmonics. This vocal material — both ornamented and organic — will help loosen ensemble work and open spaces for creation.

Guided improvisations, moments of free exploration, and collective vocal creation based on the voices present each day will extend the exploration of the repertoire.

Tui Mamaki

Tui Mamaki is a singer, musician, and pedagogue. Her artistic path moves through visual arts, theatre, and various vocal traditions encountered in the Basque Country, New Zealand, Northern India, and Bulgaria. Her teaching is grounded in a sensitive transmission of singing, attentive to resonance, timbre, language, and the relationships between voices.