The Bistritsa Four, first steps in orchestral folk music

published on 7/28/16 2:03 PM

Photo: library

Bistrishka Chetvorka (The Bistritsa Four) is the first ever folk music band in Bulgaria. It was founded in 1936. Deyan Matein, Yordan Belkin, Angel Krivinski and Stoyan Rangelov had long experience playing Bulgarian folk music to both Bulgarian and foreign audiences. They were the first professional instrumentalists to have had recordings at the Bulgarian National Radio and were part of the Radio’s programs since its dawn. In his book The Bistritsa Four Todor Kovachki revisits the beginning of the band:

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„As the last bursts of World War I subsided, life made its way into a peaceful and pro-creative period. There was neither radio nor television. In this context folklore, community events and church feasts provided spiritual content in the life of Bulgarians. This is how the remarkable pipers from Bistritsa emerged. They played self-made instruments and held daily rehearsals at the community club in the village of Bistritsa (today a suburb of Sofia). Within a couple of months they built a repertoire and in the coming years the folk band grew increasingly popular.”

Any of the musicians from the small band was in a way a star. Deyan Matein was a tambura (mandolin) player. He made himself his first tambura. He also learned to play the flugelhorn, violin and drums. He was active in founding the Bistritsa Four and was a leader of the band. Angel Krivinski was a little boy when he started playing the bagpipe. His main occupation was farming. He was member of the band throughout its history and he joined all its concerts and tours, at home and abroad. A humble, quiet man, he was a veritable virtuoso on stage. He knew by heart the entire repertoire of the band (about 300 tunes) and helped the rest with it. Stoyan Rangelov dreamed of becoming an instrumentalist but came from a very poor background and could not buy an instrument. Finally his relatives supported him by buying a clarinet for him. In the beginning he entered the band as clarinetist but later started playing kaval (the traditional Bulgarian shepherd’s flute). Over time Stoyan trained a few young folk musicians. The fourth member of the band was Yordan Belkin, a gadulka (rebec) player. Until the end of his life he worked as а dressmaker. Very artistic and charming he knew all the secrets of the gadulka but was also a gifted singer and dancer. His death in 1963 actually spelled the end of the Bistritsa Four.

All musicians from the Bistritsa Four made an exceptional contribution into the development of Bulgarian folklore. Deyan Matein together with Filip Kutev and Ivan Kavaldzhiev was among the founders of the Folk Song & Dance State Ensemble. The four also worked jointly with the leading Svetoslav Obretenov mixed choir and with the company of the Ivan Vazov National Theater in Sofia. Jointly with Bulgaria’s pioneer choreographer Boris Tsonev, leader of the first dance ensemble Bulgarska Kitka (Bulgarian Posy), the Bistritsa Four gave many concerts in Bulgaria and worldwide. It also took part in the ballet Under Our Skies on music by Hristo Manolov. The four musicians’ legacy includes a folklore group at the St. Tsar Boris I 1909 community club in the village of Bistritsa.

English Daniela Konstantinova

Music: The Bistritsa Four

· Bistritsa Chain Dance

· Dali garmi il zemya se trese (Is it thunder or the earth quakes?)

· Ya stani Milke (Come on, get up, Milka)

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