Bulgarian Voices - ANGELITE
(Sofia/Bulgaria)
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In General
Biography
1987
The cooperation of JARO and ANGELITE begins, sealed by contract on December 6, 1987.
1988
First concert tour and world-wide promotion by JARO. The choir, still bearing a French name, begins its triumphal procession. First CD release by JARO: A CATHEDRAL CONCERT (JARO 4138-2).
1989-1991
Concert tours of Europe and the US. Conductor: Dora Hristova (3 years). Television appearances in Germany, Holland, Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland, Austria, Spain, France. Concerts for royal audiences in Holland and Denmark.
1991
Collaboration with the Munich musicologist Dr. Vladimir Ivanoff and the Early Music ensemble SARBAND on the CD MYSTÉRES.
1992
Collaboration with the Italian rock group Elio E Le Storie Tese; recording of the single "Pipppero". No. 1 Single-Hit in Italy, Top 40 in the Netherlands. New conductor: Ivan Topalov (died in 1993). Music for a television commercial of the Spanish energy corporation ENDESSA.
Division into two choirs: one for radio, one for television. Bulgarian television signs a contract with the one half; the other half organises itself as a collective. Cooperation with JARO continues: A new contract is made between JARO and the collective. Extensive concert tours throughout Europe.
1993
Vanja Moneva as interim conductor (1993-94). Grammy nominations for two CDs: the pop album FROM BULGARIA WITH LOVE (JARO 4165-2) and the live double-CD MELODY, RHYTHM AND HARMONY (JARO 1993-2).
1994
Nikolai Merdjanow as New conductor. Three of the choir's soloists (Nadka Karadjova, Anastassia Kostova and Kera Damianova) participate in a recording of the Fire Requiem "Flamma Flamma" by Nicolas Lenz for Sony Belgium. First concerts in Alaska and Mexico.
1995
The choir receives a permanent new name: THE BULGARIAN VOICES ANGELITE. Production of music for a women's campaign of Amnesty International, Italy. First concert tour of Japan. Collaboration with the Kodo drummers of the Sado islands.
Recordings with the overtone ensemble Huun-Huur-Tu from the Central Asian republic of Tuva under the direction of the Russian pianist Mikhail Alperin and with the participation of the Russian singer Sergej Starostin.
1996
Valentin Velkov as New conductor. First concert in Istanbul, Turkey with Huun-Huur-Tu and afterwards all over Europe. Concert at the gala event accompanying the presentation of the Nobel Peace Prize in the National Theatre of Oslo. On this occasion collaboration with the Norwegian saxophonist Jan Garbarek, Angelique Kidjo and others.
1997
Concert tours of Europe. Continuation of the project with Huun-Huur-Tu, Sergej Starostin and Mikhail Alperin's Moscow Art Trio. Performances at European festivals.
On September 7, concert on the Red Square of Moscow on the occasion of the 850th anniversary of the City of Moscow in a programme with Pavarotti.
Recordings in the U.S. for a new CD with Huun-Huur-Tu and the Moscow Art Trio (December). November 17 - December 6 concert tour of America with 15 concerts. The enthusiastic audiences include American musicians such as Ry Cooder and Stevie Wonder, who announces his interest in future collaboration.
"Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award 1997" in the USA for best Classical Song: "Wave" from the album FLY, FLY MY SADNESS (JARO 4197-2), presented by the Contemporary A Cappella Society of America.
1998
Release of the CD MOUNTAIN TALE by ANGELITE and the Moscow Art Trio with Huun-Huur-Tu. Concerts in Belgium, Italy, Austria and Germany accompany this release.
Collaboration on the project "Flamenco, Voices and Choir". Initial meeting in Sofia in 1998; rehearsals in September 1998 in Barcelona.
1999
Release of the CD MERCY FOR THE LIVING (JARO 4220-2) - Orthodox church music from 1000 years. TV production with Enrique Morente from Spain for the flamenco project and recording of two songs for the new Morente album for Virgin/Spain.
TV production in Morocco with the famous mulitmedia artist André Heller. TV production in Poland with National TV TVP. Collaborations with Altan, Enrique Morente, Värttina and the Farlanders.
Recordings with the Chieftains for their album CHRISTMAS AT ROME (fall 1999).
Major concerts at the cultural capital of Europe shows with Huun-Huur-Tu and Moscow Art Trio and the Edinburgh festival where the choir did more than 20 concerts.
European concert tour with Orthodox programme fall 1999.
Recordings with Eddie Jobson for their new album.
2000
European concerts in following countries: Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, Poland, France, Great Britain, Denmark, Norway and Turkey. US tour fall 2000 with 20 concerts. TV appearances in Switzerland, UK, Germany and France. US release of VOICES OF LIFE (Globe music ).
Worldwide TV broadcast with CNN (Christmas 2000, 23 + 24 Dec).
Amazon US has chosen the VOICES OF LIFE-Album as album of the year.
2002
The album BALKAN PASSIONS released in April, with guests from all over the Balkans. Greece: Maria Farantouri, Turkey: Sezen Aksu and Okay Temiz, Macedonia: Fanfare Ciocarlia. The album is dedicated to the rich culture of the Balkans, intending to give a cultural political statement by important artists from the area.
Conductor: Georgy Petkov, Impresaria: Tanja Andreeva / Sofia
2003
Release of the album ANGEL'S CHRISTMAS - Wonderful traditional christmas songs from Bulgaria and from all over the world. ANGELITE offers to the listener Christmas music in their excellent interpretation. Besides to it the choir performs TV-Appearances in Germany and Italy.
Projects as Sound of the Balkans with different Balkan musicians made their name more known in Europe wiht performances at the cultural capital of Europe Cork 2005 or at the famous Herad Antic Theatre closed to Akropolis in Athens, Greece.
Please note:
the choir is presented in US/CAN under the name THE BULGARIAN WOMEN´S CHOIR
The real internationally renowned "Bulgarian Women's Choir" is the private choir formed from the ashes of the old State Television Choir by the State Choir's manager Tanja Andreeva. They have released many critically acclaimed albums internationally and are multiple Grammy nominees. Globe Music Media Arts is their U.S. record label, and JARO Medien is their European label (the same label that represented the old State choir). They have successfully toured the U.S. many times with IMN, and are now represented by Itzik Becher at Aviv Productions. This is the choir who have performed for the Maharajah of India, and at the Nobel Peace Prize Awards in Oslo. This is the choir for whom Phil Collins recently wrote the song "Transformation," featured on the soundtrack and DVD of Disney's "Brother Bear" hit movie. This is the choir recently featured in a multi-page color photo shoot in The New York Times Magazine. In Europe, they add 'Angelite' ("The Angels") to their name---however, in the U.S., this is the choir that has always been known as "The Bulgarian Women's Choir."
