Lift every voice

Holiness that is earthy, exotic. This is the vocal power of the women of Kitka, a mesmerizing eight-voice choral ensemble. With their new album Wintersongs, Kitka taps into something primal and dramatic. Ancient Latvian ritual songs, 19th-century carols from Moravia, Bulgarian hymns sung in Old Church Slavonic, and Romanian folk songs are voiced in dynamic tension and release—rising from delicate stillness to riveting chordal explosions of the human voice. Some of the music is from a pre-Christian tradition and not what Western ears are used to. Thus, it’s even more essential to listen.

See Kitka live at 4 p.m. on Sunday at Trinity Cathedral, located at 2620 Capitol Avenue. Admission is $16, or $12 for students and seniors. In December, when the holiday commercial sturm und drang attacks weary consumers from every store speaker, Kitka is a brilliant answer to the blather. A performance in the pin-drop acoustics of Trinity Cathedral could be the holiday event of the year. Call (916) 446-2513 for more information.