Ansambandûl Silistra

Dobrudzhanski rûchenik
Radinata mama (Rada's mother)
Svatbarska rûchenitsa (Wedding rûchenitsa)
Nyakoy tropa (Somebody's knocking)
Ishirkovskata
Nanke le (Hey, Nanke)
Lyasata
Cherkovnenski opas

Silistrenska syuita
Malka moma tsvete brala (A young girl picked flowers)
Tri sedenkarski pesni (Three working-bee songs)
Naklalai Neda sedyanka (Neda gathered up a working-bee)
Koi kato nashto sedyanka (There's nothing like our working-bee)
Taz vecher ne miy veselo (I'm not happy tonight)
Alekovski talim
Ivan na Rada dumashe (Ivan said to Rada)
Dobrudzha zlatna (Golden Dobrudzha)

It is a responsible task to go deep into the Bulgarian folk tradition, to reveal its beauty, to penetrate into the subtlety of the folk model, and finally, to present all this to the listeners with the utmost mastery and finesse. I could say that the Ensemble for Folk Songs and Dances – Silistra – has convincingly achieved the solution and realization of all these problems. A guarantee for this has been the talented created bond between the artistic management of the Ensemble and the performers which has not once proved its vitality.

The present release is a bright kaleidoscope of melodies, rhythms, and individual styles which artfully reflect the elements of folk expressiveness. Some of the most outstanding composers who have worked for the Ensemble are Nikolay Kaufman, Anastas Naumov, Kosta Kolev, Petûr Krumov ... Together with this it is evident that the Ensemble sticks to the sound tradition connected with the Bulgarian folk style from the North-Western folk regions; this is a tradition based on the creative activities of the Ensemble's talented performers and its directors – the composer and conductor Petûr Krumov and the choreographer Stoil Enchev. The pieces recorded for the Ensemble's present release feature the deep knowledge of the folk musical idiom and of the Dobrudzhan style of performance. The Ensemble has inherited the instrumental manner of the remarkable school of gadulka playing from Popina and the vocal mastership of the region and its specific areas. Under the expert hand of the conductor Petûr Krumov the Ensemble has performed a number of professional works; this is yet another proof of the performers' musicianship. And his compositions show a deep penetration in the stylistic features of the original folk material, an expert, rich, yet laconic handling of the folk model, warm spiritual make-up, fascination and a keen feeling for style. These are features revealing the artistic credo of the composer, his faith and conviction in the rich resources of contemporary folk-based art.

The Ensemble for Folk Songs and Dances – Silistra -– offers us a nosegay of fresh and aromatic flowers – the beauty and charm of a tradition handled with knowledge, skill, and inspiration. This is yet another happy example of the present day existence of the popular creative tradition in the performing practice of the ensembles for folk songs and dances. – Associate Professor Kiril Stefanov

Recorded at the studio of Radio Shumen in February, 1987.