The Hristina Morfova Choir celebrates its 80^th anniversary this year. It was established by Prof. Lyudmila Prokopova back in 1936 – the year when great opera singer Hristina Morfova was killed in a car accident. The formation has numerous awards, received in Britain, Germany, Italy, Spain, Turkey etc. It has had concerts across the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Holland, Greece, Israel, Romania, Belgium, Austria among others.

Long-year member of the choir and its chair Lyubov Karagitlieva-Boychinova says:

“This choir is part of my life. It has always been a fest to sing with it as music unifies us, we have splendid relations. The age and occupation differences only make it all more interesting. The 1992 Israeli tour will remain as one of the best for me for good, as the experience was unique back then. We have lots of versions of folk songs in our repertoire. Being ambassadors of Bulgarian folklore worldwide is part of our mission. We went to the town of Pirdop recently – that was the place where Hristina Morfova died. Her monument has been restored and we did feel very excited to pay our homage. I feel awarded on behalf of the entire choir for everything we do. The warm attitude of the audience brings in energy in our deeds. Making music onstage is a kind of magic. We need to sing as one, to bump as one heart. Choir singing is collective art, one learns to respect people around and to be more tolerant. It makes us better, happier and more beautiful."

Renowned Bulgarian conductor Prof. Lilia Gyuleva headed the formation for many years. Here is what her student Tanya Nikleva-Vladeva told us. She has been holding the position for two decades now:

“At first Lyudmila Prokopova conducted the choir, till 1959. Young Lilia Gyuleva had been invited to join it two years prior to that. She taught us a lot and it was not easy to inherit such a great talent and tutor. It is sometimes really hard to gain the trust of the choir’s members – the path can be very long. I consider my greatest award and achievement the fact that the choir has begun to increase in numbers. We find new friends and fans and this brings great satisfaction to me.”

“On December 1, we participate in the jubilee concert of the Dr. Petar Beron community center – it celebrates 90 years,” Mrs. Vladeva goes on to say. “Two days afterwards we will have concerts in Kazanlak within the frameworks of the initial Petko Stainov choir fest on the occasion of the composer’s 120^th birth anniversary. On the next day we will have a concert of our own in the town of Stara Zagora. On December 11 the choir will mark World Choral Day with a Sofia-held concert and later on we will be in Haskovo where the first ever National Festival for Christmas and New Year Chants will take place. We try to attract more and more people to choir music as it is Bulgarian culture at its finest. Reaching a state of harmony with other people is something unique not only on stage, but in life as well. Everyone can close himself and isolate but the ability to live with the others is priceless. I see the eyes of the choir girls laughing after a rehearsal and I know that my presence on this planet makes some sense,” Tanya Nikleva-Vladeva says in conclusion.

English version: Zhivko Stanchev