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GD 228 GROZDANA TRAKIA FOLK ENSEMBLE - Plovdiv Director and choreographer: Daniela Djeneva Conductor of the choir: Dimiter Hristov Conductor of the orchestra: Tsvetan Tsvetkov Soloists: Maria Tsvetkova, Stanka Argirova-Kurshumova, Peter Zahariev (tamboura), Mitko Popov (tarambuka and tupan), Ulyana Raikova, Rumyana Angelova, Peter Kostadinov (bagpipe), Zlatka Stefanova, Boika Sekeranova, Temenuga Mincheva During the 1950s, musical life in Bulgaria witnessed a phenomenon which opened up a new stage in the development of Bulgarian folk music: the establishment of the first State Ensemble for Folk Songs and Dances "Philip Koutev". The phenomenon was quick to win numerous admirers and followers. Similar ensembles uniting the talent of numerous singers and instrumentalists, composers, conductors and choreographers cropped up throughout Bulgaria. And when the art of these ensembles had reached its both national and international triumph, the Trakia Folk Ensemble - Plovdiv emerged, to show that there exist other ways and means of presenting the Bulgarian folklore. Its founders, Prof. Kiril Djenev (one of the leading choreographers in Bulgaria) and Stefan Mutafchiev (a talented composer of non-traditional musical ideas), laid their hopes on the young (the average age of the company is 22 years), the professional training of each of the performers and, first and foremost, on syncretism, the main characteristic of traditional art. Their first stage appearance literally set the audience on fire! Everyone from the ensemble sang, played a musical instrument and danced on the stage. The audience witnessed a true folk show. And it has been so for 25 years now! Although the directors and conductors of the ensemble have changed, the ensemble's young and innovative spirit has been preserved. The programme of this jubilee album released by Gega New is diverse and selected with much taste. It varies from the deep tribute in respect to Stefan Moutafchiev, one of Trakia Ensemble's founders, through the works of the already established composers Kosta Kolev and Krassimir Kyurkchiiski, to the music of the younger Todor Prashtakov, Tsvetan Tsvetkov, among others. The ensemble's directors together with soloists, choir and orchestra represent with mastery and inspiration the different folk regions of the country (Thrace and Strandja, the Rhodope Mountains, the Shoppe region, the Pirin region and North Bulgaria).
1. Grozdana (from "Thracian Dance") 2. Fruknali sa dva galaba 3. Ruzha ruzha sadi 4. Ya stani, Minke 5. Muri, ne li si sa naspala 6. Gonenitsa 7. Hei muri, kalum Kalino 8. Sevdim Kalyo 9. From "Festive Thracian Dance" 10. Lazarskata 11. Pirin Impression 12. Two Songs from the Pirin Mountains 13. Thracian Tunes for Bagpipe 14. Sino Stuyane 15. Sestro Dobrano, Dobranke 16. Damyan tanets vodi 17. Youth Suite 18. Sokol mi litnal, Yano 19. Kalino, dyulber Malino