The Bulgarian female choir Dragostin Folk National was established in 1994 by  the prominent Bulgarian composer Stefan Dragostinov. He has composed all songs and made all arrangements of the repertoire of Dragostin Folk National. He strongly believes that Bulgarian national musical tradition must not be shut off and conserved. It must be left free in its interrelation and in its synthesis with the contemporary art forms and genres. In composing music, he has been influenced by different folklore areas in Bulgaria; he has collected the pieces with the idea to present the richness of ancient Bulgarian folk music.
 
The choir has recorded 11 CDs of an overall length of more than 700 minutes. All albums go under the slogan The Sonic Icons of Bulgaria. A curious thing is that the title was born in its English version, where the words “sonic” and “icons” have the same letters.
 
Dragostin Folk National consists of fourteen women-singers who have “golden” voices. They are continuing the ancient Balkan tradition of the so-called “open”, “guttural” woman singing. A special vividness brings the unique dramatic contralto (contralto-profundo – a definition made by Dragostinov). She can sing a C two octaves bellow the middle C.
 
The choir has appeared in numerous international events (in 1998 it performed the cantata Danube Мusic at the United Nations session in Vienna; in 2011 it won the 2nd Prize at the BBC competition Let the Peoples Sing; in 2014 it presented Bulgaria in European Cultural Days of the ECB).
 
In 2016 the choir took part in the XV Moscow Easter Festival, where for a first time it performed a unique musical phenomenon, created by Stefan Dragostinov - Faith Chants („Верские песни“). Their sacred messages in organic and high-impact way connect past and present.
 
 
Stefan Dragostinov – about the Dragostin Folk National  and the national musical tradition of Bulgaria

For a long time now, I have been collecting the ancient songs of Bulgaria – for nearly 40 years. I have been searching for the people who still remember songs that had been created hundreds of years ago, touring regions in which the musical folklore is still a part of the everyday life and of the holidays of the people, in spite of the urbanization. It has been my aim to keep that folklore and to stimulate its further creation and development within the framework of a new environment and a new way of life, when the latest technologies and the communications are exerting their influence upon the culture as well. It is my conviction that the national musical tradition should not be shut off and conserved. It should be left free in its interrelation and in its synthesis with the contemporary forms and genres in the art… That was the reason to establish the chamber choir Dragostin Folk National.

The female choir Dragostin Folk National is my instrument, by means of which I am bringing to fruition my ideas and my philosophy about the connection between the traditional art and the present day.

The Dragostin Folk consists of twelve women-singers with “golden” voices. They are continuing the ancient Balkan tradition of the so-called “open”, “guttural” women’s singing. Among them a special vividness brings the unique dramatic contralto (contralto-profundo – a definition made by Dragostinov). She can sing the C two octaves bellow the middle C.

With this formation we have concerts; we make records that I collect and select in a series called The Sonic Icons of Bulgaria – anthology of Bulgarian folklore. I would say that it is a personal reading of the national musical tradition. During the time a piece goes, like a red thread the authentic folk song stands out. It passes through complex harmonic structures, crawls through three and sometimes through seven polyphonic tangles, it transforms in the different voices and finally it crystallizes in its authentic kind – the one that was sung centuries ago.  Several generations have been part of Dragostin Folk National. Since 1994 I have been managing, conducting and training these excellent young people in a spirit of admiration for the tradition; I am developing in them also the free spirit to continue it by including into their performance the viewpoint of the man of today, his feelings and his views. In this way the folklore, created during the ages past, is being enriched with the emotions, the skills and the knowledge of the man of the 21st century. And this man addresses, by means of the folklore, his messages to the coming generations. I have created a wide network of followers, and have spun a solid connecting thread between the generations. The folklore musical tradition can thus enjoy a long life and an uninterrupted renovation and development. This has actually been my aim, devoting to which I have my skills of a professional musician and my entire hope of a man of today with a feeling of responsibility for what our forefathers have left behind to us.