Anniversary tributes and an invitation to Cork (1975)

After a short break the choir prepared tributes to Varna composers. For the celebration of Aleksandar Krastev it learned his songs “Shto mi ne dohozhdash” and “O, Dobrudzhanski kray”. Though unofficial, the evening in the Morski Zvutsi hall drew an unexpectedly large crowd – the composer’s former pupils and singers; his son-in-law told how the march “O, Dobrudzhanski kray” came to be written, and some of his personal belongings and scores were put on display.

For a celebration of Lyuben Todorov in early December the choir learned his Symphony No. 1, to be performed with the Varna Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra. The first rehearsal with the conductor Nedyalko Nedyalkov, still with piano, took place on 28 November in the composer’s presence, and the concert was set for 6 December in the Korabostroitel cinema.

On 9 December 1975 official word came that the choir was to take part in the 23rd international competition in Cork, Ireland, in April. The board was in a delicate position: time was short, the set pieces were not yet known, and the choir was already committed to the Panorama of Bulgarian Choral Art and to concerts in Sofia, Plovdiv and Ruse with Beethoven’s Ninth, as well as to Dobri Hristov’s centenary on 12 December. So it decided to ask the singers themselves, who would have to carry the load.

Pulling out of the Dobri Hristov centenary was unthinkable. It was held with due ceremony at the House of Amateur Arts in the presence of Aleksandar Raychev, Angel Manolov, Agapiya Balareva, Venelin Krastev and others, and the choir sang a group of three songs: “Rachenitsa”, “Temna magla” and “Slana padna, Gane”. At the next rehearsal Chonev told the singers about the invitation; they understood the difficulties, but most were for taking the risk. Work could not start at once, though – the invitation was not yet official and there were no set pieces. On 23 December the House of Amateur Arts also marked 75 years of amateur choral singing in Varna, and present and former singers received special certificates.