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Undoubtedly the dominating function of the choir in Pipkov’s operas hides its reasons backward inthe past times, when during decades the operatic art penetrates in Bulgaria mainly by the practice of the town-choirs. With the assistance of the opera choir Lyubomir Pipkov presents different social communities and groupes; suggests archaic or heroic atmosphere; expresses a variety of moods; forms legendary or mystic images... Pipkov treats the choir as a commentator or a mastermind as well as a symbol of composer’s very favorite society -Nation. Lyubomir Pipkov confides a significant role in his three operas in the choir. His very special attitude to the opera choir is determined by his strong a cape/la choral pieces on one hand, and by his long and serious practice as a choral conductor and chorus-master -on the other. Something more, Pipkov’s chorus-master work on his first opera has been noted as a distinguished achievement in the development of the chorus stuff at the Sofia National Opera. At the same time Lyubomir Pipkov’s indisputable and remarkable contribution to the growth of the component chorus in Bulgarian operatic art is not an end-in-itself - it is achieved on the base of the latent plot in the librettos.
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Reviews / Significant Work for History/Metodology
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Presenting my views as a producer on the verbal text of the opera, defended in my staging at the Rouse City Opera in 1984, I am participating in the incessant discussions about the libretto of “Yana’s Nine Brothers”, which started as early as the 30s of last century. The opera is built upon three text bases: a wide range of folk songs from different historical times; the story by Nickola Vesselinov, published in the journal “Zlatorog” in 1927; the libretto itself, upon which Lyubomir Pipkov and Nickola Vesselinov have worked. The time schemes of the verbal content of the opera are three as well: “no time” folklore-mythological; concrete-historical coming from the story; allegoric historical with allusions for the time of writing the opera. And this parallel action of the bases and the temporal schemes ultimately results in their complete absorption in the impact of a depressing “no time” period. The stage realization assumes the significance of apocalypses, in which the termination of Yana’s family is the termination of the Bulgarian people- symbolism clearly expressed at the end of Vesselinov’s story: “... the house burned down, the wind blew away the ashes. No trace of it remained.” The genre interpretation of the opera in the Rouse staging is in the direction of “dramatic ballad” expressing the dominating powerful feeling of a curse predetermining the fate of the Bulgarians in their private and social lives. Like some oracles Pipkov and Vesselinov mythologized in the libretto the story of Yana’s nine brothers, turning it into an allegory about the historical lot of the Bulgarian.
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The idea to establish an institute for acquiring music knowledge in Sofia appeared at the beginning of the XX century as a result of the social necessity for such knowledge. At that time music was lagging behind as compared to the other arts and literature, whereas the penetration into Bulgaria along various channels of European music presupposed the presence of prepared performers and audience. The private music school was established thanks to the initiative and activity of the educated musicians, backed up and stimulated by the then Minister of Education Dr. Ivan Shishmanov. They organized a committee to work out the statute of the music school, whose chairman is Nickolai Iv.Nickolaev and members: Karel Yozef Yermarj, Katia Stoianova, Dimitar Hadjigeorgiev and Henrih Vizner. The committee members worked hard to prepare this statute, but the initial variant turned out to be too complicated and inapplicable to Bulgarian conditions. After being revised and finally adopted, the school was opened on 15.01.1905. The school was private, but received subsidies from the state. It had departments for piano, solo singing, violin, flute, elementary theory of music and harmony. It started work with 23 pupils, whose number increased to 60 the next year. A new stage in the school life started in 1907, when the great Bulgarian composer and music theoretician Dobri Hristov moved to Sofia. His various activities and solid knowledge increased the level of the musical preparation in the school. The pupils’ successes were the reason for the school to become State Music School in 1912. During the period of the wars (1912-1918) the possibilities for music events lessened. In 1921 the State Music Academy was established. For decades it was the only higher music education institute in Bulgaria, where the most eminent Bulgarian performers and composers taught. The State Music Academy satisfied the needs for music specialists in Bulgaria.
