Kitka Brings ‘Powerful Women’s Voices, Joined Together’ From East To Western

2019年08月12日

Kitka Brings ‘Powerful Women’s Voices, Joined Together’ From East To Western

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The Oakland ensemble Kitka has sung intricate harmonies from Eastern Europe for four decades. People Shira Cion and Kelly Atkins speak about the team’s brand new record album, Star evening.

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

The daylight is dwindling away. The solstice comes on Friday. Therefore let us 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: (Singing in Bulgarian).

GARCIA-NAVARRO: The record album “star” features harmonies unique to Balkan, Slavic and Caucasian lands evening. But listed here is the twist – they truly are offered up by Kitka, a vocal ensemble of several years standing situated in the san francisco bay area Bay region. Shira Cion could be the team’s creative manager. She joins us through the studios of KQED. Welcome.

SHIRA CION: so excellent to be right here, Lulu. Many thanks.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: additionally with us is Kelly Atkins. She actually is another Kitkat – i believe that is what you call yourselves, appropriate?

KELLY ATKINS: It Really Is, yes. Hi.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Hi. Shira, i’ll focus on you. You are quoted into the press records saying this music springs from the, estimate, “instinct to come 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 most likely does. And it’s been interesting. You understand, many studies are actually developing about type of the real and cognitive and social advantages of 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 hundreds of years, which will be that whenever times are tough, whenever climate conditions are cool, where simply surviving through an arduous period actually calls upon communities in the future together, it is an occasion to sing. And I also think performing does raise spirits. It does type of synchronize our organisms together. I truly do think it can help us endure through attempting times.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Kelly, that image regarding the deep, dark heart of wintertime can also be a metaphor, i assume, associated with the form of music that it is. Let me know exactly what – exactly just how it is seen by you.

ATKINS: Well, we also utilize the metaphor associated with rounds of life. A number of the tracks, while you probably noticed, through the record album are literally about wintertime. Plus some of these are concerning the wintertime of life. Therefore we sort of see plenty of the tracks that individuals go through in our own lives that we sing not only about the holidays themselves but about the cycles.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: let us tune in to a bit of the name track. It’s A bulgarian track – “Evening celebrity.”

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “ZVEZDA VECERNICA”)

KITKA LADIES’ VOCAL ENSEMBLE: (Singing in Bulgarian).

GARCIA-NAVARRO: i eventually got to tell you, it is like something profoundly ancient and thrumming. You realize, it comes down – it truly arises from this type of crucial destination. It truly does. It really is amazing. Kelly, you are understood by me have history as an indie rocker. Exactly exactly What got you enthusiastic about Eastern European vocal music?

ATKINS: Well, the very first time I saw the Bulgarian Women’s Choir, I happened to be at Grace Cathedral. And I also sat when you look at the pews and simply wept. And I also could not determine what ended up being happening for me. Also it simply rocked me personally on an extremely, extremely deep degree. And so I think that has been my gateway medication, in the group as we call it. Just about everybody has our gateway medication of Bulgarian choir music.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: (Laughter) Shira, individuals additionally could be astonished to discover that there is really numerous vocal teams here in the usa devoted to Eastern European music. There Is Kitka. There is Planina situated mail order wives in Denver. There is the Yale Slavic Chorus, that has been around very nearly 50 years. Just What do you consider makes.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: . The songs so irresistible to female vocalists?

CION: Well, i believe for all those of us whom I would personally state recognize as liberal US feminists, there is one thing in regards to the quality of effective ladies’ voices joined up with together in this really physical, really harmony that is close often dissonant harmony designs that actually attracts a modern American feminine sensibility.

(SOUNDBITE OF UNIDENTIFIED SONG that is KITKA

KITKA WOMEN’S VOCAL ENSEMBLE: (Singing in spanish).

CION: And they are countries where work had been traditionally split by sex. And ladies had been used to creating in community and music that is creating in community. We were really just dealing with this within the greenroom previous today – exactly exactly exactly how most of us whom sing in Kitka are much 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 trend that is individualistic America values so much. It is, like.

CION: . Every person to.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: The solamente musician.

CION: . Themself (ph).

CION: The solamente artist. And this is truly a form that is communal can definitely just fly whenever there is a residential district of men and women taking part in it.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: let us pay attention now up to A ukrainian carol from your record.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “V HOSPODARON’KA”)

KITKA LADIES’ VOCAL ENSEMBLE: (Performing in Ukrainian).

GARCIA-NAVARRO: and this is clearly a carol that is ukrainian New season’s. And also you actually traveled here a bit straight straight back and met up by having a group that is ukrainian. How about your other travels to do in Eastern Europe? What exactly is been the response from audiences?

ATKINS: we had been in Serbia about – was it 5 years ago?

ATKINS: also it ended up being my first-time with Kitka traveling abroad and singing music that is serbian Serbians. And I also seriously had been stressed going. I became thinking, who am I being a us to go and sing these tracks right in front of the individuals where, you understand, they will have these roots that are deep these songs? However in reality, we had been gotten really warmly. Plus it really was an experience that is cathartic both the viewers as well as for us.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: So, Kelly and Shira, this really is to you both. What exactly is your favorite track in the record?

CION: Oh, that is a hardcore one.

CION: What you think about maybe “Blazentsv”?

ATKINS: Possibly “Blazentsv.”

CION: Yeah. This is simply not technically a cold weather song. But it is a track during the holiday season that we feel articulates qualities that we all try to summon in ourselves. It is a musical environment of “The Beatitudes” by the Russian composer Vladimir Martynov. And, you realize, they are calling the listener to embody characteristics of generosity and compassion and kindness, residing just in order that other people might just live and simply because real contentment actually originates from sort of going resistant to the grain of greed and egoism and materialism and physical violence and residing carefully, residing kindly making sure that other people can have the kingdom of paradise right here on the planet.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: This is certainly a holiday message that is good. Shira Cion and Kelly Atkins through the Kitka female’s Vocal Ensemble. Their brand new record album is called “Evening Star.” Many thanks both quite definitely.

CION: many thanks a great deal 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 form of the net summary listed an album name that is incorrect. Kitka’s showcased record is known as Evening celebrity, maybe not Harmonies of Heaven and world.

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