Mariana Sadovska CDs

Three singers, three countries, three music traditions. Pastel is a musical communication across all language boundaries. Outi Pulkinnen (voice & jouhikko - Finland), Mariana Sadovska (voice & harmonium - Ukraine) and Nadja Räss (voice & schwyzerörgeli - Switzerland) experiment with their voices, bringing the compositions of Markus Flückiger’s “Nommod” to new life and enriching them with their very own sounds. 
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This CD is Mariana Sadovska‘s latest recording project, in which she is forming a duo with Christian Thomé – drummer, composer and producer. Despite the fact they are from different worlds, they were joined by an implicit musical understanding. This understanding is mainly rooted in the duo‘s sense of freedom and eagerness to experiment. Ukrainian melodies and tradition are blended with vocal and sonic experiments, intricate rhythms, refined beats and unconventional arrangements. No genre-boundaries, always on the quest for freedom and identity. Both musicians embark on a personal exploration, equipped with two of the world‘s oldest instruments: voice and drum. They are on a quest for the essence of their mutual passing of borders. All the while enriching their respective sonic voices, giving expression to their east/west encounter. Nearly forgotten, ancient, shamanic and current urban variations of their instruments compliment each other organically. Tromp, Indian harmonium, zither, sampler, laptop and further electronic equipment. The foundation for the album was laid way before the turmoil and chaos of the Maidan Square. Their program however was becoming increasingly explosive, after the musicians performed in Kiev on December 2013: Mariana Sadovska‘s song „Oi Plyve Kacha“ became a requiem for those shot on the Maidan Square and eventually an elegy for all victims of the war. --> listen & buy

The Ark Ensemble is a world music/Jewish music supergroup, consisting of Frank London, trumpet (NYC – the Klezmatics); Glenn Hartman, accordion and organ (New Orleans Klezmer Allstars); Jessica Ivry, cello (San Francisco – Feisst, Real Vocal String Quartet); John Schott, guitar (San Francisco, Tom Waits, T.J. Kirk, John Zorn); Avi Avital, mandolin (Israel/Berlin); Aaron Alexander, drums and percussion (NYC – Klezmatics, Greg Wall); Stuart Brotman, bass (San Francisco, Brave Old World); Jewlia Eisenberg, voice (San Francisco); and Mariana Sadovska, voice (Ukraine/ Germany). 

'This CD includes songs which Mariana Sadovska recorded in New York and Cologne. In a sense, this music is a result of my numerous expeditions to Ukrainian villages. Often, in one small house, during one evening of singing, poetry and magic melt together with everyday life and primitiveness, eroticism and humor – with tragedy and desperation. Where life rolls on. Strong, passionate, furious. On the other hand, this is a result of my meeting and collaboration with incredible musicians, each of them – personality, composer, virtuoso. The inspiring and creative dialogue with these musicians made it possible to find a new contemporary sound and life in those ancient songs.' (Mariana Sadovska) --> listen & buy  

This CD is a unique project of outstanding artists from diverse cultural backgrounds from Poland, Ukraine and the world. The idea behind the project is to connect generations and cultures. The project was developed in the prestigious series 'Other Voices' as a result of the workshops and the cooperation of artists participating in the Festival Different Sounds in Lublin/ Poland. The works are based on contemporary music, from ballads, rock, reggae sounds fused with Ukrainian and Jewish roots, combined with extraordinary energy and great imagination.
This music is also an artistic reinterpretation of own experience. Harmony of the art of words and music sources. 

DVD with orginal music by Mariana Sadovska
Kitka, which started out as an informal group accompanying the dance company Westwind, has traveled many paths since 1979 as both a musical ensemble and a theatrical performance group. This choir, directed by composer Philip Koutev, catapulted into the world music scene in 1988. The choral sound is an ancient one, with a bright, edged timbre produced primarily in the singers’ chest, and the harmonies depend often on second, seventh and ninth intervals, giving them a dissonant and electric quality.
“Singing Through Darkness” began with a complex choral piece with sustained notes and a repeating chorus: “And am I born to die, to lie this body down, and let this trembling spirit fly into the world …” Then the piece moved into brief story-tellings in which each singer told of some painful personal experience. Those swiftly moved into fragments from the World War I song, “Over There.” The blending of the songs and text created a sonic collage — an interweaving of vocal textures and techniques.

A CD with original music from Mariana Sadovska. In Slavic folklore, Rusalki are the restless spirits of women who have died unjust, untimely or unnatural deaths. They inhabit the waters, forests and fields, luring people to them with their mesmerizing songs and wild laughter. Performed by the eight powerful voices of Kitka, the Rusalka Cycle is a riveting dream-like journey that weaves traditional Eastern European folk song. --> listen & buy

This album is made of Ukrainian traditional songs arranged by Mariana Sadovska. Together with her ​​band, she has found the perfect musical ground for her furious interpretation of the archaic Ukrainian songs. This kaleidoscope flows into the arrangements of the ensemble and creates a dazzling spectrum of sound and expressive ballads, full of longing, hope and wild courage. '… a stupendous highly expressive mixture of archaic elements, vocal art, hard rock and ironic theatrical refractions' (WDR3)

Sometimes a song can turn a 'stranger' into 'one of us'. Mariana Sadovska, who initiated this CD, visited the villages of Poltava and Polissa many times in the past ten years. Hanna Savkova Chudinovych from Zelen village in Polissa told her: 'I sing for you, because when I die maybe somebody somewhere will sing this song and remember' Mariana Sadovska remembers. During her concerts she tells the stories of the people who taught her the songs she sings.

'Each song I sing was given to me by a specific woman I met. I heard the story of the song, I learned the way it should be sung and when. I understood that a song can be the way, the map that guides you through life.' (Mariana Sadovska) 'Sometimes a musician has such an unborn desire to communicate that her message naturally becomes universal : it doesn’t matter whether she is singing soul or bel canto or folk. The responsibilities, protocol and tradition of whatever style she is working in just vanish; she replaces them with pure vitality. Such is the case with the Ukrainian singer Mariana Sadovska.' (The New York Times) --> listen & buy