Daughters of Mara
folk band
Since 2019, I have been singing in the band called "Daughters of Mara". It is a group of people fascinated by traditional folk music. Our current repertoire includes archaic ritual songs of Slavs and Balts. We search various music archives for pieces with intriguing melodies and surrealist lyrics, filled with pre-Christian symbolism. Sometimes, we perform them in a raw version, using techniques that are considered traditional, but most often, we create our own interpretations. Each song is a vehicle to transport us to mythical times. Through our arrangements, we want to take the audience to this magical world, where you can meet capricious nymphs, wish-granting doves or a nine-horned deer.
Members:
Beata Klimowicz-Kowalska – voice
Aleksandra Kowalczyk – voice
Miłka Majczyno – violin
Çağlar Şahin – drum
The minialbum „Prabaśń” (2024) features dreamlike arrangements of folk songs from Poland and the Balkans. The lyrics and melodies are drawn from archival sources—both digital and from The Complete Works of Oskar Kolberg. However, the interpretations by Córy Mary are free and imaginative. Through multilayered vocals, violin improvisations, and complex rhythms, they draw out the magic of these old songs and create landscapes that feel like dreams. Worlds of animals and plants come to life and intertwine with the human world, where the rules of logic no longer apply.
The album „Księga pieśni” (2021) is a musical tale of archaic rituals tied to the cycles of life and the seasons. The pieces, arranged in accordance with the sun’s journey, include, among others: a Ukrainian spring-calling song, a Russian ritual song for burying the arrow, a Bulgarian song connected to fertility rites, a Polish konopielka, a midsummer night (sobótka) song, lamentations, a Lithuanian canon for the summer solstice, several Christmas carols, and more.