Recording with a Bulgarian choir, Philip Koutev (1903 - 1982) produced the earliest example of formalized Bulgarian folk songs in 1955. The president of the Union of Bulgarian Composers from 1965 until 1972, Koutev directed the Bulgarian State Radio and Television Female Vocal Choir and Bulgaria's National Folk Ensemble, a tradition-rooted group featuring gajda (bagpipe), kaval (flute), gadulka (vertical fiddle), and tamboura (long-necked lute). ~ Craig Harris, Rovi