Encounters/Stretnutia

Stretnutia" (encounters) consists of a small selection of Slovak and Czech folklore songs. It is the result of the cooperation between two amateur musicians - the Slovak singer Emilia Šmálová and the German painter Winfried Skrobek - who came together through a common passion for music, rooted in two different cultures. It is not surprising, therefore, that their interpretation of these folklore songs differs from the traditional Slovak interpretation. Performed exclusively with acoustic instruments - mainly guitars and flutes -, their own arrangements make the songs sound familiar to those who know this music and at the same time contemporary and innovative. The versatile and natural voice of Emilia Šmálová sings with tenderness and melancholy, but also with power and joy, of love, parting and desire. Emilia Šmálová grew up amidst folklore in the Middle Slovakian region of Podpolanie. From her childhood on, singing has been an important and natural form of expression for her. She has always perceived the variety and richness of folklore songs as given. The encounter with Winfried Skrobek, and his personal interest and esteem for Slovak culture, gave her an opportunity to see the traditional music from a new perspective, as something unique and rare. Emilia Šmálová has been living in Germany since 1998. In recent years she and her husband Winfried Skrobek have been involved in the propagation of Slovak folklore music in Germany. Motivated by meeting Emilia Šmálová, Winfried Skrobek visited Slovakia for the first time in 1994 and was deeply impressed by the wealth of folklore songs as well as the alive and intact musical tradition he experienced in this country. Further visits followed in the next few years and he became closely acquainted with the country, it's people and their music. Since then his life and artistic work have been accompanied and inspired by Slovak music, particularly by the typical Slovak shepherd's flute "Fujara". In the CD "Encounters" Winfried Skrobek combines the traditional Slovak melodies with his own musical feeling and expression.

Number of Discs: 1

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