From the Alwinac: Bulgarian Rhythms: Lyubomir Pipkov’s Spring Caprices

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[The Alwinac blog is part of the schroeder170 project, honoring the life and musical career of cellist Alwin Schroeder (1855-1928) and exploring the history of cello playing in the US.]


Listen to Five Spring Caprices by Pipkov, arranged for cello and piano by G. Dean.

In Bulgaria, the month of March is named after Baba Marta (Grandmother Marta), who ushers in the long-awaited spring. On the first of March, red-and-white woven bracelets called martenitsi are exchanged among friends and colleagues, and worn until the wearer sees a stork, another important local symbol of the arrival of spring and the rebirth it brings. I personally link the promise of spring to the possibility of peace in the world. It is a hope that seems harder to hold onto as another world leader, obsessed not by the power of love, but by the love of power (to paraphrase Jimi Hendrix), attacks rather than embraces his neighbor. This year, many Bulgarians are wearing special martenitsas with a different pairing of colors: blue and yellow, in solidarity with their neighbors in and from the Ukraine.
    Lyubomir Pipkov, one of Bulgaria’s esteemed second-generation composers, embarked on a project late in life that he called his Ludus ritmicus (Game of Rhythm), likely envisioning it as the rhythmic analogue to Hindemith’s Ludus tonalis. In several extended cycles of piano pieces, Pipkov explored rhythmic patterns inspired by Bulgarian folk music and notated using unusual meters, often involving prime numbers and alternating beats of 2 and 3.
    For almost thirty years now, I have been obsessed with one of these Pipkov piano cycles, called Proletni priumitsi (translated variously as Whims of Spring, Spring Whimsies, or (my current favorite) Spring Caprices). Since creating a violin-and-cello version as a wedding present for John and Beth Fadial around 1993, I have arranged ten of these pieces for two cellos, six for violin and cello, five for cello and piano, and two for cello ensemble. Lately I have been experimenting with string orchestra arrangements of several of these.... 

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