This fifth volume of the Pancho Vladigerov Edition focuses on one genre in the composer’s output that many other composers have either never, or hardly ever, touched: orchestral songs. It is perfectly plausible that Vladigerov found himself exposed to it during his formative years in Berlin and Vienna, where the genre was at the peak of its popularity during the time he spent there (witness works by Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss, Hans Pfitzner, Joseph Marx and others). Notably, Vladigerov always used poems by Bulgarian writers, complementing the interest he showed in Bulgarian folk songs. Like many other 20th-century composers from a host of different countries and ethnicities, Vladigerov delved deeply into the folk songs and folk dances of his homeland, developed over centuries by various ethnic groups; some remain popular today, while others have been largely forgotten. In these arrangements, Vladigerov the composer finds a perfect synthesis with Vladigerov the Bulgarian national.