Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2024 All Rights Reserved

Remembering great singer Nadka Karadzhova

БНР Новини
Photo: library




The nightingale is a sort of a symbol of Nadka Karadzhova’s global singing fame, expressed through her marvelous soprano timbre. Her emblematic songs Dragana and the Nightingale, A Nightingale Sings and also the Nightingale Quartet only come to prove that. The name and voice of Nadka Karadjova distinguish her among the legendary Bulgarian singers.

Nadka Karadzhova was born in the village of Tri Vodici, Pazardjik region. She came from an old family of musicians, where everybody sang and folk music was the typical background of everyday life and the village fests. In 1952 when she was barely 15, she was noticed by famous composer Filip Kutev at an amateur festival in the city of Plovdiv. In 1953 Nadka was already part of the prestigious formation of the same name, established by Kutev and she would spend 40 years of her life with it. The three-month-long broadcast of the Zableialo Mi Agance /Lamb Bleats/ song by a BBC London radio show in 1979 was a glorious moment of the singer’s career. Due to the huge interest a plate was released afterwards with two pieces, one of them the well-known record under the name Bleating Balkan Lambs. A Japanese tour with the Nightingale Quartet was a musical sensation as well. A series of albums, named Balgarskoto Mnogoglasie /Bulgarian Polyphony/ with renditions of the Filip Kutev Ensemble had been released there, alongside the recordings of Nadka Karadjova, the Nightingale Quartet, the Biserov Sisters. Her Pilence Pee /A Bird is Singing/ song has been included in the Japanese textbooks – children study it during music classes. The unique voice and singing talent with an ensemble of Nadka Karadzhova has enormous contribution to the successes of the Cosmic Voices and the Great Bulgarian Voices – the choirs where she used to be a soloist. The archive of the BNR has some 300 solo recordings of her Pazardjik repertoire. Her vocal technique with the slow harvest-time songs and the typical for this style ‘voice knocking’ is remarkable. Nadka Karadjova was awarded with the top state prizes – Cyril and Methodius, the Balkan Mountain, the Golden Plume and Nestinarka /Fire Dancer/ among others. In March we mark the 80th birth anniversary of the great singer. On the eve of one of the concerts at the BNR her daughter Svetla Karadjova said:

“I see her 80th anniversary as a fest of the Bulgarian spirit and folklore. We need to talk on her and her generation – those singers who performed Bulgarian folklore for the first time across all prestigious stages abroad. This is an extraordinary mission. They had the great talent, but also the chance to do it. My mother used to say that the Bulgarian folklore was like a temple. One should approach it with lots of respect for the wisdom of our people. This approach should be careful. She would also say: ‘You should be good, as bad people turn into ugly ones’. The face of a good person tells it all. Her smile, open towards the people was to show me that kindness was the strongest weapon. She also created a mini-society with strong will and lots of love – the Nightingale Quartet. Filip Kutev used to say once that not everyone was good for a chamber performance. You need the right ear, lots of discipline and to be a quick learner. However, she was the person, gifted with those qualities. It is a great pleasure and pride for me to continue the mission of the quartet. We restore old songs of hers, arranged by Filip Kutev. We will continue with songs of Krasimir Kyurkchyiski, Stefan Dragostinov, Kosta Kolev… Many of the concerts this year are dedicated to her. At the moment we are working with pop singers on future performances. We invest lots of efforts in the Square Music project – summer concerts, devoted to her 80th anniversary.”

English version: Zhivko Stanchev 




Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Esther Willems and the rhythm of Bulgarian folk dances in The Hague

Esther Willems from the Netherlands continues to attract people from different cities and nationalities to her club for Bulgarian folk dances, established in The Hague and named "Zora". It was founded in 2017 and then 13 people..

published on 8/18/24 10:28 AM

The feast of Panagia starts in Kyustendil

In the middle of August in Kyustendil, Southwestern Bulgaria, the "Panagia - Raising of the Bread" holiday takes place. The holiday is directly related to the church holiday "Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary", marked on August..

published on 8/14/24 2:42 PM

Embroidery festival presents the traditions of this craft in the village of Vardim

A three-day embroidery festival takes place in the square of the village of Vardim near Svishtov, the organizers reported. At its core, the festival promotes a particularly colorful part of our lifestyle and traditions -..

published on 7/27/24 8:45 AM