Photographs and Music of Bulgaria

After my first visit, I felt an urgency to preserve the music and dance traditions that were disappearing throughout the country. I was driven by the goal of documenting and recording the traditional music and dance of each place I visited, by permanently memorializing them with photographs, audiotape, and 16 mm film stock.

I originally came to Bulgaria to learn dances, my goal soon shifted to documenting village culture, and always, whatever else I might be doing, I would have at least one SLR camera slung across my chest to capture any special moment that might occur.

Martin Koenig