The Nightingale Trio
Minneapolis, MN | Established. Jan 01, 2013
Music
Press
The music of Eastern Europe and the Balkans is both earthy and serene
and the Nightingale Trio sings it with passion. - Minnesota Public Radio
An engaging warmth and intimacy, not to mention admirable rhythmic and harmonic tightness... the Nightingale trio will come as a revelation.
Remember that Mystère des Voix Bulgares album that took the world by storm back in the late 1980s? You’ll be reminded of it by the Nightingale Trio’s quieter, starker performance of “Kaval Sviri” on this, their second album. But the Nightingales range farther afield in their material, and on Izvora you’ll hear lullabies, laments, hymns, and comedic dance songs from Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, Bulgaria, and Macedonia, all performed with an engaging warmth and intimacy, not to mention admirable rhythmic and harmonic tightness — no mean feat when you’re talking about 7/8 time signatures and tricky modal harmonies. For those who generally find Balkan singing a bit too intense and hard-edged, the Nightingale Trio will come as a revelation. - CD Hotlist
The tunes range from solemn to ecstatic... I can hear the warbling style
that made its way West from the caves of Andalusia. - Reviler
Discography
Izvora (2016)
1. Na Dvore Dozhd'
2. Kaval Sviri
3. Iz Dolu Ide
4. Oj Khodyt' Son
5. Minka e Rano Stanala
6. Kalina Moma
7. Vo Nase Selo Malovo
8. Ishla Vdova Dolynoyu
9. Sviati Bozhe
10. Gulyi, Gulyi Dunyushka
11. Tsmindao Ghmerto
12. Sub o Salcie Pletoasa
13. Tsangala
Letya (2013)
1. Izraslo Drvo Visoko
2. Kriste Aghsdga
3. Prochula Se Moma Nedelya
4. Bezrodna Nevesta
5. Prekhvrukna Ptichka
6. Subrali Sa Se Subrali
7. Szombateste Bucsuztato
8. Izgreyala e Mesechinka
9. Trenke, Todorke
10. Ja Urani Jutros Rano
11. Szerelem, Szerelem
12. Oi Chorna
13. Aylye Lyulye, Lyulye
14. Shto Mi e Milo
Photos
Bio
An emerging force on the global folk music scene, The Nightingale Trio is an all-woman vocal group devoted to studying and celebrating the rich women’s vocal traditions of Eastern Europe. With sounds that could fill a hall and the tight harmonies of a family band, the Nightingale Trio captures this amazing tradition's incomparable richness, dizzying rhythms, and raw, earthy power. The Trio members are musicians in Balkan and Eastern European women's oral tradition, studying under apprenticeships with mastersingers and in lifelong commitment to communities abroad and in the United States.
Performance highlights include: “A Prairie Home Companion” (National Public Radio broadcast), “Worlds in Collusion” presented by the High Zero Foundation (ArtScape, Baltimore), Zlatne Uste Golden Festival (Brooklyn), The Cedar Cultural Center (Minneapolis), St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral (Minneapolis), and Basilica Cathedral of St. Joseph (San Jose).
The Nightingale Trio has commissioned and arranged new music rooted in and elevating Eastern European tradition with support from the Howard B. and Ruth F. Brin Jewish Arts Endowment, Minnesota State Arts Board, and commissions from choirs around the U.S. and Europe. In 2018, the Trio premiered new arrangements by Ayanna Woods (Yadda-Yadda/Chicago IL, recently seen in “Place” by Ted Hearne and Saul Williams at BAM/New York) and Olga Amelkina-Vera (Kithara Duo/Dallas TX, winner of the 2017-18 American Prize in chamber composition). The Trio released their second full-length album “Izvora” in 2016. The Trio has been invited to compete in the Irish International A Cappella Festival in Dublin, June 2019.
In 2019, the Nightingale Trio will be touring a collection of new music, featuring songs created in collaboration with Rachael Kilgour (winner of the NewSong Grand Prize in songrwriting/Lincoln Center NY and the LEAF Newsong contest), Sara Pajunen (Finlandia Foundation 2015 Performer of the Year, of bands Kaivama & Aallotar), J.E. Sunde (featured on NPR music, collaborator with Monica Martin/Phox), and others. This new program traces the stories of women working and making a life together through song, and highlights the Trio’s breadth of vocal performance and new frontiers of playful exploration of traditional folk forms. Premier/Tour dates: Summer 2019
Band Members
Links
