New Orleans-based Trendafilka (named after the Balkan wild rose) is an eleven-piece vocal ensemble that draws its repertoire from traditional folk songs from areas of Eastern Europe that hold rich cultural traditions of polyphonic singing. Established in New Orleans circa 2016, Trendafilka’s exploration of European polyphonic traditions grew out of a common desire for group singing as well as a shared fascination with culture and ancient traditions. After two years of effort and a successful Kickstarter campaign, the group is now set to release its second studio album, For the Olives on Nov. 22, 2024.
Recorded, mixed and mastered by 2x Grammy winner Misha Kachkachishvili, For the Olives consists primarily of seasonal and ritual songs from Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Greece, Ukraine, Latvia, and Lithuania and include spring calling songs, songs for midsummer's eve, harvest songs, and winter ritual songs. With 12 songs for 12 months, 'For the Olives' is essentially a concept album, embracing seasonality and the traditional marking of time through song.
Says Director Lou Carrig, “As New Orleanians, we are no strangers to seasonal rituals, which are celebrated here publicly with parades and live music throughout the year. It feels natural and important to sing different songs for each season.” Carrig spent the period of album production on a year-long Fulbright scholarship in Bulgaria studying the role of ritual songs in the traditional Slavic calendar, the breadth of which knowledge is represented in the album’s thorough liner notes.
In Trendafilka's performances, Eastern European songs are represented in 3 to 5 distinct vocal lines. Dissonances and harmonies weave and swell throughout each song as common human themes are explored: grief, love, loss, jokes, and magic. Shifting between styles with ease, the singers work to blend their eleven unique voices into one unified sound, creating a musical tapestry greater than the sum of its original parts.
“We sing exclusively in polyphony, which is a style of singing that has occurred throughout the world since ancient times,” says Carrig. “The polyphonic styles we sing in range from archaic to modern, but the commonality is that they are musically non-hierarchical: multiple voices sing independent lines simultaneously, creating a textured, weaving sound. It requires the listener to tune into several melodies at once, but I think that’s what our audience enjoys the most: experiencing a lawful musical coexistence.”
The album’s first single “Chichovite Konye” (set to drop November 1st) is based on a Bulgarian ritual song for St. Lazarus’ Day, which occurs in the spring one week before Easter. On this day, young women, called lazarki, take part in an initiation that involves performing songs throughout the village, blessing homes in exchange for small gifts and food. It is a rite of passage to participate, and was traditionally required before a girl was considered an adult and eligible for marriage.
Says Carrig, “When a member suggested that we add it to our repertoire, I dove into the song's history and uncovered the oldest recording which was markedly different from the versions you’ll hear today! Our arrangement starts in the traditional village style, known as antiphony, where two smaller choirs overlap in a call-and-response format. This is how it would have traditionally been sung on St. Lazarus’ Day. After a few verses, we jump into a modern choral arrangement by composer Georgi Genov. The track is fun and upbeat, and contrasts traditional village singing style with the modern Bulgarian choral sound more familiar to the Western world.”
The album’s title track and second single/focus track “Kaliora Na Houn I Elyes” (roughly translated as “Wishes to the Olives”) was brought to the group by vocalist Phoebe Vlassis, who was introduced to the song by peers in the Greek polyphonic vocal group Pleiades. She knew she wanted to bring it to Trendafilka as it was from the island of Corfu, where her family is from and where she spent her summers growing up.
Carrig reflects, “We immediately loved the song's lyrics, which speak of coming together for a shared purpose and the bittersweet feeling of parting when the season ends. This resonates deeply with our group, which naturally swells and disperses with the seasons, especially as some members split their time between New Orleans and Southeastern Europe. We were already leaning into seasonal songs in our repertoire, and this harvest song is so uplifting and joyous. The scene depicted in this track - harvesting olives to produce lamp oil for embroidering at night - also led us to commission Belgrade-based hand embroidery artist Julia Omarova to complete the album artwork, which depicts a landscape including an olive tree, Mediterranean hills, and a woven basket filled with olives.”
For the Olives was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Misha Kachkachishvili at Esplanade Studios in New Orleans, LA. Contributing vocalists include Anais Adair, Renee Anderson, Lou Carrig, Ruby Corbyn-Ross, Annalisa Kelly, Grace Kennedy, Elisabeth Stancioff, Phoebe Vlassis, and Eleanor Warner. The album was funded in part by the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation, Threadhead Cultural Foundation, and Trendafilka’s generous Kickstarter backers.
