Willson, Rachel Beckles

Bulgarian Rhythm and Its Disembodiment in Kurtág’s The Sayings of Péter Bornemissza Op. 7
Rachel Beckles Willson

In his essay, “The So-Called Bulgarian Rhythm”, Bartók expounded a folk rhythmic “type” which presented difficulties for Western-trained classical musicians in its rapidly shifting and non-metric temporal divisions. He suggested that performers would be well-advised to replace counting with mnemonic figures or bodily gestures, implicitly invoking the Western separation of musical learning from spontaneous corporeal engagement, as opposed to the idealised union observed in folk music. Bulgarian Rhythm, whether encountered in this essay or in Bartók’s compositions, became a useful source of inspiration for later composers seeking to free themselves from metric rhythmic groupings.
The appearance of certain rhythmic types within Kurtág’s opus 7 song cycle The sayings of Péter Bornemissza (1963-1968), which have been termed “Bulgarian” by a number of commentators. This essay proposes that the shifting modes of presentation of these types may express the “loss and regaining of body” analogous to that described in the text. These characteristics are not only audible, but also effect the performing body’s physical engagement with the music.