Balkan beauty Maine women’s choir imports universal music of Eastern European region

For centuries, women in the Balkan region of Eastern Europe have passed down songs from mother to daughter to granddaughter.

Now this oral tradition is making inroads in central and coastal Maine, thanks to the Maine Women’s Balkan Choir.

For the past three to four years, the a cappella choir has been finding a willing audience for its songs, which originated in rural areas of Bulgaria, Macedonia, Croatia, Dalmatia, Slovenia, Serbia and Bosnia. (The group next performs at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 13, at the Unity Centre for the Performing Arts.)

Choir members say that acceptance of the music comes easily because the message in the songs is universal. The songs express the seasons of a woman’s life in the village – the joy, the sorrow, the work in the fields and the caprices of love. (In concert, the members translate a song before singing it.)

“Every human being is connected by the same emotions and the same trials and tribulations,” said Kim Reiss of Ellsworth, the group’s executive director. “Everyone can relate to the meanings of these songs. They’re emotional and heart-stirring.”

While the themes may be familiar, the music itself may sound unfamiliar.

“It’s in minor keys usually,” explained Kirsten Stockman of Bar Harbor, one of the choir’s founders. “It’s played in really fast meters, some that Western musicians can’t even grasp. The singing tradition in Bulgaria developed a unique style in isolation, without outside influences. It’s got a haunting, melancholy quality.”

The music was in the blood of Anne Tatgenhorst of Winterport, the group’s musical director.

“My father grew up in Bulgaria,” she said. “When I heard Kirsten singing this music, I immediately connected with her.”

For the past 11 years, Reiss, Stockman and Tatgenhorst have performed in the trio Sviata Duma (Balkan for sacred words). They found other kindred souls when press releases went out seeking singers for a Balkan choir.

One was Nan Lincoln, arts editor for the Bar Harbor Times. She remembered first hearing Balkan music 15 years ago.

“I was absolutely overwhelmed by it,” recalled the veteran singer from Tremont. “When I got the press release about forming a Balkan women’s choir, I was the first one to call. I knew that music was suited to my voice. Also that kind of power was something I wanted in on.”

It wasn’t the best of times for Lincoln to undertake a new venture. In addition to the usual torrent of summer activity on Mount Desert Island, her father was very ill.

“It was a difficult summer,” Lincoln recalled. “The music served kind of like primal-scream therapy.”

For Rose Holdsworth of Lamoine, who is of Slovenian descent, the choir represents a chance to connect further with her heritage.

“I understand the culture and understand the feelings and humor that comes through,” Holdsworth said. “It’s something that touches me in the heart, not just the music but being able to speak it.”

The choir, which has around 20 members from Hancock and Waldo counties, rehearses Saturdays at the Ellsworth Congregational Church on Church Street.

It’s as much a social occasion as it is musical. The choir is a diverse group of women – teachers, administrators, fisherwomen, journalists, health care workers, homemakers, students and grandmothers.

“It’s a great group of women, all different ages and walks of life,” Stockman said. “It’s really a lot of fun having women you’d never get together get together to sing. We all help each other out.”

The membership of the group is fluid.

“We seem to get another member or two every time we sing out of town,” Lincoln said. “There are some from the beginning and some come and go. I like the way it breathes, it expands and contracts.”

The choir always welcomes new members.

“It’s not that difficult to pick up,” Reiss said. “Everyone learns the lyrics phonetically, and we use music tapes. You just have to be able to sing relatively on key, and to want to be a part of enjoying this music.”

Performances include: June 18, 7-8 p.m., Agamont Park, Bar Harbor; July 16, opening for Special Edition, Winterport Union Meeting House; Aug. 22, Hammond Hall, Winter Harbor; Aug. 24, amphitheater, Camden Library; Sept. 20, Common Ground Fair. For more information, call Kim Reiss at 667-8316.