Samo Vovk - TA NA SOLBICI | KGBL Chamber Choir

TA NA SOLBICI
for mixed choir (SATB div.) a cappella

Text: Samo Vovk & Barbara Grahor
Music by: Samo Vovk (1989)
Composed: version for mixed choir, 2017
This version was written at the request of conductor Ambrož Čopi


Ta-na Solbici se poračalo,
(There was a wedding in village Solbica/Stolvizza (in Resia valey))
Ja lo li li le lo le le lo li lo
(typical resian folk refrains are built from these syllables)

***
So nöge na glas tärmale,
da so Bilo rizglasnile
(feet (nöge) were hitting floor so loudly
that drown out the river Bila)

***
Jo lo la li le la – la la li le lo
li le lo, li le lo, jo la la li le,
od Ćanїna tintinalo, od Ćanїna.
(it was echoing off the mountain Kanin (or Ćanїn, it is a mountain above Solbica village))


LIVE RECORDING:
Video provided by Taipei International Choral Festival (TICF18)
August 1, 2018, Taipei National Concert Hall, Taiwan
KGBL Chamber Choir
Ambrož Čopi, conductor


About the composer:

Samo Vovk (1989) took his musical career by playing a classical guitar and continued his path as self-taught jazz singer and guitarist.
In years 2008-2016 he was a singer in a group Perpetuum Jazzile and was their artistic director his last two years there. He is still their arranger and producer. His jazz singing skills were developed on lessons of Maja Bevc, Nina Strnad, JD Walter, Kim Nazarian (New York Voices). Samo continued his musical growth by learning from prof. Jaka Pucihar and many great a cappella masters (Peder Karlsson, Anders Edenroth, Jesper Holm). As an arranger, singer and artistic leader he contributes in vocal band Kreativo. His important successes are: 2016 - arranging for Disney awards; 2017 - Ta na Solbici, song written for Carmen Manet, who won Eurovision choir of the year in Riga.
The composer on his work:
Ta-na Solbici is an original composition by Samo Vovk, which combines elements of Resian folk music with more modern rhythms and harmonies, a kind of "wedding" between folk and modern music. It was written for the Carmen Manet girls' choir from Kranj for the Eurovision Choir of the year 2017.

In the composition we recognize Resia in nasal sharp singing, stamping of feet, folk escalation of the story, combinations of syllables from typical Resian refrains "la la / le le / jo le / jo li / li li /…", lyrics that are strongly connected with nature and people, quartic modulation (this derives from the specifics of playing the instrument "citira in bunkula”) and, of course, in a unique language - Resian, which was the guide for creation with its sonority. Newer elements of the composition are more complex harmonies, melody, body-percussion, and rhythm, which is inspired by jazz grooves. The listener follows the story from two perspectives – as an external observer of events (when the singers sing with natural colour), and in modulation as a participant in the wedding (when the sound of the song becomes sharp/nasal).

The story begins with a flight over the beautiful valley of Resia and the approaching sound coming from the wedding celebration in the village below Kanin – Solbica (Stolvizza). As at any real wedding, the newlyweds were accompanied with singing, playing and dancing. Their feet were hitting the ground so loudly that they drowned river Bila, flowing through the village. The stomping grows louder and louder and overpowers the bells that ring on this merry day. The joy later flares up so that it echoes from Kanin throughout the Resia Valley.

When writing and arranging songs Samo Vovk tends to connect several elements/genres into a whole. As a creator of choral music, he has a vision to emphasise the rhythm and groove in choral singing, as he believes there is still a lot of potential in this area.

Slovenian text and English translation prepared by Rebeka Dobravec
Editing for youtube channel prepared by Matej Kastelic

Conservatory of Music and Ballet Ljubljana, Slovenia / Konservatorij za glasbo in balet Ljubljana (http://www.kgbl.si)

Sheet Music Published by http://www.samoinbarbara.si/ta-na-sol...

Copyright © 2020 by KGBL Chamber Choir (https://www.choirkgbl.eu)