Winter Light
Winter Light: Songs, Music and rituals from the Carpathians a Baroque Folk Nativity Play and Serhiy Zhada looks at Ukraine Today created by Yara Arts Group directd by Virlana Tkacz Winter Light: Songs, Music and Rituals the Carpathians is a delightful hour-and-a-half from Yara Arts Group (at La MaMa) consisting primarily of Ukrainian folk music. The cast of 21 sing in a range of flavors, sometimes clapping, sometimes stamping their feet. The styles range from the ethereal to the staccato, from the placid to the hearty. The singing is almost exclusively in Ukrainian, with only a few moments of translation indicating the lyrics. “Nothing lasts forever,” we hear, and “How long I waited for you.” The night I attended, the audience broke into spontaneous clapping as the singers ran through a song. Such is the contagious energy of this troupe. Many songs are sung a capella , but there’s an instrumental accompaniment to others, and the instruments are choice. There’s ...