Messe in F in Germany, Zorba in Thessaloniki and the spring of 2005

In the autumn of 2004 the choir went to Germany once again. At the suggestion of the conductor and composer Theo Fürst of Idar-Oberstein, a great friend of the choir, Morski Zvutsi learned his Messe in F. The invitation marked 25 years of friendship between the Grubscher choir (Grub'scher MGV 1843 Oberstein) and Morski Zvutsi, and the German hosts were also celebrating 160 years since their own choir was founded. On 17, 18 and 19 September the choir sang in the cathedral in Kirn, in the Festival Hall in Idar-Oberstein and in the cathedral in Trier. The programme combined Orthodox music, songs by Bulgarian composers, “Lob, Dank und Bekenntnis” – sung together with the hosts – the Bahamian spiritual “All my trials”, Fürst’s “Das Rezept: Singe froh aus dem Herzen” and William Dawson’s “Soon Ah Will Be Done”. In the first two concerts the focus was the Mass, conducted by its composer; a chamber orchestra drawn from the region accompanied, and the solo parts were taken by a group of Morski Zvutsi singers.

On 31 October 2004 the choir visited Thessaloniki, Greece, where alongside Bulgarian and Western composers it performed Mikis Theodorakis’s “Zorba” – a suite in two parts and twenty-one scenes for orchestra, choir and soloists. The audience’s response convinced the singers that their work had not been in vain. The Christmas concert in Varna’s Art Gallery brought together all the ensembles of the newly formed Morski Zvutsi Choral School – the representative choir, the Varna Boys’ and Youth Choir and the Girls’ Choir led by Zaharina Milkova-Nikitasova – and the hall rang with Georges Bizet’s Te Deum.

Meanwhile, issues had been building up among the singers that called for a general meeting and a change of board; financial matters were discussed as well. Preparations for the 50th anniversary began early in the year – and an old dispute resurfaced. Although at the 25th, 30th and 35th anniversaries higher authorities had already ruled in the choir’s favour, and although the executive committee’s decision to create the choir was an indisputable document, some people claimed that the choir was simply the revived Morski Zvutsi music society of 1926. New explanations and evidence were needed before the matter was closed once more.

The choir kept working. From 4 to 11 January 2005 Varna hosted the Seventh International Conductors’ Workshop, which ended with a concert of a cappella songs by Tchaikovsky, Bortniansky, Dobri Hristov, Ivan Spasov and others; the lecturer was Prof. Marin Chonev, the conductors Everett Miller and Steven Zielke, and Prof. Milko Kolarov led the orchestral section. The Easter programme – Bach, Mozart, Dobri Hristov, Norman Luboff and Theo Fürst – drew so many listeners that the concert hall of Varna’s Evangelical Methodist Episcopal Church could barely hold them.

On 19 May 2005 the choir took part in the opening of the 28th Prof. Georgi Dimitrov International May Choral Competition. For the occasion the Minister of Culture and Tourism, Nina Chilova, sent a letter of congratulation to Prof. Chonev as the competition’s president (a copy is reproduced in the book): she called the competition the biggest choral event in the country, saw the participation of well-known choirs from Europe and America as recognition of Bulgarian choral art, and thanked the organisers and Varna Municipality, without whom the festival would not have been possible.