On April 10 we mark the 80^th birth anniversary of Georgi Gorelski (1934 - 1993) a rare talent with more than 300 pearls of Bulgarian folk music to his name. He started singing while he was still at secondary school where he was noticed by renowned folk singer from Northern Bulgaria Boris Mashalov. Evidently, his voice made a great impression on Mashalov who exclaimed: “He is the one who will replace me!” Though Gorelski was a pedagogue his artistry, his voice breathed life into Bulgarian folklore. Here is what Penka Pavlova, singer from the Thracian folklore region remembers about him:

“We were traveling with a group of musicians and accordion player Petko Dachev. Georgi Gorelski was with us, as a performer of the folklore style from Northern Bulgaria. He always sang more songs than planned because he was called for an encore time and again. He was so vibrant and always established a spontaneous contact with the audience. I remember him invariably with a smile on his face – when you come across him, he would break out in song and only then ask where you were going. His face, his eyes lit up with a smile. A man with really good manners, a gentleman, he was very careful not to offend anyone. Although he sang songs from the North, he was well-liked in Thrace as well. Radio Stara Zagora regularly broadcast folk music request shows and they never went without his songs. I still remember his “When you hear this, my love” or “Drinking wine”… One of his most wonderful songs “Dear mother” was really popular – even schoolchildren performed it at festivals and they loved it!”

Georgi Gorelski was born in Turnava, Northwestern Bulgaria. He inherited the singing tradition from his father; from his mother he got his love of folklore. He got an offer to go to a school for talented children but chose the seminary. In the late 1950’s Georgi Gorelski moved to the Thracian region where he lived until the end of his life. He graduated Russian languages studies at the Institute of Pedagogy and classes would often end with a Bulgarian folk song. His clear voice and artistic gift logically took him to the stage. For more than twenty years Georgi Gorelski toured the country with different amateur groups. He felt equally at home performing folk songs, ballads and opera arias. He sang in Russian, Italian, Romanian… A popular singer, he performed in Germany, Turkey, France, Russia, Switzerland…

At major folklore festivals like the one in Koprivshitsa in 1965, the singing contests in Yambol, Sliven his songs brought him ten gold medals and honorary diplomas – acknowledgment of his talent. At one such festival, he was heard by composer Petko Stainov who exclaimed: “Sing, you are on the right track! Sing, bring people joy. It is incredible that a teacher is such a folklore talent.”

A great many of Georgi Gorelski’s songs have been recorded at Radio Stara Zagora and at the Bulgarian National Radio in Sofia and that made him a household name. But there are songs of his that are extremely popular among listeners, as folklore expert Borislav Gerontiev wrote: “Not just because they are pearls of folk art but because in performing them, Gorelski brings out all of the beauty of his voice.”

Georgi Gorelski will be remembered for his perfectionism and the love he put into in his work. Friend and fellow-townsman Malin Dimovski, dedicated a book to him called Beyond the Limit, in which students of his talk about their mentor with love and respect.

Here is what Svetla Bilyarska from the children’s department at the library in Dimitrovgrad says about Georgi Gorelski: “I had never heard such songs that held us spellbound, songs that our tutor seemed to have been taken out of our grandmothers’ woodcarved coffers, this veritable treasure trove Georgi Gorelski brought closer to us.”

English version: Milena Daynova