Musical Storytelling: Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors

Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (De vuurpaarden in Dutch) directed by Sergei Parajanov is the worldwide renowned Soviet-Ukrainian film classic. The film is one of the landmarks of 1960`s world cinemas. In all the extravagant color, vivid tragedy, and lucid anthropological detail, it stunned audiences when it first premiered. Parajanov himself was named one of the 20 Film Directors of the Future by the Rotterdam International Film Festival. The original soundtrack to the movie is made of authentic folk music from the Carpathian mountain region of Ukraine as well as original compositions by Ukrainian composer M. Skoryk.
For our Musical Storytelling project, we used the soundtrack as a source of inspiration for new artistic interpretations.
The performance alternates music and texts to tell the story of the film and the unique circumstances under which it was shot; the eccentric director Sergei Parajanov and his crew; and the village Kryvorivnya with its peculiar customs, dialect, and music.

Line up:
Maryana Golovchenko – voice, effects, and traditional Ukrainian instruments
Anna Antipova – violin, electronics
George Dumitriu – sound design
Olga Chernii – video compilation