As the sun rises – the sun will set at the end of the day. And as the world gives promises – it also takes them back sometimes. Дай Слово (Day Slovo) means „Give me your word“ and Віддай Слово (Vidday Slovo) means „Return the word“. While Day Slovo is a solo performance in all its innocence and fragility of a newly engaged, the following cycle Vidday Slovo marks the abrupt and violent end of a paradise.
Дай Слово (Day Slovo)
This solo performance which premiered in Haifa, Israel in 2020 was directed, arranged and performed by Melanka Piroschik. The songs that are used are Ukrainian traditionals. In cooperation with WERT Kollektiv the performance was recorded in Leipzig in 2021. It is about the rituals of engagement and marriage in a large community, carried out by families, friends and the whole village to ease the couple’s transition into their new life. And what it’s like not to have it. In Day Slovo, only traditional songs are used that were found in archives or passed down orally and that are actually sung by different women during the ritual marriage, because the bride herself does not actually sing. Here, however, she sings: alone.
(Please make sure to turn on subtitles)
Віддай Слово (Vidday Slovo)
The songs that were used in the solo performance are now being turned into a series of home productions and experimental arrangements marking a new phase. It is exploring the question of ritual and tradition, how we can use them to grief in a world that can’t cope with itself and its complexities anymore. This ongoing home studio production process is being supported by Musikfonds e.V. NEUSTART KULTUR funds.
Як посію рожу (Vidday Slovo Cycle) – 2
Ой у неділю рано (Vidday Slovo Cycle) – 1
