Harmonia ensemble presents folk music of Eastern Europe (12/08/02)

Harmonia ensemble presents folk music of Eastern Europe

by Laryssa Courtney

OLD TOWN ALEXANDRIA, Va. - At a November 3 concert just outside of Washington, presented by The Washington Group Cultural Fund in cooperation with the Embassy of Ukraine, the Harmonia ensemble performed a program of traditional folk music from Ukraine, Hungary, Croatia, Romania and the Slovak Republic. As everyone in the audience discovered on this beautiful autumn Sunday afternoon, the group, described as "a musical gem," by National Public Radio and "obscenely talented" by the Folklore Society of Greater Washington, deserves its praise.

The Harmonia ensemble includes five musicians and a female vocalist. Walt Mahovlich, Harmonia's founder, who grew up listening to Hungarian and Croatian music, played the accordion and provided illuminating introductory comments as did the spirited Slovak singer, Beata Begeniova Salak. Alexander Fedoriouk, the cymbalom phenomenon from Kolomia, Ukraine, took everyone's breath away in his solos in "Ca la Breaza," a Romanian song, and in "Bereznianka" and "Veselo Se Divca," variations on, respectively, Ukrainian and Rusyn dance tunes. The cymbalom is the hammered dulcimer of Eastern Europe and is a chromatic 4 1/2 octave instrument.

Violinist Marko Dreher, who as a child played with his father's gypsy orchestra and at age 13 joined the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, exhibited his virtuosity in numerous songs including "Hutsul Fantasy," a mountaineer's song from western Ukraine and the fast Hungarian dance, the czardas.

Dexterity with wooden flutes was demonstrated by Andrei Pidkivka, a graduate of the Lviv Conservatory in Ukraine, who played the panflute, a folk instrument consisting of numerous pipes joined together. Conjuring up the ephemeral sounds and haunting echoes of distant forests and mountains, he displayed his magical musical abilities with the sopilka, a wooden flute from Ukraine, the tylynka, a wooden flute from the Carpathian mountains, and the dvodencivka, a double flute.

The bassist, Adam Good, who became interested in Eastern European music several years ago, provided steady back-up for all the pieces.

Ms. Salak, evoking passion and nostalgia, the hallmarks of traditional gypsy music, transformed the Lyceum auditorium into a cabaret. She generated excitement, with everyone clapping to the accelerating beat in songs from Croatia, "Ciganka Sam Mala" and "Eva Banke Cigane Moj," and from Slovakia sung in Romany, the Gypsy language.

Throughout the performance one sensed common threads weaving through the tapestry of the multi-ethnic repertoire. This was no surprise, given the geographic proximity of these ethnic groups. The standing-room-only audience of over 150 people was on its feet after the last song, demanding more.

At a reception following the concert, members of the audience, which included many folk musicians and a cross-section of Eastern European ethnic groups, mingled and had an opportunity to meet the artists. It was a wonderful beginning for The Washington Group Cultural Fund 2002-2003 Music Series.

For more information on Harmonia, which is based in Cleveland, visit their website at www.harmoniaband.com.

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