David Dalle
Thursday December 15th, 2016 with David Dalle
Farewell to Esma Redzepova, the legendary Romani singer; concluding the Penderecki symphonic cycle with his 8th Symphony "Songs of Transience"

Today we say farewell to a great singer and artist, Macedonian Roma singer Esma Redzepova. Starting as a teenager in the 50’s she challenged her own parents’ and community’s disapproval to become a professional singer. She became the first singer to sing traditional Romani songs on the radio and in the subsequent decades became immensely popular in Yugoslavia. She sang in multiple languages traditional Romani songs as well as her own compositions and songs influenced by popular trends. She was an advocate for Roma and particular Romani women as well as other humanitarian causes, and with her husband, her bandleader Stevo Teodosievski, she fostered many orphans and taught them music, many of them forming her musical band. But most signifcant, is her voice, her incredible artistry and ability to communicate deep wells of emotion and drama, many of her own songs like Caje Sukarije have become widely famous and performed by many other Romani singers; she has also made some famous songs her own, such as the Romani anthem Dzelem Dzelem. Esma Redzepova died this past Sunday in Skopje at the age of 73. Perhaps appropriately, today we also conclude the symphonic cycle of Krzysztof Penderecki today with his 8th Symphony “Songs of Transience”, for soloists, choir and large orchestra from 2005. This symphony is comprised of of 12 songs setting 13 poems by 6 German-language poets, Joseph von Eichendorff, Rainer Maria Rilke, Karl Kraus, Hermann Hesse, Johann Wolfgang Goethe, Achim von Arnim.