Bulgaria's cosmic voices

published on 12/18/13 1:20 PM

Photo: Photo: topartists.bg

Mother was telling Rada

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"Because of such voices it is worth writing music,” once a Japanese composer said after listening to the Cosmic Voices Choir of Bulgaria. Let’s listen to one of the choir’s performances.

The choir will remember the past year with several new projects. Among them was a program on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the birth of composer Stefan Mutafchiev, new recordings and concerts in Europe.

Days ago the Cosmic Voices Choir returned from a successful tour to Germany and Austria. The project they took part in was dedicated to Pina Bausch. Dancer, choreographer, director, she is the author of memorable performances worldwide. In the city of Wuppertal, a city associated with her biography, a theater bears her name. Japanese composer Jun Miyake wrote a piece dedicated to the famous actress. Musicians from nine countries took part in the project. Among them were performers from France, Venezuela, Brazil, Britain, Germany, and Bulgaria. The first performance of the work was in Tokyo. There the Bulgarian choir participated in full strength. In performances in Germany and Austria three of the choir members performed. As Mrs. Moneva said the work is a combination of ethnic music, French chanson, Brazilian rhythms and much more musical references to the work of Pina Bausch. Renowned musicians including Ze Luis Nascimento from Brazil, Manuel Marches from France, Felix Lajko from Hungary also participated. More from choir leader Vania Moneva in an interview with Albena Bezovska.

“Composer Jun Miyake created a piece dedicated to Pina Bausch. He worked with her and we had the honor to be included in the project together with a number of world-class musicians. Tickets for the concert were sold out months ago. Soloist Lisa Papineau from the U.S. played the uniting role between all the musicians on the stage. The concert took place in the beautiful hall of the Austrian Radio and Television. The feeling being on stage with so many great musicians was amazing. I wrote lyrics in Bulgarian. ‘Because of such voices it is worth writing music,’ Jun Miyake said after the show.”

In Vienna the Cosmic Voices performed encore traditional Bulgarian songs. A few days before Christmas the whole choir took part in a colorful concert under the auspices of Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova together with the Sofia Brass Band and famous names from the Bulgarian music scene - Vasil Petrov, Maria Ilieva, Lubo Kirov and others.

English version: Alexander Markov

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Bulgaria's cosmic voices

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