Kitka Brilliantly Presents Music From Bulgaria, World

Bulgaria’s most visible export is almost surely the music of women’s voices, specifically the music of the ensemble known as Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares. And understandably so, since the ensemble’s sophisticated transformation of traditional vocal music is one of the world’s most distinctive and compelling sounds.

What is surprising is that the style travels as well as it does. And never better than in the performance of the Oakland-based ensemble Kitka, at the Cal State Northridge Performing Arts Center Saturday night.

The eight-singer group, now approaching its 20th anniversary, executed the complex melismas and dissonant harmonies of the Bulgarian singing style with ease. And their extensive program was rich with collected traditional pieces, many of them specifically arranged for Kitka.

But that was only part of their brilliant musical program. Reaching into other styles, there was, for example, the Spanish-sounding “Devla,” a piece from Gypsy sources that revealed the connectivity of some of the musical threads that have stretched their way from Asia to Europe. There were also several poignant Russian songs, a spirited and sexy tune from the Russian Ensemble Rossiyanochka, as well as “Erev Shel Shoshanim,” a lovely traditional Hebrew melody.

All of it was performed with accuracy and flair. The dissonant intervals associated with the diaphonic singing style, the soaring, complex melodic ornamentation, the antiphonal back-and-forth passages, the occasionally asymmetric rhythms, all flowed with startling ease and near-perfect intonation.

And although Kitka clearly prides itself on its identity as a musical collective, each individual singer--Leslie Bonnett, Sira Cion, Catherine Rose Crowther, Deborah Dietrich, Juliania Graffagna, Janet Kutulas, Ann Moorhead and Lily Storm--stepped forward at some point in the program to sing strong solos.

The only flaw in the evening was the relatively modest turnout. Kitka, a group whose exotic sounds only serve to enhance its musical appeal, deserves a far wider hearing.