Polyeley na balgarkata, Symphonic Poem

Dimitar Sagaev (1915–2003) built a catalogue of six symphonies, concertos, oratorios and stage works while teaching composition in Sofia, and this symphonic poem stands among his programmatic orchestral scores alongside April Bells and Sofia. The title borrows a term from Orthodox liturgy — the polyeleos, the psalm of praise sung with many lamps lit — and applies it to the Bulgarian woman, a subject that in Bulgarian music of the period carried the weight of both national and religious memory. The Sofia Philharmonic's register lists the work among his symphonic poems.