Kitka - "Awakening" from The Rusalka Cycle

Kitka women's vocal ensmble
"Awakening" from The Rusalka Cycle: Songs Between Worlds (Concert Version)

Live performance in Köln, Germany, 2009

Musical Direction, Composition, Arrangement and Dramaturgy by Mariana Sadovska

Stage Direction by Andre Erlen and Ellen Sebastian Chang

Traditional Song Souces in "Awakening":
Rano, Rano - Ričice, Ukraine
Provedu Rusalki - Ričice, Ukraine
Oj lecit strela - Ričice, Ukraine
Ispod duba, voda buba - Bosnia
Do mar ciften do per gjah - Albania
Blaho slovy Bože - Poltava region, Ukraine

In Slavic folklore, Rusalki are powerful, enticing female entities who inhabit waters, forests and fields. Believed to be the restless spirits of women who have died unjust, untimely, or unnatural deaths - such as brides who died on their wedding night; young mothers who perished during childbirth; unmarried women who committed suicide after being rejected by a lover; or female babies who were stillborn - Rusalki regulate human, animal and agricultural fertility; seasonal cycles; and the weather. The rich folklore surrounding these mysterious and unpredictable nature-spirits was our inspiration for The Rusalka Cycle: Songs Between the Worlds.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• kitka
• rusalka cycle
• awakening
• women
• singing
• song
• choir ensemble
• ukrainian
• bosnian
• albanian
• folk
• world
• eastern european
• rusalki
• vocal theater