Bulgarian folklore legend Yanka Rupkina passed away

At the age of 87, one of the most recognizable performers of Bulgarian folk songs - Yanka Rupkina, passed away. She is beloved by the public in this country and by lovers of Bulgarian folklore around the world. The folk singer was born in 1938 in the village of Bogdanovo, Burgas region. She graduated from a nursing college in Burgas. But her fate soon took a different path, along which her love for Bulgarian folk songs led her.

"I started singing when I was little," the singer shared in an interview with music editor Valya Bozhilova from Radio Bulgaria in 2013. "I performed on various stages of singing competitions in our region, until I participated at the festival in the village of Gramatikovo in 1960. I received First Prize. The jury included folklorists Boris Petrov from the Bulgarian National Radio and Mihail Bukureshtliev. They invited me to an audition in Sofia. Among 400 singers from all over Bulgaria, they chose me as a soloist of the Bulgarian National Radio Folk Song Ensemble." The singer performed as a soloist in the ensemble for three decades. Over the years, she made many recordings for the Bulgarian National Radio collection and released records.

In the late 1970s, she created Trio Bulgarka together with singers Eva Georgieva and Stoyanka Boneva. With this trio, Yanka Rupkina gained worldwide popularity and presented Bulgarian folk singing all over the world. Independently and with the trio, she had joint projects with world-famous musicians such as Kate Bush, Chris de Burgh, Linda Ronstadt, "Transglobal Underground"... During her long creative journey, Yanka Rupkina has received many awards. She is often called the "nightingale of Strandzha" because of the love with which she searches for and records hundreds of songs from the region. And this is no coincidence. She mastered the subtleties of Strandzha singing in her childhood from her grandmother. Her song "Kalimanku, Denku" arranged by Krasimir Kyurkchiyski captivated Swiss producer Marcel Cellier, who ranked it among his favorite titles in the "Mystery of Bulgarian Voices" album series, music editor Dilyana Tracheva reminds us.

"Kalimanku Denku" – the masterpiece of Yanka Rupkina and Krasimir Kyurkchiyski

A tribute to the memory of the great performer! She will remain in our hearts forever through her songs!

Editor: Miglena Ivanova