More than only a slvonic program

Personal remarks by the Trio Imàge

“Antonín Dvořák’s monumental F Minor Piano Trio has accompanied us for many years on our journey as a trio, surfacing and resurfacing in different phases of our development, affecting, challenging, and transforming us. We are fascinated and moved by its Slavic dances and melodies, by its fairy-tale elements and traces of folklore.”

The members of Trio Imàge stumbled upon this score by chance and were thrilled to incorporate it into their repertoire: “This early work of a mostly forgotten composer nevertheless features a series of astounding, imaginative ideas and innovations: this music is brimming with youthful emotion and lively virtuosity, along with interspersed elements of Vienna folklore and a vague presentiment of decades of terror looming on the horizon.”

A current representative of the same tendency is the young accordionist, dancer, arranger, and composer Marek Dyakov, who, in his works, combines folklore elements with jazz harmonies and classical means of expression.

Perperikoana belongs to Ancient Bulgarian Legends, a four-part cycle dedicated to Trio Imàge. The piece displays strong associations with the music of the Rhodope Mountains, home of the Perperikon, an ancient sacred rocky hill: the landscapes of that beautiful region, with their great variety, find their echo in the piece’s polyphonic structure. The title also contains a personal dedication to Ana, Dyakov’s wife.

The composer writes: “I have always liked to invent my own melodies, but I also love to harmonize folk melodies and make my own versions. In the course of my life I have gotten to know a great number of authentic Bulgarian folk music pieces of all varieties, and have featured them in concerts, dance performances, and wedding celebrations. Thus, although I can look back on a solid training in music theory, I can confidently assert that Bulgarian folklore, my true passion, shall always remain the foundation of my output as an artist.”