Photo: Archive of the Sofia Boys’ Choir
On 21 April, at 5:00 p.m., in the crypt of the St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, the traditional Easter Concert of the Sofia Boys’ Choir at the Community Cultural Centre “Tsar Boris III – 1928” took place, conducted by Adriana Blagoeva, Prof. PhD.
The programme featured Church Slavonic sacred chants by Dobri Hristov, Petar Dinev, Petko Staynov, Giuseppe Sarti, Dmitry Bortniansky, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Alexander Kastalsky, and others.
The concert also featured the participation of Kiril Popov, Archpriest PhD, who introduced the chants and offered commentary on selected liturgical texts. Guest soloists were Ralitsa Ralinova (soprano) and Hristo Stoynov (bass).
The Christmas and Easter concerts are a long-standing tradition in the artistic life of the ensemble, alongside its participation in numerous national music forums. The choir’s repertoire is remarkably diverse, with many Bulgarian composers writing works especially for the ensemble. In addition to Bulgarian music—including folk and Orthodox sacred repertoire—the choir performs works from a wide range of musical styles and genres, spanning from the 14th century to the present day.
Both the Bulgarian National Radio and the Bulgarian National Television maintain extensive archives of recordings by the Sofia Boys’ Choir. From 1993 to the present, the ensemble has released nine solo compact discs and has taken part in eight additional recordings in collaboration with other performers.
