Hradistan

The Hradistan Folk Music and Dance Ensemble came to being back in 1950 in the old Moravian town of Uherske Hradiste. Their aim was to preserve the traditional musical culture of the region and their emblematic instrument was the cymbalon, a kind of giant zither which, in the hands of a virtuoso, sounds like a harpsichord on Dexedrine. In 1975 the helm of the group was handed to the 21 year old Jiri Pavlica who brought his considerable vision and imagination to bear on the task of preserving and updating Moravian folk music.

During more than fifty years of its existence, Hradistan has undergone through various phases of development. An originally folklore band transformed into an ensemble which is capable of containing a wide range of music from folklore to spiritual, ethnic, theater, folk and classical music.

 

 

Jiri Pavlica (*1 December 1953) has been the head of the music band Hradistan since 1978. Under his guidance, the originally folklore band has transformed into an alternative music ensemble, which embraces a wide arch of music ranging from folk tradition to contemporary music. However, a message encoded in music and transferred by music always dominates over genre and style. Hradistan’s music, joining various music genres and movements with easy brilliancy, is rightfully considered an original phenomenon of Czech cultural scene. (For instance, the specialized journal Hudebni rozhledy wrote in 2002 that “in the era when ethnic elements enter the context of world pop music, Pavlica’s method represents a higher level of such link because for him the necessary effect is subordinated to a union arisen from identical rudimentary mental attitude and corresponding feeling as well as from purely musical rapport”).

 

 

The musical discography of Jiri Pavlica is abundant: he publishes his own authorial projects, writes film and theatre music, regularly gives concerts. His qualities are acknowledged both by experts and general public. He has been granted a number of expert awards and his work has been awarded several golden disks for the best sold albums (Ozveny duse/Echoes of Soul, O Slunovratu/At Solstice – with poems by Jan Skacel, Mys dobre nadeje/Cape of Good Hope – originated in cooperation with the South-African multiinstrumentalist Dizu Plaatjies). The scope of his activities and his ability to join people and projects is evidenced by his cooperation with a number of excellent interpreters and ensembles (Leos Janacek Chamber Orchestra, AG Flek, Spiritual kvintet, Bambini di Praga and others). Apart from this, Jiri Pavlica is a successful author of film and theater music and his efforts also aim at free composition of contemporary music.

The last CD of JIRI PAVLICA and HRADISTAN is entitled “Chveni“ (Tremble) with the subtitle “Suita Dialogu“ (Dialogue suite) and it includes brand new music material and pieces composed by Jiri Pavlica.

Jiri Pavlica has brilliantly played musical and text dialogues with Brno Philharmonic Orchestra (conducted by Petr Altrichter), drum band Jumping Drums, however, the most unique is the dialogue with ALTAI KAI band which uses the guttural singing technique.

Jiri Pavlica then comments on the origin of the project which ranks among the most important in his production so far. “I deal with building of bridges across apparently non-compatible things perhaps for the whole of my musical career. The project of “Chveni” is the next logical part of this orientation. The specific impulse was the offer of Prague Symphony Orchestra concerning writing something untraditional for them. I have thought up this suite of dialogues in which I have deliberately incorporated the representatives of distant musical expressions to prove that they can also understand each other. ”

The band is:
Jiri Pavlica - primarius, violin, vsinger
David Burda - clarinet, flutes, vocals

Michal Krystýnek - second violin, vocals

Dalibor Lesa - double – bass, vocals

Alice Holubová - singer

Milan Malina - dulcimer, vocals
Roman Gill - viola, vocals

 

Website: www.hradistan.cz

 

 


 

Hradistan & Jiri Pavlica - Modlitba Za Vodu
 

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