Folklore Musical Heritage in the Context of Festival Practice
Folklore Musical Heritage in the Context of Festival Practice

Summary/Abstract: The article examines folklore festivals as ethnomusicological phenomena and socio-cultural platforms that preserve, transmit, and transform musical heritage. Focusing on Bulgaria’s Pirin Sings Festival and the Rozhen Assembly, the study explores how staged performance mediates between local, ritual practices and national identity. Using archival sources, festival reports, and postmodern theory, the paper analyses the evolution from living traditions to stylised, stage-centred representations. Concepts of hyperreality (Eco, Baudrillard) are applied to illustrate how folklore becomes an aestheticised cultural product, shaping audience expectations and collective memory. The findings highlight the coexistence of authentic and staged folklore, emphasising their different functions—participation versus performance. This research is relevant for ethnomusicologists, cultural heritage specialists, and educators developing strategies for safeguarding intangible musical traditions.

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