Kitka

Wintersongs (Diaphonic)

            Repetition has worn out even the best Anglo-American Christmas songs.  The worst of them can sour even the most generous holiday spirit.  Singing in traditions that will appeal to fans of the Bulgarian Women’s Choir, Kitka perform Christmas and winter solstice music from Eastern Europe, gathering together words and melodies from Russia and Georgia, the Ukraine and Greece, Romania, and Macedonia.  The minor keys prevent the mood from ever waxing sentimental, yet they often conjure those magical midnight moments associated with the season.  Ancient but not antique, these haunting performances restore a bit of luster to a holiday that in the U.S. means little more than a celebration of consumption.

                                                                             - David Luhrssen