Dimitar Nenov’s Christmas: The first major Bulgarian work dedicated to Christmas

“I am a pianist, a composer, a conductor, a critic and an architect.” That is how foremost Bulgarian musician Dimitar Nenov (1901-1953) describes himself in a letter. And in each one of the aforementioned spheres he has left his unique mark: an agent of modernity in Bulgarian music, one of the founders of the Contemporary Music Society of Bulgarian Composers, an outstanding instrumentalist with an enormous contribution to the Bulgarian piano school, a professor at the State Academy of Music, the first music editor at Radio Sofia and an architect who designed buildings in different cities across the country.

A notable figure in the intellectual elite of Bulgaria in the early 20^th century, Dimitar Nenov was a key figure in his day in Bulgarian culture as a whole. Having studied, simultaneously, architecture at the Dresden University of Technology, and piano and composition at the Dresden Conservatory, in 1927 he returned to Bulgaria and spent several years working as an architect at the Ministry of Public Buildings, Roads and Public Works and the Directorate-General for Railways. He oversaw the work on the restoration of Borisovgrad (now Parvomay) after the devastating earthquake of Chirpan in 1928. He designed several railway stations, with the one at Zverino considered to be an elegant example of Bulgarian architectural modernism. He also developed an ambitious project for a new building for the Music Academy in Sofia, though it was never brought to fruition.

The premiere of the symphony poem “Christmas” for soloists, mixed choir and orchestra took place in 1940. After substantial reworking, it was performed again on 7 January, 1944, and then forgotten for over four decades. Dimitar Nenov himself was forgotten and faded into obscurity. He died at the age of 51.

“Christmas” was only revived for the stage in Sofia in 1982. In 1994, it was performed and recorded by the musicians at the Bulgarian National Radio with conductor Milen Nachev. Almost a quarter of a century later, on 1 December, 2017, the BNR’s Mixed Choir and Symphony Orchestra once again performed “Christmas” in “Bulgaria” hall under the baton of Mark Kadin.

In an interview he gave for the BNR’s Horizont channel at the time, the conductor said he was highly intrigued by the score: “It was interesting to observe the historical process and to make a comparison with the times when Dimitar Nenov wrote his oratorio “Christmas” – the period 1938-1939… a time when Stravinsky was already a star and had conquered Europe and America, and Prokofiev was a celebrity…”

In this context, Mark Kadin says, what sets Dimitar Nenov apart is that he did not embrace the avant-garde style – he did not follow the modern New Viennese School, but instead remained true to tradition.

The symphony poem is made up of 5 parts. Today we shall offer you the third part – Kolezhdanche boy (a child chosen by the koledari – the carolers -  to be leader, king – editorial note), as performed in 1994 by the Mixed Choir and the Symphony Orchestra of the Bulgarian National Radio, with conductor Milen Nachev and with the participation of the superb soloists Valerie Popova, soprano and Alexander Krunev, baritone.

Translated by Milena Daynova
Photos: sofiaartinstitute.com, dimitarnenov.com, Facebook/bgmodernist, Ani Petrova - BNR