Pulling its concept from the folk tales of Eastern Europe, "The Rusalka Cycle" is a collaboration between the woman's vocal ensemble Kitka and musical dramaturge Marian Sadovska which builds from its roots in ghost tales to create further aural hauntings.

In folklore, a Rusalka is the spirit of a woman who died tragically — often brides on their wedding nights or mothers who die giving birth — and continue to stalk the forests and fields in their grief. Their more practical job as spirits is to oversee the season's cycle, the weather, the success of agricultural en-deavor. The Rusalka are still featured in Sla-vic song and dance.

On "The Rusalka Cycle," Sadovska pulls from traditional music sources — the Ukraine, Bosnia, Albania, Croatia, Russian Georgia, Romania and Bulgaria are all represented — and melds them into one complete work.

The cycle moves through a range of emotions, from the emotional violence of "Awakening" to delicate sadness of "Fare-well," which features some English lyrics thanks its adaptation of the American folk song "Parting Friends" into the mix, making the theme of women forever replaying their dooms more universal, less confined to a world far away and long ago.

Kitka give a remarkably subtle vocal performance that runs from the lilting on such numbers as "River Rose" to the frantic and frightening assault of "Sirens." The ensemble is accompanied by two cellists and a percussionist on some of the tracks, which can make for some dramatic progressions — meanwhile, all-vocal tracks are equally as textured, with the voices forming as various spirits uniting in legend.

The sounds of Eastern Europe have lately become very vogue and it's a welcome movement, as the region has much to offer. So much of what gets the attention is some variation of party music — the sublime is less in the public eye. In that way, this sort of music can be as elusive to those who might be interested as the very phantoms portrayed in the work. "The Rusalka Cycle" speaks only speaks to the well-rounded richness of Eastern European culture and its passion comes from the same history as that of Balkan Beat Box or Gogol Bordello, only its expression is more for those moments in the middle of the night when you are home, the crowds have left the streets and you are alone with your own ghosts — sharing a moment with the Rusalkas is the kind of dark bonding moment that we all sometimes require.

- by John Mitchell