Toronto's Vesnivka Choir appears in "Echoes of the East" program

by Sonia Solon

TORONTO - The Vesnivka Choir, under the direction of Kvitka Kondracki, recently made a guest appearance with the renowned Amadeus Choir at the North York Performing Arts Center. The program titled "Echoes of the East" was a musical venture into the Slavic choral liturgical repertoire.

Vesnivka sang compositions by Verbytsky, Koshetz, Hnatyshyn and Hrechaninov. The Toronto Star's Gary Chapman had this to say about the choir's peformance. Vesnivka sang "in [an] appropriately mellifluous manner, articulation clean if too even-handed, emphasizing accuracy over expressiveness though passion was elicited from 'Praise The Lord, O My Soul.'"

Hahilky and vesnianky (spring ritual songs) provided a delightful interlude to the religious repertoire. Kondracki engaged young artists of the Toronto-based Ukraina Dancers, who wove dance patterns to the singing. This was something new and appealing for the largely non-Ukrainian audience of Amadeus subscribers.

The highlight of the April 9 concert was the merging of two choirs. Lydia Adams, conductor of Amadeus, left the selection of compositions for this section to Kondracki. She chose and conducted excerpts from "The Divine Liturgy," by Iakiv Jacynevych, which the reviewer found "exceptionally moving." Alois Nanke's "In the Flesh You Fell Asleep - Plotiyu Usnuv" was "nobly done, dark," and the combined choirs brought "rich tonal colors" to the performance, Mr. Chapman noted. The climax was the performance of Stetsenko's "The Beatitudes."

To finish off the 2000-2001 season, Vesnivka Choir has been invited to participate in the International Olympic Day gala concert. This gala is part of the arts and culture component of the City of Toronto's bid for the 2008 Summer Olympics.

The Vesnivka Choir was to join other performers, including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and world-renowned tenor Richard Margison on June 23 at Roy Thomson Hall.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, June 24, 2001, No. 25, Vol. LXIX

| Home Page |