Boulgaroktόnos - Epic Byzantine Music

Arrangements and vocals by Farya Faraji, based on traditional melodies from Thrace. Artwork by J.F Oliveras, do check out his excellent historical reconstructions. This composition is about emperor Basil II Porphyrogennetos, “the Purple-born”, nicknamed the Bulgar Slayer (Boulgaroktónos). This nickname was earned after his conflict and annhilitation of the First Bulgarian Empire, the principal European foe of the Eastern Romans during that era. A proficient statesman, the Empire flourished in many aspects during his reign, and his legacy is one of a national hero in Greece, whilst being despised among the Bulgarians.

Musically, I wanted this track to reflect both Bulgarian and Greek sensibilities, and the best place for that was Thracian music—a shared cultural style overlapping both Greek and Bulgarian music. This geographical style of music, defined among other things by the usage of the gaida bagpipe to provide dance tunes also fits the geographical area where many of the confrontations between the two empires occured, and also matches the regional origin of Basil’s dynasty, which originated from Thrace. The gaida bagpipe in this piece fulfills a dual Greek-Bulgarian role as it is used virtually identically on both sides of Thrace.

For the section where the Trisagion prayer in Old Church Slavonic is being sung to represent the Bulgarian Empire, I also performed throat singing as a nod to the Bulgar aspect of the empire, which was a steppe-based culture, possibly Turkic and originally Tengrist. The lyrics are in Greek and in Old Church Slavonic, the Slavic language spoken in the First Bulgarian Empire, and which is still used as a liturgical language.

Lyrics in Greek and Old Church Slavonic:
Πολλά τα έτη των βασιλέων,
Στο όνομα του βασιλιά,
Βασίλειος Πορφυρογέννητος,
Ό Βουλγαροκτόνος,

свѧтꙑи боже,
свѧтꙑи крѣпъкꙑи,
свѧтꙑи бесъмрьтьнꙑи,
помилоуи насъ,

Romanised lyrics:
Pollá ta éti ton vasiléon,
Sto ónoma tou vasiliá,
Vasíleios Porfyrogénitos,
O Boulgaroktónos,

Svjatyj Bozhe, Svjatyj Kryepkij, Svjatyj Byezsmyertnyj, Pomiluj nas

English translation:
Many years to the Kings!
In the name of the King,
Basil the Purpleborn,
The Bulgar Slayer.

Holy God, Holy Strong,
Holy Immortal,
Have mercy on us.

#epicbyzantinemusic #epicslavicmusic