“Mesechinko lyo” - a benchmark folk miniature by the great Krasimir Kyurkchiyski

“Folk music, in general, I have always perceived simply as an inseparable part of my creative work, without asking why or how I use it… In my opinion, folklore carries great power. It contains many things, it enriches the creator, and it should, of course, be used very carefully and sparingly, not in a poster-like or quotation-like way. Artists who engage with folklore have always been interesting in their thinking. This is also shown by our classics: Pancho Vladigerov, Lyubomir Pipkov, Veselin Stoyanov, Filip Kutev, who were always deeply connected with our folklore. I believe this applies not only to me, but also to our future generation of young composers… After all, a person always speaks best in their mother tongue. For me, this is my path. I have chosen it…” - says the young composer Krasimir Kyurkchiyski in August 1976, in an interview for the Bulgarian National Radio during the Third National Festival of Bulgarian Folk Art in Koprivshtitsa.

During his lifetime, the great Bulgarian composer Krasimir Kyurkchiyski (22 June 1936 - 15 December 2011) was regarded as one of Bulgaria’s most successful and most internationally performed composers. The enchanting aroma of Bulgarian folk song flows through every bar of his music. He was born in the small mountain town of Troyan. His family’s means were limited, but his extraordinary musical talent was met with understanding and support from his parents. Later, he recalled their reaction when he insisted on having a piano:

“We had a heated discussion with my father, but I prevailed and eventually got what I wanted - a piano! It was already quite late - I was 16 years old - but it seems that this desire had been smoldering in me, to work with the piano. It seems that this great love inside me suddenly burst like a fire, because in just a few years - from 16 to 21 - I achieved things that should normally take much longer. I graduated from a general secondary school. I did not have the opportunity to receive specialized musical education. So everything had to be made up through my own efforts… At the Conservatory I had the great fortune to study under Professor Pancho Vladigerov. This is perhaps the most successful thing in my life - my encounter with this great genius of ours. That was the time when I truly learned to love our national, native music… Even as a student I had already decided that in my path as a composer I would keep one hand on the Bulgarian folk song. Where would it lead me? I suppose it has not yet taken me to the greatest heights a composer should reach, but I am at least walking with it, and I am proud that I can bring some examples of this song into my work…” - Kyurkchiyski shared in 1984.

From his early years at the Conservatory, he was accompanied by consistent success. His String Quartet, written in 1959, brought him extraordinary recognition for the time - the Grand Prize of the composition competition “Paris Musical Weeks” in 1966. Kyurkchiyski was only 30.

Throughout his life, he was widely appreciated, without having to compromise his artistic vision. He remained grateful to Filip Kutev, who first recognized “threads of folkloric feeling” in his early trio and commissioned him to arrange folk songs for the State Folk Ensemble, later appointing him as conductor.

“Perhaps it was precisely this ten-year period, when I was in the State Ensemble, completely immersed in the atmosphere of folk sounds, pure folklore, authentic songs you cannot hear anywhere else… I must say that this contact with the singers and instrumentalists - gaida players and kaval players - left an indelible mark. That is probably why I love folklore and continue to seek it… It is not shameful to admit that one works with folklore, as long as one knows how to do it… When а folk song is reworked, its melody must not be changed. It has been polished for centuries! Someone comes and starts cutting and trimming it - it cannot be done, it must not be done…”

A brilliant compositional talent, combined with deep reverence for the folk spirit, turned Krasimir Kyurkchiyski into a renowned musician with a fortunate creative destiny. His new approach to arranging authentic folklore is uncompromising in purity and beauty of line, and captivating in harmonic and contrapuntal imagination. With his distinctive choral miniatures, Bulgarian ensembles continue to captivate concert halls around the world.

On the 90th anniversary of the composer's birth, we honour him with the voice of the unforgettable Nadia Hvoineva and one of her Rhodope folklore gems, arranged by Krasimir Kyurkchiyski - “Mesechinko lyo”.

Read also:

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

“Lale li si, zyumbyul li si?” and Verka Siderova, the golden voice of Dobrudzha

Photos: libtg.info, archives.bnr.bg, archive

Edited by E. Karkalanova
English: R. Petkova