Maryana Golovchenko WOMEN’S VOICES at the historic Pelgrimvaderskerk in Rotterdam
The songs reflect the joys of renewal, the playfulness of romance, the longing for brighter days, and the sheer relief when they finally dawn upon us.
The most efficient way to survive in a world that is changing faces every day, and is riddled with the horrors of separation, is to find a community that instills a sense of belonging. An Enchanting Celebration of Spring by Maryana Golovchenko, together with cellist Pau Sola Masafrets and vocalists from Rotterdam, is a concert that weaves threads of new beginnings, endurance, and togetherness through each of the Ukrainian songs they perform.
The concert is thematically based on songs of spring, embodying the ancient tradition of women welcoming the season, connecting with nature and making room for new growth after the quiet winter. The songs reflect the joys of renewal, the playfulness of romance, the longing for brighter days, and the sheer relief when they finally dawn upon us. At its core, the performance also captures women tapping into a strength inherited across generations. The concert further allowed people to learn from Maryana in workshops preceding the event, and then perform with her, presenting an excellent opportunity to actively engage with a new art form and build a deeper connection with Ukrainian culture.
The energy with which Maryana leads the performance, the way she emotes the different stages of spring, and the way Pau Sola expertly aligns his music with her singing, the accumulation of these elements bridges the gap of language. Even if some of us in the audience do not understand the words, we cannot help but feel invigorated as the performance unfolds.
Towards the end, the entire ensemble steps down from the platform and begins to move through the space, carrying the music with them. The concluding song gestures toward the cyclical nature of spring, suggesting that it is never truly complete, only continuously unfolding. This final moment lingers, a quiet but powerful reminder that life, too, resists neat endings. Instead, it exists in fragments of renewal, in rhythms of return, leaving the audience not with closure, but with a renewed sense of hope, continuity, and collective energy. Atulya Jain, 17th April 2026
