Дискусията за методите за нотно ограмотяване в България и нейното значение за хоровата практика (20-те – 60-те години на ХХ век)
The Debate over Methods of Musical Literacy in Bulgaria and Its Significance for Choral Practice (1920s–1960s)

Summary/Abstract: The debate over methods of musical literacy in Bulgaria from the 1920s to the 1960s gradually extended beyond the sphere of pedagogical controversy and acquired direct significance for choral practice. The sources analysed in the article, including publications in the periodical press, teaching aids, and methodological studies, testify to an effort to develop musical hearing and cultivate skills for informed sight-singing. Particular attention is devoted to Boris Trichkov’s method “Stalbitsata” (“The Scale”), which occupied a central place in these processes and played a major role in Bulgarian music education during the first half of the twentieth century. The method emphasised the development of musical hearing and the formation of skills for informed sight-singing through an understanding of tonal relationships. The study also discusses the 1955 Conference on Music Education as an important stage in the reconsideration of the established system and its adaptation to the needs of mass music education. It highlights the application of these ideas in the work of representative children’s choirs, such as Bodra Smyana, the Bulgarian National Radio Children’s Choir, and other regional ensembles. Their experience demonstrates that systematic solfège training contributes to the development of inner hearing, harmonic awareness, sight-singing abilities, ensemble skills, and independent work with musical notation. The achievements of Bulgarian children’s choirs both at home and abroad provide convincing evidence of the importance of musical literacy as a prerequisite for artistic excellence. The article argues that the debate over these methods was instrumental not only in shaping Bulgarian music education but also in establishing pedagogical principles that influenced the development of Bulgarian choral culture for decades.

• Details
• Contents