Artists
who's who and who's doing what?TOPOLOVO Orchestra
- country:France
- style(s):Folk
- label:Gega New
- artist submitted by:
TOPOLOVO Orchestra was founded in 1999 by Emmanuel Frin (clarinet, gaida, saxophone) and Wenceslas Hervieux (accordion), who from the outset created a repertoire based on Bulgarian folk music. They were soon joined by Jacky Molard (violin, viola, guitar), Jean-François Roger (percussions), and Guillaume Robert (doublebass). After Guillaume Robert left the group in 2003, he was replaced by Etienne Callac (bass guitar).
Emmanuel Frin studied music and Bulgarian language at the Plovdiv Academy of Music and Dance Art. His teachers included Nikola Iliev (clarinetist of the Konoushenska group), Petko Stefanov, Maria Stoyanova, and Dimitar Dimitrov (gaida), and later Valentin Raikov (saxophonist with the Maritsa orchestra). His work with leading Bulgarian musicians helped him assimilate the finer points of the Bulgarian folk style and to develop an interpretive approach, which is both convincing and commanding. He succeeded in passing his knowledge and emotional attitude to his colleagues in the orchestra. Thåir recordings sound with the typical ornaments and vigour of the Bulgarian orchestras.
