Musical Performance:

Austin Troubadours (Medieval and Renaissance Music)

Viktoria and Yakov Nizhnik Duet, Kantele (Gusli)

Sergey Vashchenko, Balalaika

             The Russian Speakers’ Society will present a unique musical program for Austin audiences of all ages on Saturday, January 13^th, 2018, 7 PM at Unity Church of the Hills, 9905 Anderson Mill Road Austin TX 78750.  We will have unique musical instruments rarely seen in Austin concert venues. The Austin Troubadours will present over thirty authentic replicas of Medieval and Renaissance instruments. Viktoria and Yakov will play the 37-string Kantele, an ancient multi string instrument producing a sound similar to the harp, and Sergey Vashchenko will demonstrate all the capabilities of the Russian Balalaika.

The first part of the program will take listeners on a musical journey through the Medieval and Renaissance Mediterranean. The Austin Troubadours will perform some of the oldest known instrumental dances and songs from Spain, Italy, and France. The second part of the evening, “Slavic Connections”, will focus on the traditional music of Serbia, Macedonia, and Russia.

The Austin Troubadours, known for their unorthodox approach to music interpretation, will present a historically informed performance with authentic instruments and period costumes. Artistic Director Slobodan Vujisic talked about the inspiration for the concert: “We are excited to present the concert with some new materials of the Early Renaissance. We have so little evidence of how the music of that time actually sounded that every performance of it becomes something of a personal vision quest”.

 This project is supported in part by the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department and the Texas Commission on the Arts.