Symphonic Singing
The National Philharmonic Society of Ukraine hosted a concert titled “Force Spot” by the unique Zikr Duet marking their tenth anniversary this year.
Kyiv remains Igor Silin and Olga Tkachenko’s favorite city. It was here that their duet was born, although they mostly perform abroad and visit Ukraine occasionally.
Even among the best performers few can boast having discovered something new in music, but it is a fact that the Zikr Duet remains original and inimitable. Igor Kalinauskas (Silin is his stage name) and Olga Tkachenko conquered the musical Olympus, discovering a new type of vocalism called symphonic singing. They adopted the vibrato technique, totally uncharacteristic of the traditional vocal art, combining classical, folk, rock, pop, and jazz improvisations. They perform without accompaniment and achieve the required vocal range using ancient Tibetan guttural, Sufi, and unique Spanish hante hondo techniques. And their vocal range embraces eight octaves, matching a symphony orchestra! The name of the duet comes from zikr, a ritual chant performed by a special class of dervishes acting as religious entertainers; it is still practiced at ancient Tibetan monasteries.
Quite a few critics in different countries have argued and written about the Zikr Duet phenomenon. Jim Bessman noted in the Billboard that Zikr incorporates different styles. Mostly it is like two singers competing in scat, vocal jazz improvisation in which wordless syllables are used, practiced by great singers such as Sarah Vaughan. With this duet, the difference is that the same is done melodiously. Jazz singers have the song context with which to improvise, whereas Zikr seems to create a melody born of their voices. Apart from dynamic improvisation giving the audience a unique experience, Zikr reveals another aspect: an incredible emotional tension generated by their voices and dramatic performance.
The British critic Andrew Stuart stressed the duet’s performing mastery, saying Zikr could be correctly described as unique. The brilliant performers aptly combine elements of freedom and rigid form, ranging from Asiatic religious chants to contemporary free jazz, producing a striking diversity of vocally expressive shades. Their vocal range is from hardly audible whisper to piercing scream. Vowels and at times explosive consonants in lieu of words, although their improvisations invariably reveal a degree of communication. In concert, Silin and Tkachenko perform extra-sophisticated improvisations on any themes suggested by the audience. They are capable of conjuring up an atmosphere of serene concentration drawing the listeners into their magic world of sounds.
The duet is in constant creative quest, experimenting on a broad range, in close creative collaboration with the world’s leading performers specializing in various genres. Their concerts together with Daniel Kientzi, George Haslam, Tommy Mansikka Aga, Sergei Kurekhin, Aleksandr Liapin (guitar), Mikhail Chernov (sax, DDT), Sergei Belimov (piano), Kyiv musicians Volodymyr Solianyk (piano) and Serhiy Khmelev (percussions) proved a great success. The noted Russian couturier Viacheslav Zaitsev took part in designing their wardrobe.
Zikr has performed to packed houses in Russia, America, Australia, UK, France, Finland, Germany, Finland, Hungary, Slovakia, Italy, Spain, Hong Kong, Tunisia, Israel, Lithuania, and Latvia. The duet has vied in numerous international music contests and festivals. Silin and Tkachenko have more than fifteen vocal albums, including the especially popular CDs Voices, Mystery of the Bowl, Creation of the World, Vertical Crossing, Dancing Time, and Duo ZIKR. A separate album, Wormwood Star, commemorates the Chornobyl tragedy.
