I. Kvik coming to Marijampolė: about the loss of colleagues, Lithuanian music and the desire to celebrate life

The well-known Lithuanian singer, leader of the Romani ensemble “Sare Roma”, Ištvans Kvik, is well known to many from the Romani songs loved by the audience. However, recently the artist has been paying a lot of attention to Lithuanian folklore. Looking at Lithuanian folk songs from a different perspective, the man says that they can also be given the fire characteristic of the Roma.

It is songs like “Ant kalno karklai”, “Vaištinėjo povelė”, “Pasvarcyk, antela” which are well known to Lithuanians, that have been playing in “Sare Roma” performances for some time now. “I always say that we shouldn’t divide each other by nationality, so I think music shouldn’t be divided either. It does not divide us, but unites us”, says I. Kvik. He agreed to share the story of how the idea of ​​singing Lithuanian folk songs was born and how Lithuanians would succeed in performing Roma music. And already on April 5. I. Kvik and SARE ROMA will hold a concert in the city of Marijampole.

– How did the idea of ​​remaking Lithuanian folk songs according to the temperament of Roma music come about?

– In fact, the desire to embark on such an experiment has been in my head for a very long time. All members of the “Sare Roma” ensemble were born in Lithuania and have lived here all their lives, so it seems that everything happened naturally. I just really like the Lithuanian language and Lithuanian folk songs and folklore. After all, Roma music was born from the inspiration of the countries where they lived. Flamenco style can be felt in the music of the Roma living in Spain, Balkan music in the music of groups from the Balkan countries.

When I first heard the song “Weigh, Antela”, I really liked it. I thought it would sound very nice in a Romany romance style. You just had to try. Variations of other songs were also born. We started singing in the studio with the guitar and the inspiration just seemed to flow. Absolutely naturally. I am very happy with the result, because especially the Dzuk and Žemaitian dialects are the most beautiful to me, and I am fascinated by the people who speak these dialects. It’s like music.

I hope these songs will touch the hearts of our listeners as well. We will perform all of them on our planned Gypsy fiesta concert tour this year. Of course, we will also perform the audience’s favorite and well-known “Sare Roma” songs, such as “Lietuvaitė”, “Aš turtingas”, “Tie keliai”.

– And would Lithuanians be able to perform Roma songs?

– Not only would it work, they are very good at it! Every year we organize the international Roma culture festival “Gypsy fest”, where this year we invited the audience to enjoy Romanization. “Sare Roma” sang Lithuanian songs on stage, and our guests, well-known Lithuanian artists, performed Roma songs. It was such a magical cocktail of music that no one expected. I was very surprised by how many Lithuanian singers are immersed in Romani music and how well the concert went. Romanization really happened. It once again proved the great power of music – it unites, sows peace and fellowship.

– People have recently been scared by economic difficulties. Do you feel like going to concerts less?

– Let it remain only intimidation (laughs). Perhaps the decrease in sales is felt more in big cities that are full of events, where various concerts are constantly held in arenas. And people living in the districts, I think, are very much looking forward to the concerts and the singers coming to them. Tickets for our Gypsy fiesta concert tour this year have only just started, but I’m sure we’ll have packed houses in every city. Over the years, Sare Roma has gathered a fan community of true listeners, which is only growing every year. We are going to visit Alytus, Utena, Panevėžys, Kaunas, Ukmerge, Telšiai, Plunge and Šiauliai.

– April 1 “Sare Roma” will also appear in the “Žalgiris” arena, where will the concert dedicated to the memory of Donats Čižauskas take place?

– Yes, and I am very happy about that. The heart is happy to see how many people united in preparation for the concert dedicated to the memory of Donatos, which took place on April 1. will take place in the “Zalgiris” arena. It will be a great honor for the “Sare Roma” team to perform at the concert and pay all respect and thanks to this extraordinary musician. I still can’t believe that such talented people are no longer around us and we will never meet again on the same stage.

This year, the world of music lost two outstanding personalities. Like everyone else, I was shocked by the news about the unexpected death of the artist Donatas Čižauskas, who joined the Gypsy Fest festival organized by us last year. They performed “Leila Pala Tuta” with Karolis on stage and it was a truly Roman performance. We had agreed that after the New Year I would show him the final version of the song we had recorded, but he never got around to hearing it. And a few weeks later, we found out that a real legend of the stage – Vitalija Katunskytė, with whom we always gathered full audiences, ended her life’s journey on Earth. These losses have affected each and every one of us. The music community is still in shock.

I want to say to all people: love each other, cherish every moment when you can be with your loved ones. Let’s not close ourselves off, don’t postpone good things, don’t think that tomorrow will be a more suitable time to do something. Today is the time to love, the time to enjoy life and celebrate it.

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