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

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For four decades, the Oakland ensemble Kitka has sung intricate harmonies from Eastern Europe. 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 why don’t we pay attention to some songs that are warming Eastern Europe that celebrate the summer season upon us.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “MOMCI KOLEDARCI”)

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

GARCIA-NAVARRO: The album “star” features harmonies unique to Balkan, Slavic and Caucasian lands evening. But listed here is the twist – they are served up by Kitka, an ensemble that is vocal of years standing situated in the 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 around mail-order-bride.net/ukrainian-brides/, Lulu. Many thanks.

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

KELLY ATKINS: It is, yes. Hi.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Hi. Shira, i will focus on you. You are quoted into the press records saying this music springs from a, quote, “instinct to get together and sing into the deep, dark heart of wintertime.” I favor that, in addition. Performs this music help bring up the body’s temperature?

CION: they really think it most likely does. And it is been interesting. You realize, countless studies are actually being released about kind of the real and intellectual and social great things about harmony performing and choral performing. And i believe most of the science is simply demonstrating a thing that Eastern European villagers have actually understood for hundreds of years, which can be that whenever times are tough, when climate conditions are cool, where simply surviving through a challenging period actually calls upon communities in the future together, it really is an occasion to sing. And I also think performing does carry spirits. It does kind of synchronize our organisms together. I must say I do think it will help us endure through attempting times.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Kelly, that image of this deep, dark heart of wintertime can be a metaphor, i suppose, associated with types of music that this might be. Let me know exactly just just what – exactly just how the thing is it.

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

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Why don’t we tune in to a little bit of the name track. It is A bulgarian track – “Evening celebrity.”

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “ZVEZDA VECERNICA”)

KITKA WOMEN’S VOCAL ENSEMBLE: (Performing in Bulgarian).

GARCIA-NAVARRO: i got eventually to tell you, it feels as though something profoundly ancient and thrumming. You realize, it comes down – it truly arises from this type of important destination. It surely does. It is amazing. Kelly, i realize you have a back ground as an indie rocker. exactly What got you enthusiastic about Eastern European vocal music?

ATKINS: Well, the first-time I saw the Bulgarian Women’s Choir, I became at Grace Cathedral. And I also sat into the pews and simply wept. And I also could not determine what was occurring for me. Also it simply rocked me personally on an extremely, extremely deep level. And so I think that has been my gateway medication, once we call it within the team. Just about everyone has our gateway drug of Bulgarian choir music.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: (Laughter) Shira, individuals also can be amazed to find out that there is really numerous vocal teams right right here in the usa devoted to Eastern European music. There Is Kitka. There is Planina located in Denver. There is the Yale Slavic Chorus, that has been around nearly 50 years. Exactly What do you consider makes.

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

CION: Well, i do believe for anyone of us whom i might state recognize as liberal US feminists, there is one thing concerning the quality of effective ladies’ sounds joined up with together in this extremely real, extremely close harmony, often dissonant harmony designs that actually attracts a modern American feminine sensibility.

(SOUNDBITE OF UNIDENTIFIED SONG that is KITKA

KITKA LADIES’ VOCAL ENSEMBLE: (performing in spanish).

CION: And they are countries where labor had been typically split by sex. And females had been used to producing in community and music that is creating in community. We had been really and truly just referring to this within the greenroom previous today – exactly just how many of us whom sing in Kitka are much more oriented towards kind of collective and harmony performing than individualistic, soloistic singing. And I think it type of counters the kind of highly trend that is individualistic America values so much. It is, like.

CION: . Everybody to.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: The solamente musician.

CION: . Themself (ph).

CION: The solamente artist. And also this is really a form that is communal 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 carol that is ukrainian your record album.

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

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

GARCIA-NAVARRO: which means this is obviously A ukrainian carol for New season’s. And also you really traveled there a bit back and met up by having a group that is ukrainian. Think about your other travels to do in Eastern Europe? What is been the effect from audiences?

ATKINS: we had been in Serbia about – ended up being it 5 years ago?

ATKINS: and it also had been my very first time with Kitka traveling abroad and singing music that is serbian Serbians. And I actually ended up being stressed going. I happened to be thinking, whom have always been We as a us to go and sing these tracks in front of the individuals where, you realize, they will have these deep origins with these tracks? However in reality, we had been gotten really warmly. Also it really was an experience that is cathartic both the viewers as well as us.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: therefore, Kelly and Shira, that is to you both. What is your favorite track regarding the record album?

CION: Oh, which is a difficult one.

CION: What you think about maybe “Blazentsv”?

ATKINS: Possibly “Blazentsv.”

CION: Yeah. This is not theoretically a cold weather track. 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, these are calling the listener to embody characteristics of generosity and compassion and kindness, residing simply making sure that other people might just live and seeing that contentment that is true originates from sort of going from 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 right here in the world.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: That is a good getaway message. Shira Cion and Kelly Atkins through the Kitka female’s Vocal Ensemble. Their brand new record album is called “Evening Star.” Thank you 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 previous form of the internet summary listed a incorrect record album name. Kitka’s featured record is named Star, not Harmonies of Heaven and Earth evening.