The Pilgrim's Road
In the album “The Pilgrim's Road” highly-acclaimed Bulgarian singer/songwriter Denitza Seraphim takes us on a breathtaking musical journey in old Europe, through past epochs, fairy tale lands and inspiring classical and folk traditions. Denitza, mostly known as the first lead singer of the world music band Irfan, composed her first solo album using authentic and modern acoustic instruments. Viola da gamba, recorder, Celtic harp and sackbut (Renaissance trombone) spill over chords of romantic guitar and swirling Irish fiddle, forming a modern syncretic take on Western European music of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
Folk motifs from the north, medieval-sounding intervals and polyphony intertwine with her magnetic voice, giving different colors and nuances to each of the eleven songs. Together with her musical companions Denitza leads us on an enchanting pilgrimage from north to south and east to west, singing texts with sacred messages in Danish, Icelandic, English, Spanish, Italian and Latin.
The pilgrims are: Denitza Seraphim - Vocal, composer; Asen Marinov - Guitar; Boyana Zareva - Violin,Viola, back vocal; Jordan Vladev - folk flute; Denitza Dimitrova - Celtic harp; Emil Mihov - Viola da gamba, Recorder; Neyko Bodurov - Trumpet; Emil-George Atanassov - Sackbut; Anita Neycheva - bendir, tambourine.
Denitza designed Renaissance-style costumes for each of the participants in the project.
The artwork of the CD is created by Bulgarian artist Ruslan Dragostinov.
The Story
Denitza dreamed of creating an entirely acoustic project based on early European music. In 2020 she met guitarist Asen Marinov and they started working on the album, which Denitza later called "The Pilgrim’s Road". She composed melodies inspired by Renaissance and Northern European music. Denitza Seraphim selected the instruments for her songs and invited musicians with extensive stage experience. She chose early Christian poetry for the eleven songs. Thus was born the album "The Pilgrim’s Road", which premiered in November 2023. The story of the album is about a group of pilgrims roaming with their musical instruments and playing songs on their way to holy places, from the far northern fields to the hot south. Denitza designed Renaissance costumes for each of the musicians and made a stage vision of the concerts.
