The choir’s repertoire (1956–2006)

The largest part of the appendix is the choir’s repertoire for 1956–2006, arranged in two lists – “Bulgarian composers” and “Foreign composers”. The Bulgarian list runs to number 193 (with one number skipped and two repeated). It opens with the works of the early years – Emanuil Manolov’s “Workers’ March”, Dobri Hristov’s “Goro le, zelena”, Al. Krastev’s “Shto mi ne dohozhdash”, G. Dimitrov’s “Sinigerova svatba” – and moves through the songs and cantatas of the socialist era: anthems, party and partisan songs, Aram Berberyan’s cantata “Song of Freedom”, Al. Yosifov’s “Zapey, Balkan”, Todor Popov’s “Invasion”, and the oratorios “Friendship” by Al. Raychev and “April 1876” by M. Kolarov.

The names that recur most often are G. Dimitrov, Dobri Hristov, L. Pipkov, Petko Mechkov, Todor Popov, Aram Berberyan, Al. Tanev, St. Mutafchiev, M. Kolarov, Kr. Kyurkchiyski and Al. Raychev; also present are Petko Staynov, P. Hadzhiev, Evg. Cheshmedzhiev, Iv. Spasov, Al. Tekeliev, Asen Diamandiev, Lyuben Todorov (including his Symphony No. 1) and St. Dragostinov with his Symphony-Requiem No. 2. Church music has a section of its own: Dobri Hristov’s complete Liturgy of St John Chrysostom (15 movements) with additional chants – troparia, “Holy God”, the Cherubic Hymn and a prayer dedicated to Metropolitan Stefan of Sofia – as well as chants by Al. Strumski, M. Goleminov, Petar Dinev and anonymous authors. The list ends with Christmas songs, Cheshmedzhiev’s “The Apostle” and T. Popov’s “Silence”.

The foreign list (178 numbers up to p. 285) starts with Schumann’s “Gypsies”, Brahms’s “Lullaby”, Tchaikovsky’s “Nightingale” and the villagers’ chorus from Smetana’s “The Bartered Bride”. It includes Italian songs (Tosti, Denza), revolutionary and Soviet songs, Renaissance music (Orlando di Lasso, Monteverdi, Hassler, Morley, Byrd), large choral-orchestral works – Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy and Ninth Symphony, the Requiems of Cherubini and Mozart, Brahms’s German Requiem, Beethoven’s Mass in C, Dvořák’s Stabat Mater, Shostakovich’s “Song of the Forests”, Stravinsky’s “Oedipus Rex”, the Glorias of Vivaldi and Poulenc, Bach’s Magnificat and Cantata No. 150 – Russian church music (Bortniansky, Arkhangelsky, Chesnokov, Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky), and Kodály, Bartók, Ravel, Hindemith, Bruckner, Reger and Gounod.

The last entries reflect the choir’s new directions after 1990: American and English repertoire – Bernstein’s “West Side Story”, choruses from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Cats”, spirituals arranged by Moses Hogan and William Dawson, a song by ABBA – Greek works (Theodorakis, Hadjidakis), Rok Golob’s “Alleluia”, and German songs, an Ave Maria and the Messe in F by the choir’s friend Theo Fürst.