The Leaders of the Bulgarian National Revival Day is a national holiday, celebrated in Bulgaria on November 1. On this day we pay tribute to all who have contributed to the cultural rebirth and the national consciousness of the Bulgarian people. Traditionally, a number of cultural events mark the day. Among them we choose to present to you the debut concert of Yanitsa Branzelova who is the head of the Mixed Choir at "Constantine Kisimov" Theatre in her hometown of Veliko Tarnovo. The concert was dedicated to the holiday and took place several days before the official date. The audience heard Bulgarian works such as "Ruchenitsa" and "Vo tsarstvie tvoem" by Dobri Hristov "Troparion of Sts. Cyril and Methodius" by Georgi Robev and many others. The choir has not recorded its performance, so we offer you recorded performances by other Bulgarian choirs.

From an early age Yanitsa Branzelova was part of the folk choir of the ‘Bulgarche’ Children's and Youth Folklore Ensemble in Tarnovo. After that she studied folk singing at the National School of Folk Arts "Philip Koutev" in Kotel. Months ago, she received her master's degree in choral conducting from the “Pancho Vladigerov” Academy.

"This concert accompanies the program of the Konstantin Kisimov Music and Drama Theatre and is part of the cultural program of Veliko Tarnovo. The Leaders of the Bulgarian National Revival Day is a wonderful opportunity to debut. Songs selected were written by the first Bulgarian composers, but there are also contemporary works. My dream is to promote choral activities. I am happy that immediately after graduation I received a chance to work in my home city. So I returned here and I have the enthusiasm and desire to work. Prof. Miroslav Popsavov is my first inspiration and teacher at the Academy. He lit the spark of choral music in me. This is a mixed choir and it is developing well. I manage to motivate singers thanks to my own conviction. Gradually they started trusting me and now we have a common goal. I try to inspire emotions that would turn into sound. This is how I can best describe my experience on stage. Singers and I are totally devoted to what we do.”

Pianists Maria Dobreva and Iveta Tarapanova also took part in the concert dedicated to the Leaders of the Bulgarian National Revival Day. According to Yanitsa, the climax of the program is the work "Bells above Tarnovgrad" by Jules Levy. The author feels the spirit of the old Bulgarian capital very well, the conductor says. She wants similar concerts to take place more often as they give listeners and performers the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful Bulgarian music and provoke interest towards the roots of choral art in this country.

English: Alexander Markov