The presence of the world within our walls

5/21

El hombre sin nombre and his carts are gone.

Gathered here tonight are two choirs for a concert of Eastern European Polyphony, featuring the Georgian singers Supruli

Supruli

and the Ukrainian Village Voices

Ukrainian Village Voices

  to benefit relief in the Ukraine and also West Park. This is a fruition of a dream going back to last December when Supruli volunteered to take part in the benefit for the Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and Housing. It just wasn’t feasible at that time. But Brian who had connection s back to Bread and Puppet worked with Carl and Ezra to make to all happen and so tonight’s concert. There were connections through Brian back to Nicaragua as well.

Their deep and rich voices brought to life these far away villages with love songs, work songs, liturgical songs. All from days before, during and after what we knew as the Soviet Union, an undistinguished colossus for most Americans. Now revealing a universe of cultures and traditions and ethnicities which only add to the fascination of a failed, but nevertheless bold social experiment, an empire if you will, that stretched over time zone s and was its own universe. The singing for the relief of the  Ukraine pointing to the ongoing unresolved legacy of the break up of that empire.

handshake of friendship

solidarity

Following the concert, the choirs gather for wine and food and the inevitable vodka followed by toasting songs and songs just for the joy of singing. Nicaragua last week, Ukraine this week…the presence of the world within our walls continues….