Perunika Trio

Perunika Trio

Perunika Trio is a Bulgarian folk and a cappella group based in London. It forms in October 2005, when Eugenia Georgieva, Victoria Mancheva and Victoria Evstatieva meet through the London Bulgarian Choir and decide to sing together as a trio.

Background

The three singers all have Macedonian descent and grow up in the Bulgarian cities of Sofia, Plovdiv and Veliko Turnovo. Georgieva is the only one with classical training and also fronts a rock band at one point. All three spend time singing in choirs before forming the group.

Style and repertoire

The trio’s music is rooted in the vocal traditions of southern Bulgaria and uses acoustic harmony and polyphonic singing. Their repertoire includes traditional and nostalgic songs, drawing on Bulgarian folk material from regions such as Strandja, the Rhodope Mountains, Thrace and Pirin, as well as songs associated with Shopsko. The arrangements use irregular time signatures and emphasise the voice as the main instrument of expression.

The group’s work also explores links between Bulgarian, Macedonian and Russian folklore, reflecting shared Slavic cultural and religious traditions, including ethnicity, language, the Cyrillic alphabet, old pagan beliefs and Orthodox Christianity.

Recording and reception

Their album Introducing: Perunika Trio is described as a personal exploration of the singers’ musical inheritance and the vocal traditions they have absorbed. The music is noted for its warm, reassuring mood and for a style that combines rustic qualities with madrigal-like delicacy.