CDA: Yanka Rupkina

Don't you love how my brother Howard expands my horizons? All the way from Julie London to Yanka Rupkina - - Rupkina died a few days ago at the age of 87. She was part of Trio Bulgarka which was featured on an offbeat surprise hit set of records called Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares. I had two tapes back in the 80s. Howard said "she was cool af" and said "those harmonies SHIMMER." Their sound is unlike anything I've heard - - rapturously beautiful but also somewhat harsh and coarse. I was lucky enough to have heard them in concert at the Barrymore Theater in Madison WI. Howard heard them at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco! I can't imagine the impact and enveloping drama of those voices in that space.

Here's a performance by Trio Bulgarka: Rupkina, Kalinka Valcheva and Stefka Sabotinova. Rupkina is the one on the left.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=RDK-sJIBSZiTY&v=K-sJIBSZiTY