Mara Kiek
Mara Kiek sings the close intervals and open-throated force of Bulgarian traditional song, drives it on frame drum and tapan, and arranges village horo, ballad and dance scores that stay fierce, precise and bodily alive.
She formed the Martenitsa Choir to master that style unaccompanied: Pirin suites, lively horo numbers and lyrical ballads sung with drones, tight harmony and gusto that can knock a room sideways. On Songs With Mara she is voice, music director and arranger, drawing on Philip Koutev and other Bulgarian choral figures while slipping in spare originals with Llew Kiek for Meryl Tankard’s dance theatre. The same ear for Balkan pulse turns up when she and Llew fuse The Cheshire Rounds with an 11/8 Bulgarian rhythm before a bush ballad, and when her tapan underpins Paul Cutlan’s outback-inspired chamber writing. Whether leading a choir, scoring for the stage or sitting inside a gamba ensemble, the work keeps folk material sharp rather than museum-still.
Mara Kiek is featured on the following titles
Songs With Mara
The music originated as the score for Meryl Tankard's Australian Dance Theatre show of the same name. Mara and Llew Kiek perform and arrange this mostly traditional Bulgarian repertoire.
Songwriter
Arranger
Mara Kiek also appears on
Across the Top
Paul Cutlan is one of the very few Australian composers who works in the overlap between classical and jazz. Here he finds an ideal partner in the NOISE quartet, which extends its performance techniques with improvisation.
Other credits
The Martenitsa Choir
Formed by Mara Kiek in the early 1990s, this choir has mastered the Bulgarian choral singing style. Here they perform with gusto and precision. The music will knock your socks off!