Pasha Christova

Pascha Christowa (also written Pasha Hristova , Bulgarian Паша Христова ; * July 16, 1946 in Sofia ; † December 21, 1971 near Sofia), born as Paraschkewa Christowa Stefanowa (Bulgarian Парашкева Христова Стефанова) was a particularly special one in the 60s -Years of internationally known Bulgarian hit and chanson singer . Through her interpretation of the composition of Dimitar Waltschew's "Edna Balgarska Rosa" (Bulgarian: "Една българска роза" ), (German: "A Bulgarian rose" ), she is still unforgettable today. Other well-known songs are “Powej, Wetre!” (Bulgarian: “Повей, ветре” ), (German: “Woe, Wind, woe!” ) And “Jantra” (Bulgarian: “Янтра” ).

Life

Pascha Christowa was born in the Sofia district of Knjaschewo at the foot of the Vitosha . Her parents had previously moved to Sofia from the village of Warana, Levski municipality. They separated when Pasha was five years old. Pascha Christowa then grew up with her father and his second wife, as well as temporarily with her grandmother, who arranged her violin lessons. After she had to experience the death of her grandmother at the age of 13, she had no other opportunity for musical activity other than singing, which she initially pursued as a hobby and without guidance. After finishing school, she became a technical draftsman in the Balkancar factory for electric vehicles. She married an engineer named Vasil Ivanov and had a son, Milan. After a short time she lived with him, separated from her husband. After she had completed various successful appearances as an amateur artist, Pasha Christowa applied to a school for light music, which she was able to attend and successfully finish thanks to her extraordinary talent. After graduation, she first became a soloist in the ensemble of the pioneer troops . Her first success was when she took part in the 1967 International Schlager Festival in Sochi , where she won a first prize and a gold medal.

From 1968 she was soloist with Boris Godschunow in the legendary “Sofia Orchestra” . Together with him she gave concerts and tours in Bulgaria, the Soviet Union , as well as in the GDR , Hungary , Romania , Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia . During the time with the Sofia Orchestra, around 60 recordings were made for the Bulgarian Radio and the Bulgarian record company Balkanton .

Pascha Christowa was a frequent guest at international festivals. In 1970 she won two prizes at the “ Golden Orpheus ” in Bulgaria and in 1971 at the international hit festival in Sopot, Poland received a prize for the song “Ach, tozi diwen swjat” (Bulgarian: “Ах, този дивен свят” ) (German: “These wondrous world ” ).

Tragic death

Together with the Sofia orchestra, the folklore ensemble “Aura” and the soloists Maria Nejkowa , Boris Godschunow and Janka Rupkina , Pascha Christowa was to fly to Algiers on December 21, 1971 for the Bulgarian Culture Days . Your Ilyushin IL18 aircraft , however, had previously been repaired incorrectly on the landing flaps . The connection cables for the ailerons were swapped. When the machine was hit by a strong gust when it took off, the pilot's steering correction therefore had the opposite effect. As a result, the plane hit the runway with a wing and went up in flames. 32 of the 73 inmates died. The 25-year-old Pasha Christova died immediately. With her, her second unborn child died.

The remaining passengers and crew, including Janka Rupkina and Boris Godschunow, survived with severe injuries. The singer Maria Nejkowa, who had swapped seats with Pascha Christowa shortly before the start, survived seriously injured after a brave jump from a height of about 10 meters. At the same time, her husband died in the flames. December 12th was also Maria Nejkowa's birthday, which she never wanted to celebrate again because she felt guilty about her friend Pascha Christowa.

There is still a wide variety of speculations about the cause of the maintenance error on the aileron, including sabotage to cover up criminal activities.

Artistic creation

In the few years of her work, Pascha Christowa had devoted herself to a wide repertoire, ranging from ballads to chansons, hits, folklore and jazz to political songs. Her versatile, clear and sensitive voice gave her special opportunities for unforgettable interpretations of both dramatic and sensitive pieces. She sang mainly compositions by Bulgarian composers and lyricists, but also songs by Dusty Springfield and Czesław Niemen in translation. The audience remembered their stage effect at competitions, concerts and festivals as particularly impressive. She was known for perfect intonation, spontaneity and great emotionality. The artistic potential and the songs of Pascha Christowas remain unforgotten in Bulgaria and partly also abroad. In 2000, “A Bulgarian Rose” was voted Song of the Century in Bulgaria. There is probably no Bulgarian who does not know this song.

Discography

• LP, MC "Повей, ветре ..." "Begin to blow, wind ..." Balkanton BTMC 7645
• CD Паша Христова - "Една българска роза - Златни хитове", Ню Медиа Груп АД - София
• various singles

Web links

• Biography (Bulgarian)
• "60 red roses for Pasha", article from the Bulgarian "Standart"
• Film about her life (Bulgarian)
• Youtube video "Woe, wind, woe!"
• Youtube video "A Bulgarian Rose"
• Documentation about the plane disaster of December 21, 1971 (Bulgarian)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ http://www.ndt1.com/article.php/20080916192658773 "Singer Pascha Christowa fell victim to an attempted assassination on the co-pilot" (Bulgarian), Нова Добруджанска Трибуна - Певицака - Певицакана - Певицакана - Певицакна - Певицакна - Певицакна - Певицакна Певицакна Певицакна Певицакна Певицана Певицакна Певицана Певицакна Певицакна Певицана Певицакна Певицана Певицакна Пеаф атентат, твърди синът на първия пилот на нещастния полет
2. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from March 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Мистерията Паша Христова (2006) I. 
3. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Мистерията Паша Христова (2006) II