Rachmaninov’s “The Bells” and an invitation to Italy (1972–1973)

After the concert of 10 October 1972 the choir turned to the May Choral Festival, where as host it could not afford to fall below the level of its guests. In the meantime, on 20 April 1973, it sang in the Avram Gachev district at a meeting organised by the Committee for the Defence of Peace – in awkward conditions, but with a sense of duty to its listeners. The festival opened on 15 May 1973 in the Drama Theatre with a speech by Iliya Georgiev of the regional party committee, and once again reached a high artistic level.

There was no rest, because in June the choir had to face a Sofia audience. For the centenary of Sergei Rachmaninov’s birth, Morski Zvutsi was entrusted with the first Bulgarian performance of his poem for choir, soloists and orchestra, “The Bells”. The concert, part of the Sofia Music Weeks international festival, took place on 17 June 1973 with the Symphony Orchestra of Bulgarian Radio and Television under Vasil Stefanov. The work is magnificent but extremely difficult, and it was learned in an exceptionally short time.

Instead of his own assessment, the author quotes leading musicians. Prof. Venelin Krastev wrote that it was hard to tell the art of this amateur Varna choir from that of professional ensembles, praising its rhythmic and intonational precision, balance and wide dynamic range – the impression was even stronger than at its first visit with Cherubini’s Requiem. Academician Petko Staynov called the performance a peak in the choir’s development; Ivelin Dimitrov, conductor of the Women’s Choral Chapel, was “delighted” by its powerful sound; Dobrin Petkov praised its musical culture and vocal freshness; and Petar Vitanov gave much of the credit to Vasil Stefanov, whose 60th birthday was celebrated that same evening. As the year before, the choir recorded the work for a gramophone record.

On 16 July Stefanov was back in Varna to rehearse the choir and the Varna Symphony Orchestra for the closing concert of the Varna Summer festival, given on 20 July in the Korabostroitel cinema. While the singers rested until 10 September, Chonev received an offer from the Bulgarian Music Directorate for a tour of Italy with the Plovdiv Symphony Orchestra under Ruslan Raychev. Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and a work by a Russian classic had to be prepared in record time, and the planned 10–11 concerts in 15 days, with long journeys, promised great fatigue. At an emergency meeting the board decided to accept, and, against expectations, the singers backed the decision without reservation.

The new season began under pressure: each section rehearsed four times a week, keeping Cherubini’s Requiem and “The Bells” in shape alongside the Ninth. Chonev’s assistants carried much of the load, as he went to the Gorizia competition as a guest – a year after coming home from it with two first prizes. When he returned, the choir was ready to put the symphony together.