The Mystery of the Bulgarian Voices

The choir was founded in 1952 by Georgi Boyadjiev as the Ensemble for Folk Songs of the Bulgarian Radio, and its recordings of arranged Bulgarian folk melodies reach back to 1957. Marcel Cellier's compilation Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares, to which it contributed most of the songs, took the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album at the 32nd Grammy Awards in 1989; in 1997 Cellier granted the choir that title as its name. Dora Hristova has directed it as artistic director and conductor, and under her direction it sang twice in 2009 in Bulgarian gala programmes: on 5 February 2009 in the Bolshoj Theatre in Moscow and on 24 May 2009 in the National Palace of Culture in Sofia, in evenings built around Vladigerov's Vardar rhapsody, Zlatev-Cherkin's Sevdana, Kyurkchiyski's Dai mi, Bozhe and Nayden Andreev's arrangements, with Theodosii Spassov, Radostina Nikolaeva, Elitsa Todorova, Stoyan Yankoulov and Ivo Papazov among the soloists. The Mystery of the Bulgarian Voices is a Bulgarian women’s choir whose repertoire combines traditional folk melodies with composed choral arrangements. Volume II won the Traditional Folk Album award at the 32nd Grammy Awards in 1990. Under Dora Hristova, its work has encompassed international touring, recording and collaborations, including the 2018 album BooCheeMish with Lisa Gerrard.