site.btaRare Concert of Jewish Songs Marks Historic Anniversary
The Nikolay Kaufman Choir gave a concert titled The Spirit of Life at the National Institute of Archaeology in Sofia on Saturday marking the 80th anniversary of the rescue of the Bulgarian Jews from deportation to Nazi concentration camps during World War II.
The organizers from the Purple Swan Association are planning a similar concert at Theater am Spittelberg in Vienna on September 19.
The Sofia show was a rare occasion for the Bulgarian audience to enjoy traditional Jewish music, said the association president, Alexander Alexandrov. "We had the chance to hear songs which had never been performed in Bulgaria before, and they are really old. One of them dates from 1483, when Jews from Spain came to Bulgaria. That song uses the language of Cervantes," Alexandrov said.
The Bulgar Klezmer Band took part in the concert. They performed Jewish folk music.
According to Alexandrov, the Venelakos Trio and the singer Shira Kamon will contribute to the follow-up concert in Vienna by performing contemporary Israeli pop music. There will also be melodies from the Balkans which are unknown in Bulgaria. The Nikolay Kaufman Choir will go on stage again.
Alexandrov went on to say: "In Vienna, we will be celebrating 75 years since the establishment of the State of Israel. None of us is a member of the Jewish community. We are actually friends. We want to celebrate together with them."
It will be the first time that Bulgarian Jewish songs are sung publicly in Austria. The Nikolay Kaufman Choir will perform five pieces, Alexandrov said.
The Bulgarian News Agency (BTA), in partnership with the Alef Jewish-Bulgarian Cooperation Center, set itself the task to recall the events of the past and the participants in them, and to present the importance of the Bulgarian Jews' rescue and their rescuers. Nearly 50,000 lives were saved in Bulgaria. According to information on the website of the Yad Vashem Holocaust Remembrance Center, Bulgaria had 50,000 Jews before World War II and zero victims. It is the only country with zero victims.
/DT, VE/
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