“As a child I never had any plans what I wanted to study or work,” says Radka Alexova. “We were three children in our family, we were very poor, but we had rivers, forests and green meadows. I used to sing in the school choir which was very good. I loved to recite poems, I have also acted in school plays. Everything pointed to my being destined for the stage. In the 1960s and 1970s there were many amateur folk ensembles at cultural and community centres in Bulgaria. So, after an audition in my home village Studena I started singing with the choir of the Pernik Minors’ Trade Union house. That is how my career began. Conductor Boyan Nankov was an acknowledged vocal pedagogue. It was there that I learnt the typical ornaments of the Graovo style of folklore singing.”

Radka Alexova is the acknowledged “gold standard” in Graovo-style singing, typical of the regions of Pernik, Radomir, Breznik. The famed singer is a master of what are known as “matchmaking” songs – songs that are peculiar to Graovo. The conjugal and music tandem – Radka Alexova and composer Boyan Nankov was the motor that helped Radka rise to world acclaim in different corners of the planet.

“This thorough folk singing practice is what took me to the folk choir of Radio Sofia,” she says further. “That marked a turning point in my life and career. For forty years Boyan was my husband, composer and conductor. All of my songs – solo and in duet – were arranged, conducted and recorded, together with him, with the Bulgarian National Radio folk music orchestra. In 1971 we toured France – an experience I shall never forget. In 1988 Swiss music producer Marcel Cellier became godfather to our choir - The Mystery of Bulgarian Voices. The first awards came in 1990 – individual Grammies for each of the singers. We received invitations from all parts of Europe, from Asia, America. We were constantly on tour, singing on the world’s biggest stages. Our choir was selected to play the role of ambassador of European culture around the world. I have sung in duet, quartet, but my own contribution to the success of this choir are the songs “Bride with no kin” and “Yana’s mountain burning”. Throughout these years I have been a happy woman. When I lost Boyan, my life was shattered, but I have a son and grandchildren whom I adore. And the Mystery of Bulgarian Voices choir has been my home from home these past 45 years. For all that, I am grateful.”

English version: Milena Daynova