Концертите на Белградското певческо дружество в България в края на ХIХ и началото на ХХ век
The concerts by the Belgrade Choral Society in Bulgaria in the late 19th and early 20th centuries

Summary/Abstract: The paper comments on facts of the history of Bulgarian music in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, related to the visiting Belgrade Choral Society under the baton of famous Serbian conductor Stevan Mokranjac (1856–1914). With the choir of the Belgrade Choral Society he visited Bulgaria twice: in 1895 he gave concerts in the course of the tour Sofia – Constantinople – Plovdiv, and in 1904 he performed in Sofia. There are two reviews about the concerts given by the choir in Plovdiv; the one given in Sofia in 1895 was covered by a Serbian media and its programme was the same as that in Plovdiv. The first review in Plovdiv daily describes the performance of the choir of the Belgrade Choral Society as excellent. The second review was published in Kaval (Lom – Palanka) magazine: the concert was covered in details and special attention was paid to the high artistic level of the performance and the repertory. The choir of the Belgrade Choral Society visited Bulgaria once again to take part in the Anniversary Concert of the stenographers at the hall of Slavianska Beseda [Slavic Commune], held on 26 September 1904. The choir of Slavianska Beseda [Slavic Commune] conducted by Nikolay Nikolaev maintained active contacts with that of the Belgrade Choral Society spanning over the following decades. Of special importance were the cultural dialogues in the time of Kosta Manojlović (1890 – 1949), a renowned composer and conductor, president of the Yugoslav Choral Union, Belgrade, who supported choral work in Bulgaria and was Dobri Hristov’s personal friend. Kosta Manojlović led the choir from 1919 until 1931. The commented facts reveal contacts with the Belgrade Choral Society at various stages in the history of choral work in Bulgaria. Bulgarian choral companies modelled their activities on the activity of the Society in the implementation of the idea of expanding choral work. This idea was also related to bringing Slavic peoples together. The active contacts with the Belgrade Choral Society and its coaches and conductors allow for an insight into this bonding that defined the historical profile of choral work and musical culture in Bulgaria of those decades.

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