Music: Free download of kaval music

[sonia]

A kaval is an end-blown flute common in the Balkans. In Bulgaria, they're typically made of cherry wood and come apart into three pieces. In Macedonia, they're made of a lighter wood (ash?) and are narrower and all in one piece. I have one of each and can kind of get a sound out of them, which is an accomplishment.

David Bilides writes:

In 2019, Steve Finney produced a CD of Nikolay Doktorov, one of the many excellent kaval teachers we've been fortunate to have at the EEFC [Eastern European Folklife Center] camps, playing 17 solo pieces on Bulgarian kaval. In the interest of getting this wonderful music "out there," Nikolay has given his blessing to it being distributed for free via online download.

You can read about Nikolay and this project, and access the free CD files and booklet (designed by Dan Auvil) by visiting this web page:

https://izvormusic.com/cds/doktorov.html

EEFC puts on a couple of week-long camps a year, one on the east coast and one on the west coast. They also host a mailing list where very knowledgeable people share words to songs, have deep discussions on their meanings, post events, and occasionally share free music like this.

Comments

Congrats on getting a sound

[jesse_the_k]

Have you ever been to one of their camps?

Re: Congrats on getting a sound

[sonia]

Thanks! Maybe someday I'll put in the consistent work to be able to play a tune. I love how they sound.

I went to the week-long camp in Mendocino in ... checks souvenir t-shirt ... 2009. It was a really long trip from Portland, and I didn't have that great a time, so I haven't been back. Balkanalia just outside of Portland is a spin-off camp that runs over a long weekend, and I've been to that one a lot, even going up for it from the Bay Area lately.