Svetoglas male chamber ensemble celebrates 15 years on stage

The group will once again enchant the audience with an acapella performance of Bulgarian folk and church music

published on 12/16/24 11:52 AM

Photo: facebook.com/Svetoglas

With performances of selected songs from their repertoire, the Svetoglas male chamber ensemble will celebrate 15 years on stage. The four singers: Daniel Spasov, Stanimir Ivanov, Nikolay Boyanov and Milen Ivanov sing acapella (without instrumental accompaniment) and will once again show their high class in a concert on December 17 at the Academy Gallery of the National Academy of Arts (at 1 Shipka Str.) in Sofia.

The male singing formation was founded in 2009 as the idea was given by Daniel Spasov and Milen Ivanov - soloists of the vocal ensemble "The Mystery of the Bulgarian Voices" (Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares). Their goal was to create a polyphonic recreation of Bulgarian folk and church music. The other two performers quickly joined the formation. Over the years, Svetoglas have worked with prominent folklore performers.

In 2012, they realized their first musical project and recorded their debut album "The Wheel of Life". In it, they depict the entire cycle of life with song and music - from birth to death, and along with it the annual calendar cycle. There are selected songs related to the most important moments of human life.

The formation's second album was released in 2014 and was called "Ancient Hymns of Orthodoxy". It contains only Church Slavonic chants, such as "Prayer of the Lord" and was recorded in the church of the Klisura Monastery, near the town of Varshets. The natural environment was used and it was recorded without any intervention for sound processing. This creates the feeling in the listener that the quartet is singing live and in the acoustic environment appropriate for church songs.

The ensemble's third album is called "The Nightingale's Song" (2019) and is a combination of all the songs included in the concert program of Svetoglas in the country and abroad.

“The Nightingale's Song” is Svetoglas Quartet’s new album − polyphonic folklore voices from past and present

"The Mystery of Bulgarian Polyphony" is a trademark for the concerts of Svetoglas in Bulgaria and around the world.

The formation has also toured on prestigious stages abroad, having had the most meetings with the audience in Russia, England, Norway, Belgium, Spain, Colombia, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Turkiye, Sweden. It also participates in the International Festival "Music of Faith" in Kazan (Russia), the Festival of Sacred Music in Drammen (Norway), the Festival of Church Music Maestro de la Roza in Oviedo (Spain), the International Music Festival in Cartagena (Colombia), the International Festival of Church Music Fausto Flamini in Rome and many others.