There is a technique used by Eastern European women's vocal groups, I think it originated in Bulgaria, which somehow manages to expand the emotional potency of the singer. Part of it I think comes from increased breath control that allows for more flexibility in the voice's delivery. Listening to some of the staccato bursts of emotionally driven rawness that was issuing from the singer's mouths I was hard pressed to think of anything that I have heard even remotely resembling what I was hearing now.
Like the best abstract paintings that utilize colour, shape, and composition to express a depth of emotion, Kitka's music is able to evoke and stimulate an emotional response. The sound is archetypical enough that you are able to identify with what is being said without understanding the actual words. As the Rusalka spends her week awake, we come to understand her plight through the sound of the singers.
Perhaps not literally knowing what is going on with the story line opens us up to being more receptive to hearing the emotions behind the plot. Whatever the case, listening to The Rusalka Cycle: Songs Between The Worlds is a powerful emotional experience. It also serves to remind us that some ancient traditions still are able to speak to us on some level or another no matter how far removed we've become from our original belief systems.
Music may have the power to calm the savage breast, but it can also stir the wildest of emotions, and Kitka proves that out with their incredible musical exploration of another culture, The Rusalka Cycle: Songs Between The Worlds
Article comments