Vassil Arnaudov

Review: The CD includes several, now cherished as a valuable archive, recordings of the great Bulgarian choral conductor Prof. Vassil ARNAUDOV, director of long standing of the Sofia Chamber Women's Choir. These are the enchanting "Winter Reflections" by Todor Popov, a composer closely associated with Arnaudov, just like the other authors in the CD - Lyubomir Pipkov, Konstantin Iliev, Alexander Tekeliev, Alexander Tanev and Ivan Spassov. With the exception of the latter's "Triptych", all the songs were created for and first performed by the choir, on the initiative of Vassil Arnaudov who was an invaluable promoter and friend of Bulgarian vocal music. After his death the choir not only took his name bur also carried on his ideas and trends championed by his pupil Theodora Pavlovitch (who is presently the choir's conductor) and choir-master, pianist and vocal pedagogue Irina Shtiglich. The superb sound and emotional expressiveness make this CD of tenderly nostalgic and intimately lyrical songs a precious collection for music lovers.

Songlist: A drop fell from the sky, You, who are looking for a for, My mouth will not sing and argue forver, To Grandma, I know a dearly cherished place, Bright morning, Triptych, Quiet evening, White, white snow, Dawn came in the sleep gardens, Reverie (lyrics by Elissaveta Bagryana), Meet it is (Dostoino est), We sing Thee (Tebe poem), Our Father (Otche nash), Let the maiden be mine), Autumn was coming (lyrics by Ivan Davidkov), Winter (lyrics by Vatyo Rakovski), Winter Reflections, It's snowing, it's snowing, Snow is falling like a memory, The snow is so cold, Like snow, like snow, indeed