 Bulgarian folk music is by far the most extensive traditional art and has slowly developed throughout the ages as a fusion of Eastern and Western influences . It contains Far Eastern , Oriental , medieval Eastern Orthodox and standard Western European tonalities and modes . The music has a distinctive sound and uses a wide range of traditional instruments , such as <unk> , <unk> ( bagpipe ) , <unk> and <unk> . One of its most distinguishing features is extended rhythmical time , which has no equivalent in the rest of European music . The State Television Female Vocal Choir is the most famous performing folk ensemble , and received a Grammy Award in 1990 . Bulgaria 's written musical composition can be traced back to the early Middle Ages and the works of Yoan <unk> ( c . 1280 – 1360 ) . Classical music , opera and ballet are represented by composers <unk> <unk> , Pancho <unk> and Georgi <unk> and singers <unk> <unk> , Boris <unk> and Nikolay <unk> . Bulgarian performers have gained popularity in several other genres like progressive rock ( FSB ) , electropop ( Mira <unk> ) and jazz ( <unk> <unk> ) . 
