On Christmas with music

published on 12/26/19 8:00 AM

Photo: BGNES

The festive chimes of church bells and Christmas hymns resound all over the Orthodox Christian churches in the days of Christmas. From the air of the national radio stations we can hear numerous songs – old and not so old ones, Bulgarian tunes and melodies in a variety of languages…We got used to hear foreigners in love with Bulgarian folklore sing in Bulgarian. At the same time, we are rarely surprised to listen to the songs of the new generation of pop singers who often express their feelings and thoughts in English. Despite being multilingual, we, the team of Radio Bulgaria, abide strongly by our roots and traditions. That’s why we have selected for you today performances that will paint the musical picture of the Bulgarian Christmas.

We start with the oldest professional music that was ever performed in Bulgarian lands – the Eastern Orthodox chants. At the church liturgy on the day of the Nativity of Christ, several times laymen hear the chant “Oh Your Nativity” (Rozhdestvo Tvoe) – the main liturgical hymn which has been part of the service since the 4^th century. This chant, known also as Troparion of the Nativity of Christ, is performed in churches for several days on end - in glory of the feast of Christ's Nativity and the light that the Son of God generously brings to the world.

You can hear it here in the performance of cantor Nikola Antonov in several languages - Church Slavonic, Bulgarian (translated and adapted by the singer) and Greek. Nikola sings at the festive services at the Nativity of Christ Church in Sofia, together with Fotis Janakakis (Φώτης Γιαννακάκης)– chief cantor of the Diocese of Constantinople, who arrived in Bulgaria especially for the feast of Christ’s Nativity. He is well-known as a master of the ancient eastern tradition of the Byzantine chant which is being preserved today in Greece and only in Bulgaria in Church-Slavonic. And another important reminder - only days ago UNESCO recognized Byzantine chant as part of the world's intangible cultural heritage.

Your Nativity, O Christ our God,

Has shone to the world the Light of wisdom!

For by it, those who worshipped the stars,

Were taught by a Star to adore You,

The Sun of Righteousness,

And to know You, the Orient from on High.

O Lord, glory to You!

An integral part of the festive music on Christmas in Bulgaria are also the songs performed by the four singers from Svetoglas quartet, who perform both sacred music and traditional songs with the same dedication. Ten years ago the duet of Daniel Spassov and Milen Ivanov laid the beginning of the vocal quartet.

A month ago, Svetoglas quartet released a new album entitled The Song of the Nightingale, which quickly earned the admiration of the audience. Along with a host of 20 titles, it features a potpourri of traditional Bulgarian carols that the carol singers perform on the magical night of the Nativity.

“On a night like this…” – the song performed by the famous Bulgarian pop singer Toni Dimitrova is also one of the iconic tunes that you can hear on all radio stations here, bringing the message of a family reunion, the warmth of the cozy home and the belief in goodness..

A song about the bells ringing on the day of Christ’s Nativity that symbolically takes us out of the silence (a symbol of pessimism, spiritual idleness and all sorts of modern-day hindrances to man’s spiritual elevation).

And talking about the young generation and lyrics in English…only days ago Victoria Georgieva, a talented young singer who is the Bulgarian participant in Eurovisition 2020, has presented her Christmas cover entitled Come Out and Play – a piece dedicated to the cause of adoption of homeless animals. The video to the song features people of different ages who gave a home to stray dogs.

It turns out Victoria herself takes care of five dogs and several other pets and is really passionate about helping homeless animals.

Your Nativity, Oh Christ, Our Lord…

The Orthodox chant that we started with is skillfully interwoven in the song of pop singer Georgi Hristov (who wrote both the lyrics and music of the piece). The video was shot in the so-called Ivanovo Rock-hewn Churches – a monastery founded in the 13^th century which was inhabitant by hermit monks in the 14^th century and now under the aegis of UNESCO.