The Development of Chalga: A Controversial Cultural Phenomenon in Modern Bulgaria
The Development of Chalga: A Controversial Cultural Phenomenon in Modern Bulgaria

Summary/Abstract: Chalga is only one of several similar types of music found across the Balkans, all connected by certain historical events and musical qualities. This work will deal specifically with the case of Bulgaria chalga. The following paper delves into cultural questions about chalga, drawing on the perspectives of ethnomusicologists, historians, social scientists, and Bulgarian commentators. By exploring historical roots as well as current questions about identity and modernity in post-Communist Bulgaria, this paper seeks to locate the role of chalga in a larger social and political context. The paper begins with a historical foundation, dating back to Ottoman times. Bulgarian perceptions of the Ottoman history play a central role in the way that past and present musical styles are received among the public. The communist and post-communist periods will also be addressed. The history will touch upon ethnicity, and the next section will delve deeper into the interplay between Roma, Turkish and Bulgarian sounds and musical traditions in Bulgaria. In addition, the tensions and differing viewpoints related to this mixture in music from past to present will be explored further. Characteristics of chalga will be looked at, societal responses will be addressed, and economic aspects will be considered. Finally, the preceding sections will lead up to an analysis of chalga and its connection to modernization. In addition, this section will consider the relationship between chalga and contemporary Bulgarian identity construction, internally and externally. This paper seeks to uncover contradictions and tensions within chalga and as it stands within Bulgarian society.

• Details
• Contents