Macedonian and Balkan Folk Music
Kaval and tambura Ratevo Galičnik tableaux Pirin planina Zurlas Ohrid-sunset

Izvor Music was formed in 1996 by David Bilides initially to facilitate the publishing of a book of Macedonian folk songs. “Izvor” means “source”, as in a well or spring, and the sources for Izvor Music are Macedonia, the Balkans and the cultures which have influenced their music. This is a musically rich and varied area, and Izvor Music’s focus is primarily the folk music of the region.

In addition to publishing books and CDs, Izvor Music has produced Balkan music concerts. Future plans include more books, CDs, and music transcriptions, and archiving older recordings of Balkan folk music.

The navigation menu at the top of each page will take you to the different areas of this site. Besides perusing the Izvor Music-related items found on the News page, you can...

  • ...see the four books currently published, including Macedonian songs and kaval ornamentation, on the Books page.
  • ...listen to sound clips of Macedonian CDs on the CDs page.
  • ...buy those books and CDs on the Shop page.
  • ...listen to podcasts of Dragi Spasovski's 54 songs from his 3-CD set on the Podcasts page.
  • ...download transcribed Macedonian and Bulgarian music pieces plus their related sound files on the Music page.
  • ...read about some of the people who've contributed to Izvor Music on the Bios page.
  • ...find links to musical groups, radio shows, materials, and general information related to Macedonian and Balkan folk music on the Links page.

I enjoy hearing from people, and you can reach me via the Contact page. You can also follow Izvor Music on Twitter.