Исихия (Isihia) is a Bulgarian folk group formed in 1998 in Sofia, Bulgaria… Read Full Bio ↴Исихия (Isihia) is a Bulgarian folk group formed in 1998 in Sofia, Bulgaria.

The name "Isihia" epitomizes the search for the conceptual link making a reference to the Hesychast religious movement that occurred in the last years of the Byzantine existence and the Second Bulgarian Empire. In the very beginning of the 21st century, Isihia is going back to the Middle-Age Hesychast concept bearing the initial Christian ideas. Isihia is the musical answer to the questions "Who are we?", "Where do we come from?", "What cultural and historical traditions do we have?". Isihia is the sound tangle of pure folklore motifs of the Bulgarian song and melody, the Hesychast sound of the Christian singing, the mystery of the Balkan spirit and the romance of national drama in Bulgarian history. Isihia is the musical tale of the times of the most genuine belief in the history of the Bulgarian spiritual life - Hesychasm. Isihia is the musical glance back to the history of the Bulgarians.

The very end of the 20th century was a time of severe trial for the Bulgarian people and the Balkan peoples as a whole, whose belonging to the European Christian civilization both in geographical and cultural, as well as in historical aspect is certainly doubtless. Most threatening to the Bulgarian nation today are not the political failures, the economic instability, not even the demographic collapse, but the weakness and impersonality of spirit. In such times, each nation turns to the stronghold of its traditions and history where its hidden strength lies. It is to reach the roots of that strength and to draw invigorating spirit from the shell of the Bulgarian identity that Isihia was born for, Isihia - the bridge from the past to the present. The ancient spirit of the Bulgarian land, whose roots have been marked by the cultures of Thraceans, Romans, Slavs, Proto-Bulgarians, Byzantines and Ottoman Turks - a spirit combining the pagan and Christian traditions is the strength giving inspiration and creating the musical aesthetics of Isihia.

Official site: http://www.isihia.net