Proshtavaj, Mamo! /Farewell, mother!/ Traditional ("Music of a reborn nation" - Witney, UK May 2026)

Val Atherton - Mezzo-soprano (Voice Box choir) Sara Couch- Mezzo-soprano (Voice Box choir) Yuliya Rothman - Soprano Proshtavaj, Mamo! is centred on one of the most emotional moments in village life: a daughter leaving her family home to be wedded. A lifelong separation reflects the old custom in which a bride, after marrying, became part of her husband’s household and saw her parents rarely again. The song belongs to the rich Bulgarian tradition of women’s laments and wedding songs, where grief, love, and duty coexist. The “flower” symbolises the daughter herself — delicate, cherished, and now left behind. The gradual watering with dew, water, and finally tears expresses the mother’s sorrow. Such songs are especially associated with Bulgarian wedding folklore, where joy and mourning are deeply intertwined: marriage is celebrated, yet also felt as a painful separation from one’s childhood home. “Farewell, mother, farewell! From now a lifelong separation. At noon I shall dine with my father- and mother-in-law, with sisters- and brothers-in-law, and with older brides of the house... Dear mother! Water my flower with morning dew, at noon with fresh water, and in the evening with tears. Farewell, mother, farewell!”