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Biography
Choral
Society “Slavyanska Beseda”
was revived in 2000 by the conductor Elitza Hristova, the composer Georgi
Popov and the Chairman of the Cultural House "Slavyanska
Beseda" Joreto Bahmetjev.
The
choir exists as an active member of the Cultural center “Slavyanska
Beseda”, the oldest cultural center in Bulgaria. It was created as an
heir to a singing society of the same name that existed for 40 years in the
period between 1890-1940.
At first, the
revived choir originated as a children’s choir. Later on, it developed into
a full-fledged mixed choir of children, women and men.
The choir
consists of 50 singers of different age ranging from 5 to 40 years, who
give concerts in different formations.
The repertoire of the choir
is comprised mostly of Orthodox chants, the majority of which have been
written especially for the choir by the composer Georgi Popov, as well as
of classical works of the Orthodox, folklore and individual authors’
music.
For its
comparatively short existence the choral society has performed during
festive liturgies, at festivals in Russia, France, Serbia, Macedonia, in
concerts dedicated to the greatest Christian and national holidays, and
also it has held its own Christmas concerts.
The singers
have performed their music in the central Sofia churches, on the concert stage and
on the air of the Bulgarian National TV and the Bulgarian National Radio.
Historical
Overview
The original
Choral Society “Slavyanska Beseda”
was founded in 1880, the same year when the oldest Community Cultural centre “Slavyanska Beseda” was established
in Sofia.
The
Choral Society had a significant contribution to the organization and
development of the Bulgarian cultural life in those years. It carried out
its musical and educational activities in the following major fields:
- training in
choir and solo singing; presentation of artistic works in front of
audience;
- providing members
of the Society as well as distinguished Bulgarian composers with the
opportunity to create new works;
- inviting and
hosting musical groups from other towns and foreign countries.
In the course
of the years Choral Society “Slavyanska
Beseda” has been a place where some of the greatest Bulgarian
musicians created their works, such as Nikolaj Nikolaev (founder of the
Church choirs in Bulgaria),
Dobri Hristov, Samo Zahej, Otto Barbar, Angel Bukureshtliev, Todor Hadjiev,
etc.
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Conductor: ELITZA HRISTOVA
Elitza
Hristova
was born on 09.09.1969, in Bucharest,
Romania.
She graduated from the Musical Academy in Plovdiv
in 1991. She has worked as choirmaster and accompanist in a number of
choirs, among them the Bulgarian National Radio Children’s Choir and the
Bulgarian National Philharmonic Choir “Svetoslav Obretenov”. In the period
of 1991 – 2001, as a pianist, she was actively engaged in concerts,
recordings, and teaching both in Bulgaria and abroad.
Since 2000,
she has been a co-founder and conductor of Choral Society “Slavyanska Beseda”.
Elitza
Hristova
is the Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the International Festival for Orthodox
Music "Theotokos - It is truly meet".
Composer: GEORGI POPOV
Georgi
Popov
was born on 19.03.1957 in Sliven.
He graduated higher education in music in 1979. He worked as professor in
music in the Musical High-School “Philip Kutev” in Kotel, and in the New Bulgarian
University, Sofia. In the period of 1984-2000, he
worked as a freelance composer for theatre and cinema productions. His
theatre and film compositions have been awarded a number of prizes in Bulgaria
and abroad. Since 1994, his main interest has been in composing Orthodox
music, and in the last few years, he has been devoted solely to that.
Since
2000, he has been a co-founder of Choral Society “Slavyanska Beseda”.
Georgi
Popov is
one of the creators of the International
Festival for Orthodox Music "Theotokos - It is truly meet"
and he is also a member of the jury.
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