A concert by famous Flamenco singer Arcángel, his band and Bulgarian choir with conductor Georgi Petkov takes place on March31 in Hall 1 of the National Palace of Culture in Sofia. Arcángel and Georgi Petkov arrive to Sofia after a successful concert in Istanbul. The musicians present "Estruna" - a project created four years ago. The idea came from "Jazz Plus" – a music production brand, behind which stand Margarita Borissova and Yavor Ganchev. The result is dozens of concerts and the album “Al este del cante” that won Latin Grammy Award in 2018. After “Le Mystère des voix bulgares. Volume Two” by the famous women's choir "The Mystery of Bulgarian Voices", which received Grammy back in 1990, the Latin Grammy has been the biggest prize an album with the participation of Bulgarian musicians recently received. The recordings of “Al este del cante” were made in August 2017 in Spain, during three concerts but mostly at the ancient Roman Theater in Merida.

“The idea was born spontaneously. Spanish singer Arcángel and his trio were guests to Bulgaria in 2012 at the invitation of Jazz Plus,” Margarita Borissova recalls. “After the concert we had long talks and were exchanging ideas. We said how much we like Spanish Flamenco and Arcángel said he was looking to achieve the perfect harmony of Bulgarian voices. We promised each other to do something together and contacted Georgi Petkov, who had already had many international projects behind his back and experience in combining Bulgarian folklore with other traditions in music. His task in Estruna was much more difficult as the idea was to create a new, homogeneous music image. As Arcángel says, we had to renew the tradition sharply and with love because we know it and we love it. We also needed the musicians who contributed greatly to shaping the image of Estruna – Antonio Forcione (guitarist and composer), Daniel Lopez Vicente, known as Dani de Morón, who had to transcribe Bulgarian folklore into the language of Flamenco. Special color was added by Rycardo Moreno (guitar), Agustín Diassera (percussionist), and José Manuel Posada "El Popo"(bass).

In addition to being a talented singer, Francisco José Arcángel Ramos is also a man of knowledge, having deep interest in culture.

“We have been learning Flamenco from many teachers, as listening to all kinds of different sources is the key," he says. “For the first time I heard Bulgarian folklore in 1999 in Cantar del Alma on poems by Lorca, performed by the great Enrique Morente - my mentor. Bulgarian folklore was part of the performance and Georgi Petkov was responsible. But when I heard his singers performing live, I was really impressed by the voices, the way the singers use them, the abilities they have and the complex multi-layered harmonies. It all made a great impression to me. A singer immediately discovers how much more he or she needs to learn after listening to these girls. But I am very pleased. I have visited Sofia many times; I have friends here and this is a city I love coming back to.”

“At first glance, there is nothing to allow for the two traditions to be combined, but looking at the philosophy of the two cultures, there are many things in common,” Georgi Petkov says. “Both traditions are highly emotional and songs can tell the saddest or the funniest stories. The fiery temperament is something in common but achieving an artistic image is a question of a very detailed analysis. I had to immerse myself in Flamenco; to analyze the harmony of this music. Flamenco musicians harmonize by ear, but for the folk choir it is necessary to make a part for each voice. Once Arcángel liked one of my songs and wanted to include it in a Bulería. It seemed to me that I could not find any points of contact, but it turned out as very interesting acapella. The version included in the album was recorded with a single microphone in front of 3,000 people. Arcángel even sings some of the songs in Bulgarian. He is very good in improvisations and is constantly searching for new things, so we keep the project evolving.“

English: Alexander Markov