The Sunnyvale Sun
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The Oakland-based singing group Kitka belts out songs in the ancient Balkan and Slavic style that had to carry sometimes for miles.
Women sing a from-the-gut style
By ANNE WARD ERNST
The voices of Kitka, an all-woman singing group, are trained in an ancient Balkan and Slavic singing style once meant to bridge mountains or cross farmlands. But on April 8 the group's voices will fill the Sunnyvale Theatre.
The concert is part of the 15th anniversary of Sunnyvale's Evenings of Cultural Arts series.
The Oakland-based group's harmony has been featured on National Public Radio shows All Things Considered, Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion and All Songs Considered.
In 1991, the ensemble performed by invitation at the National Festival of Bulgarian Folklore in Bulgaria; the closing ceremonies were televised throughout Europe by Bulgarian National Television.
Kitka (pronounced keet-ka) performs a cappella in a style performer Shira Cion likens to Appalachian mountain.
"It is very focused, kind of strident, kind of loud and full-bodied. It's very fun and very physical," Cion says.
The from-the-gut style is based on the need in ancient times to carry sound from mountain peak to mountain peak or across a field, she says. The women of that time would also accompany themselves with song as they embroidered, wove or harvested crops. And they used their songs to call the workers in from the fields.
It's an open voice style that differs from a classical style, Cion says, and is sometimes harmonic and sometimes dissonant. The rhythms of the folk songs, hymns and carols performed by Kitka also vary from sweet and lilting to nimble or staccato.
Some of the songs are centuries-old hailing from such Eastern European countries as Bulgaria, the Ukraine, Georgia, Russia, Greece and Croatia and are performed in the 13 different languages in which they were written.
There are a few pieces performed in English, but Cion doesn't expect Kitka to sing them at the Sunnyvale concert.
Not all the songs the group performs are ancient. Contemporary composers have created music specifically tailored to Kitka's style and character.
In Bulgarian and Macedonian, kitka means "bouquet" or can be slang for a "bunch of women," says Cion. The name is fitting for the group of eight women whose voices are as individual as their ethnicities, which include roots in Eastern European countries. The group also includes Americans with mixed Western European backgrounds, and one with Taiwanese heritage.
Based in Oakland, Kitka was formed in 1979, but none of the group's current singers is a founding member. Cion and two others, Juliana Graffagna, Kitka's musical director, and Janet Kutulas, have been singing in Kitka for more than 18 years.
Before the concert in Sunnyvale, the trio will conduct a workshop in Balkan and Slavic-style singing. The class will be held in the community room at the Sunnyvale Community Center from 2 to 4 p.m. The cost is $25 for Sunnyvale residents and $35 for non-residents.
They offer workshops in their Oakland location at various times throughout the year, and have held them internationally when on tour.
To help the group vocalize songs in languages in which they are not conversant, its members work with translators and coaches. Cion speaks Bulgarian and Macedonian, and she says other singers are fluent in other languages, including Russian.
Auditions for new singers are held year-round.
The Kitka performance is scheduled for April 8 at 8 p.m. at the Sunnyvale Theatre, 550 E. Remington Drive. Tickets are $25, $20 for students and seniors. For tickets, phone the box office at 408.733.6611. For additional information, call the Sunnyvale Theatre administrative office at 408.730-7725 or visit http://arts.inSunnyvale.com.
For more information about the classes, visit www.sunnyvale.ca.gov/recreation, or call 408.730.7341.