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Reviews / Sin-ology o f the Chalga as Culture-and-Antropological Diagnostics
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The exceptionally stable vocal and actor’s training of Peter Raichev, in conjunction with his natural talent and universal professional erudition, enable the singer to “expand” his range of parts - roles by adding to the dramatic parts of Turridu and Canio, also Manrico from “II Trovatore” almost simultaneously with Calaf from “Turandot”, without any of these roles causing a retreat from the recognition of the spinto, lyric and leggier parts performed by him. Already in the French repertoire he demonstrates this with Don Jose and Werther, and in the Russian with Hermann and Lensky, but it is the Italian roles, of which it is known that they have been created with the most consistently acquired and followed tradition of the vocalist’s employ, that continue to astonish us with their equal value even today. At the same time there is no place for condescense or suspicion for “paid” critics: recordings exist, even though only of arias, that are sufficient to make us feel the skill of the singer with which he creates his characters without regard to their au thor’s emploi. Judging by starring parts of Peter Raichev on the great European stages, and also by the nu mber of his appearances on the stage of the Bulgarian National Opera, it seems that in the center of his career - after all most close to his temper! -are the lyrico-spinto, and immediately following them, the lyrico-leggiery parts of his repertoire. These are the Italian - Duca from “Rigoletto”, Rodolfo in “La Boheme”, Cavaradossi in “Tosca”, Alfredo i n “La Traviata”, Gabrielle Adorno in “Simon Boccanegra”, Loris in “Fedora” (according to his son, Ruslan Raichcv, this is his favorite role, which he has played only outside Bulgaria), Ricardo in “Un ballo in maschera”, and also Conte Al maviva in “Il barbiere di Siviglia”, Ernesto in “Don Pasquale”, Tonio in “La fille de regiment”. An impressive range of parts which had given him the opportunity to unfold his talents and knowledge. About some of them Bulgaria learns from transcriptions of foreign review publications, and about others from extensive comments in the Bulgarian press. Others remain scattered in documents in various archives and as reminiscences - his own and of contemporaries. With his active presence on the stage in Sofia, this for decades, and with the optimal control of his strengths and abilities, Peter Raichev noticeably influences the notions of the Bulgarians about the roles in which he presents himself. Performed before him and in parallel with his appearances by singers such as Stefan Makedonsky, Panaiot Dimitrov -Otito, Constantine Karenine, Lyuben Minchev, and for a short time - Todor Mazarov, Georgi Belev and others, these parts acquire a special vitality and richness. They are remembered for the feeling of genuineness and real life they suggest. In his Italian repertoire Peter Raichev in a particular way, raises a barrier in front of the pseudoitalian style, in front of the incompetent choice of means and methods...
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Choral traditions in Bulgaria are ancient but they are still very much alive. The appearance of each of provincial musical theatres has depended largely on the existence of town choirs who, as a rule, included choral fragments from many operas in their repertoire. Even though the Plovdiv music stage art has a long tradition, the stable Plovdiv Operatic Theatre didn’t come into existence until 1953. The chorusmasters who perform choral fragments from operas with their students in schools are Angel Bukoreshtliev, Boris Kochev, Roman Spatarev and Marko Georgievich. The first Bulgarian Children’s Musical Medley was formed in Plovdiv. From 1905 to 1911 its founder, Dimo Boychev, presents operettas for children. In this way he stimulates the development of operetta composition in Bulgaria. Established back in 1896, the Plovdiv Choral Society, provided the funds and contri bution in-kind for several serious attempts to initiate opera theatre in the town. Such initiatives included: The Art Opera (1919), Native Song (1921), The Plovdiv City Op era (1922-1923), The Plovdiv Municipal Opera (1933), The Plovdiv District Opera (1940-1941) and The Sou/it-Bulgarian Opera (till 1944). The brightest figure in the. state-owned theatre was the chorus master Mr. Angel Christov. He transformed the opera chorus into the most important component of opera performances and, indeed, it was the policy of the theatre under him that the chorus contribution to the theatre repertoire was for more than that of soloists. This in turn was Angel Christov’s unique contribution to the Bulgarian choral and musical stage tradition and culture. The research under consideration highlights the fact that the Plovdiv theatre has staged “Antigona 43”, an opera by Lubomir Pipkov indicative of Bulgarian opera composition. The place of the chorus in Pipkov’s “Antigona 43” is compared to the one in Sophocles’ eponymous tragedy. The musical composition and the hidden massage of the choral input have also been analyzed. A sound record of soloists, chorus and orchestra of Plovdiv National Opera dating back to 1964 is also an object of this analysis.
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Reviews / Anelia Yaneva: "Interpretation of the Bulgarian Subjects"
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The report is devoted to a topic that was really actual for the virtual research community in April and May 2000. During this period the peculiarities of the format Mp3 or the legality of the software product Napster and the site Mp3.com are problems largely discussed in the mailing list of IASPM as well as in some other mailing lists for music. This interest was provoked by some real events like the blocking of Napster in the Yale University after a demand from the rock group Metallica, but also refer to some relevant changes in the contemporary musical culture. This report is an informal continuation of the mentioned discussion and also an attempt to explain some of these changing patterns of music making and music perception today. However, in a way it defers from the largely used approaches to the field. First, in using one general view to the musical culture which interprets it as a diachronic simultaneity of the chronically different, independent and guided by individual paradigms of the development strata. Second, in interpreting a very specific/non-specific for the Study of Popular Music and IASPM community example from the field of so-called “serious music” (Mp3- availability on the pages of the official site of the Union of Bulgarian Composers).
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