Shumi Maritsa

"Maritza/Maritsa Rushes", also known as the "Chernyaev March", was the Bulgarian national anthem from 1886 until 1947. The music was derived from the German folk song Wenn die Soldaten durch die Stadt marschieren that was popular in Bulgaria during the mid-19th century. The original text was written by Nikola Zhivkov, a head teacher in Veles (now in North Macedonia). The lyrics were edited many times, most notably in 1912 by the poet Ivan Vazov. The title refers to the Maritsa, a river in the Balkans.

In 1839 in Breslau, the poet Alexander Kosmar created the satirical farce "The Pirates". Originally, the song was performed with entertainment and satirical sense in cabarets. It quickly gained popularity, and soon the melody of the song became the German song "Wenn die Soldaten durch die Stadt marschieren".

The melody of the anthem was introduced to Bulgaria by Atanas Gratinski. He heard the song in the city of Shumen, when the Crocus Orchestra from Hungarian emigrants that settled in the city performed the German song „Wenn die Soldaten durch die Stadt marschiern“ ("When the Soldiers March Through the City"). The melody inspired Gratinski to adjust the song to the poem Sunshine which he created between 1855 and 1856 and taught the song to his students. The song become popular in Bulgaria.

In the beginning of 1925, a competition for musical harmonization of the anthem was announced. The scientific archive of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences maintains 15 projects for the composition, some of which composed anonymously, while the other projects was composed by Georgi Atanasov, Ivan Kasabov, Nikola Yordanov, Dobri Hristov and other composers.

In 1935 a proposal was made to merge this song with the royal anthem of Bulgaria. The proposal was worked on by Pancho Vladigerov and Menakhem Bensusan, but it eventually failed. However, after the project, the royal anthem was performed after "Maritza Roars" without interruption.

Nikola Zhivkov created the lyrics of the song when he was among the Bulgarian volunteers who participated in the Serbian-Turkish war that broke out in 1876. He created the song because of his admiration to the personality and charisma of General Mikhail Chernyayev, who commands the Bulgarian volunteers. The song was originally composed under the title of "Chernyaev March". The melody of the song was inspired by the musical poem Sunshine.

The "Chernyaev March" was first published in 1877 in the newspaper Sekidnevni Novinar by S.P. Bobekov, and then in 1878 in the album Gusla i pesni.

The title of the song was later changed to „Shumi Maritza“ at the play Ilyo Voyvoda. The song was published at the end of the play.