The CD 'PROJECT BACILLUS BULGARICUS'

The CD can be ordered by mail ($10 + $2 for shipping and handling).
Simply mail your postal address and a check to:

Roumi Petrova
440 Santander Avenue, Apt #16
Coral Gables, FL 33134

Being a classical musician, I wasn’t always so fond of folk music as I am now. I discovered my love for traditional Bulgarian art when I left Bulgaria. Naturally, the irregular Bulgarian rhythms have always been part of my musical consciousness. But it was far from my country, that I started using them in my compositions. For me, these rhythms acted just like Bacilicus Bulgaricus, the bacteria, which lives in the milk, and waits for the right conditions to turn it into a tangy yogurt.

Many of Petrova’s compositions are inspired by the traditional music of her native country, Bulgaria. Situated in the middle of the Balkan Peninsula, Bulgarian land has always been a crossroad for different civilizations: The Romans, The Greeks, The Crusaders and The Ottoman Empire. This geographic position is a factor in creating the immense rhythmic and melodic diversity of the Bulgarian folk music.

Irregular rhythms are commonly found in the traditional music of most Eastern European countries. The term irregular refers to the uneven metric structure of the rhythm. Each rhythmic pattern consists of metric units, organized in a certain way. In regular rhythms, the metric units are even. In irregular rhythms, they are uneven, for example: 5/8 (2+3), 7/8 (2+2+3), 8/8 (3+2+3), 9/8 (2+2+2+3), etc.