CONCERT REVIEW: Paris to Kyiv in Toronto (02/03/02)

CONCERT REVIEW: Paris to Kyiv in Toronto

by Marcia Ostashewski

TORONTO - Billed as "Winter Cycle Concert," the afternoon concert on Sunday, January 20, was the best music this reviewer has heard from Alexis Kochan and her group Paris to Kyiv. It was truly exquisite.

Concert-goers were greeted at the door of Holy Trinity Church in downtown Toronto by concert producer and director of Small World Productions Allan Davis. We took our seats among the chairs and old wooden pews in an unpretentious atmosphere; while the church is graced with grand stained glass windows and fine celestial decorative painting, it also feels comfortable.

It was the perfect atmosphere for the music of the special Paris to Kyiv trio comprised of chanteuse Alexis Kochan, bandurist Julian Kytasty, and violist Richard Moody. The trio recently returned from performing together on an extraordinary tour of old churches and an avant-garde festival in Poland. The music they shared with the audience in Trinity Square was pure synergy - clearly a result of working closely together.

Ms. Kochan used words from the translated songs to lightly color images in the mind; each bit of ancient Ukrainian song material came alive with the music. The concert, which focused on the winter song cycle, began with the trio's version of "Sviatyi Vechir," or "Holy Night."

The velvet tones of Ms. Kochan's voice welcomed the audience into a gentle quiet and were joined by Mr. Kytasty's vocal harmonies. Mr. Kytasty, more renowned as a premiere bandurist, met this song with a cheerful melody on sopilka (wooden flute). Mr. Moody rhythmically punctuated the melody on viola, then began to wind his own playful tune. This was the first of a series of sound vignettes.

Immediately following, the musicians played "Cross/Cradle/Tree," a piece composed for an earlier CD recording. Mr. Kytasty played his bandura, which he'd laid across his lap instead of holding upright as it is normally played. Throughout the concert, Mr. Kytasty displayed his talent for creating novel sounds on his traditional instruments. He fashioned unorthodox tonal moments and often used the bodies of the instruments to produce unusual sound qualities.

Each member of the trio wove in and out of richly layered textures. One audience favorite was a duet between Ms. Kochan and Mr. Moody; Mr. Moody jazzed up the piece and bent notes on a groove of Gershwin's "Summertime" melody, echoing a lullaby sung by Ms. Kochan.

The most intimate part of the group's performance was "Plach," an ode to a mother's dead child. Ms. Kochan chanted the woman's lament; Mr. Kytasty played a drawn-out melody, ending phrases with generous amounts of breath-evoking elements of the ephemeral. Mr. Moody accompanied himself on guitar, offering a response from the child; the unassuming and calm timbre of his voice brought tears to many eyes as he sang "Mama, please don't cry."

Such poignant songscapes were interspersed with dancey tunes played by the two instrumentalists. These tunes treated the audience to some lighter material, and had them almost dancing in their seats.

The trio closed the program with "Stone Age Carol," an energy-charged blending of primordial and avant-garde effects. The spring song performed by the trio for an encore intermingled seemingly disparate open-voice-like timbres and legato moments. The fullness and resonance of the viola, voice and sopilka together suggested a gracious renewal of spirit. This was a magnificent performance of the luscious sounds of Paris to Kyiv.

Renditions of all these pieces can be enjoyed on various CD recordings of Paris to Kyiv. However, the live performance of this particular trio was a precious experience of their own integration, as noted in the program, of "ancient Ukrainian traditions into an original, richly atmospheric music which has won fans wherever it has been heard."

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