Grupata na Tsvyatko Blagoev

Iliya Dimitrov, Neno Ivanov, Lyubomir Vladimirov, Petandûr Tsambov

Loveshko horo
Paydushko horo
Gornooryahovsko horo
Razmetanishka rûchenitsa
Bobovdolska kopanitsa
Mûzhko shopsko horo
Radomirsko horo
Severnyashko daychovo horo

Kostinsko horo
Ihtimansko horo
Velikotûrnovska rûchenitsa
Bobovdolsko horo
Pernishka kopanitsa
Gabrovsko horo
Kotlensko horo

A veteran of the folk music art of performance, Tsvyatko Blagoev has closely been associated with the first broadcasts of the Bulgarian Radio. Born in the village of Ugûrchin, Lovech region on August 27, 1915, he was quick to demonstrate his talent and his aptitude for stage appearances. His village has long preserved folk traditions. There folk art was naturally handed down from generation to generation. Still very young, Tsvyatko Blagoev started playing the pipe, then the kaval, the clarinet, the cornet. He graduated from the Pedagogical Faculty of Sofia University. He was a member of the first folk groups, Bistrishka Chetvorka (The Four from Bistritsa) and Korenyashka Groupa (A Group of Natives). It was him who set up the so-called Ugûrchinska Grupa for folk instruments, the members of which played modern instruments as well under the name of Grupata na Tsvyatko Blagoev. They started their appearances for the Bulgarian Radio in 1938, live in the beginning, later doing dozens of recordings. Then followed hundreds of concerts all over the country, in villages, towns, factories, national service units. There is hardly any well-known folk singer whom they did not accompany. In 1948 the Ugûrchin Group became the first folk music ensemble on the staff of Sofia Radio, and later they were the core of the Ensemble for Folk Songs under Boris Petrov, another native of Ugûrchin, with Tsvyatko Blagoev as their first violinist.

As a kaval player, Tsvyatko Blagoev established a specific Northern style, taken up by a number of younger performers. As a soloist of the Ensemble, director of groups, and accompanying many amateur dance ensembles, he toured over twenty countries. His art was warmly welcomed. Tsvyatko Blagoev was very popular as one of the most ardent propagators of folk music in this country. His activities of almost half a century won him universal recognition.

To the great number of admirers Tsvyatko Blagoev's art has, will be added a valuable asset, the present release, to their collection of records. – Mihail Bukureshtliev, MA

Recorded at Studio 2 of the Bulgarian National Radio in April 1988