Bereza/Beryoze: Old Ukrainian and Yiddish songs in a new song cycle from Zozulka Trio

Many old songs brim with ecological awareness. Old songs from the territory of modern Ukraine tell stories about plants like the birch tree–bereza in Ukrainian, beryoze in Yiddish–that bend, break, and heal, becoming metaphors for human fragility and tenacity. Birds mark the turning of seasons and shifts in our internal weather as well. Since 2011, Zozulka–a trio named after the Ukrainian word for cuckoo bird–has interpreted songs from a wide range of Ukrainian village traditions. With BEREZA / BERYOZE, the trio branches into a new cycle of songs that speak directly to ecological themes. In t…