Kitka Brings ‘Powerful Women’s Voices, Joined Together’ From East To Western
The Oakland ensemble Kitka has sung intricate harmonies from Eastern Europe for four decades. Users Shira Cion and Kelly Atkins speak about the team’s brand brand brand new album, Star evening.
LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:
The daylight is dwindling away. The solstice comes on Friday. Therefore why don’t we pay attention to some warming songs from Eastern Europe that celebrate the summer season upon us.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, «MOMCI KOLEDARCI»)
KITKA LADIES’ VOCAL ENSEMBLE: (Performing in Bulgarian).
GARCIA-NAVARRO: The record record record album «Evening Star» features harmonies unique to Balkan, Slavic and Caucasian lands. But here is the twist — they are offered up by Kitka, a vocal ensemble of numerous years standing situated in the san francisco bay area Bay region. Shira Cion may be the team’s creative manager. She joins us through the studios of KQED. Welcome.
SHIRA CION: so excellent to be around, Lulu. Many thanks.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: additionally with us is Kelly Atkins. She actually is another Kitkat — i do believe that is what you call yourselves, appropriate?
KELLY ATKINS: It Really Is, yes. Hi.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Hi. Shira, i’ll begin with you. You are quoted into the press notes saying this music springs from the, estimate, «instinct to get together and sing when you look at the deep, dark heart of wintertime.» I enjoy that, in addition. Performs this music help bring the body temperature up?
CION: they really think it probably does. And it is been interesting. You understand, many studies are actually coming out about kind of the real and intellectual and social great things about harmony performing and singing that is choral. And i believe all of the science is simply showing a thing that Eastern European villagers have actually understood for centuries, which can be that after times are tough, when climate conditions are cool, where just surviving through an arduous season actually calls upon communities in the future together, it is a time to sing. And I also think performing does raise spirits. It does kind of synchronize our organisms together. I must say I do think it can help us endure through attempting times.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Kelly, that image regarding the deep, dark heart of wintertime can be a metaphor, i suppose, regarding the types of music that this is certainly. Let me know just just what — just exactly just how it is seen by you.
ATKINS: Well, we also utilize the metaphor associated with the rounds of life. A few of the tracks, while you probably noticed, through the record are literally about cold weather. Plus some of those are in regards asiandate to the wintertime of life. Therefore we sort of see plenty of the songs we sing not just in regards to the breaks by themselves but concerning the rounds we undergo inside our very own everyday lives.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Why don’t we pay attention to a little bit of the name track. It really is a song that is bulgarian «Evening celebrity.»
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, «ZVEZDA VECERNICA»)
KITKA LADIES’ VOCAL ENSEMBLE: (Performing in Bulgarian).
GARCIA-NAVARRO: i got eventually to inform you, it is like something profoundly ancient and thrumming. You understand, it comes down — it surely arises from this kind of crucial spot. It truly does. It really is amazing. Kelly, you are understood by me have back ground being an indie rocker. Exactly What got you enthusiastic about Eastern European music that is vocal?
ATKINS: Well, the time that is first saw the Bulgarian Women’s Choir, I became at Grace Cathedral. And I also sat within the pews and merely wept. And I also could not determine just what had been taking place for me. And it just rocked me personally on a really, extremely deep degree. And so I think that has been my gateway medication, in the group as we call it. Just about everyone has our gateway medication of Bulgarian choir music.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: (Laughter) Shira, individuals additionally might be amazed to discover that there’s really numerous vocal teams right here in the usa devoted to Eastern European music. There Is Kitka. There is Planina situated in Denver. There is the Yale Slavic Chorus, which was around nearly 50 years. What do you consider makes.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: . The thereforengs so irresistible to feminine vocalists?
CION: Well, i do believe for everyone of us whom I would personally state determine as liberal US feminists, there is one thing concerning the quality of effective ladies’ sounds joined up with together in this extremely real, really harmony that is close often dissonant harmony designs that actually attracts a contemporary American feminine sensibility.
(SOUNDBITE OF UNIDENTIFIED KITKA SONG)
KITKA LADIES’ VOCAL ENSEMBLE: (performing in language).
CION: And they are countries where work ended up being usually split by sex. And females had been used to producing in community and producing music together in community. We had been really just referring to this into the greenroom previous today — just exactly how many of us whom sing in Kitka are a lot more oriented in direction of kind of collective and harmony performing than individualistic, soloistic performing. And I also think it type of counters the kind of highly individualistic trend that America values a great deal. It is, like.
CION: . Every person to.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: The solamente musician.
CION: . Themself (ph).
CION: The solamente artist. And also this is actually a public kind that really can just fly whenever there is a residential area of men and women taking part in it.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: let us pay attention now to A ukrainian carol from your record album.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, «V HOSPODARON’KA»)
KITKA LADIES’ VOCAL ENSEMBLE: (Performing in Ukrainian).
GARCIA-NAVARRO: which means this is really a carol that is ukrainian New season’s. And also you really traveled here some time straight back and met up having A ukrainian group. Think about your other travels to do in Eastern Europe? What is been the response from audiences?
ATKINS: we had been in Serbia about — was it 5 years ago?
ATKINS: plus it ended up being my very first time with Kitka traveling abroad and performing music that is serbian Serbians. And I also seriously ended up being stressed going. I happened to be thinking, who have always been We as a american to go and sing these tracks in the front among these individuals where, you realize, they’ve these roots that are deep these tracks? However in reality, we had been gotten really warmly. And it also really was an experience that is cathartic both the viewers as well as for us.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: therefore, Kelly and Shira, this will be to you both. What is your song that is favorite on record album?
CION: Oh, that is a difficult one.
CION: What you think about maybe «Blazentsv»?
ATKINS: Perhaps «Blazentsv.»
CION: Yeah. This is simply not theoretically a cold weather track. But it is a track that people feel articulates characteristics we all make an effort to summon in ourselves throughout the yuletide season. It’s a musical environment of «The Beatitudes» by the Russian composer Vladimir Martynov. And, you understand, they are calling the listener to embody characteristics of generosity and compassion and kindness, residing just to make certain that other people might just live and seeing that real contentment actually originates from type of going resistant to the grain of greed and egoism and materialism and physical physical violence and residing carefully, residing kindly in order that other people can have the kingdom of paradise right right right here on Earth.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: This is certainly a holiday message that is good. Shira Cion and Kelly Atkins through the Kitka Woman’s Vocal Ensemble. Their brand new record is called «Evening Star.» Many thanks both quite definitely.
CION: many thanks plenty for having us.
ATKINS: many thanks.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, «ZAPOVEDI BLAZENSTV/ THE BEATITUDES»)
KITKA LADIES’ VOCAL ENSEMBLE: (Performing in Russian).
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Correction Jan. 18, 2019
A past version of the internet summary listed a incorrect record album title. Kitka’s featured record is known as Star, not Harmonies of Heaven and Earth evening.