Igor in Zlati Zvoki

Friday, May 19, 2006

Once again, the Canadian Slovenian Cultural Society (CSCS) had the wonderful opportunity of hosting another award winning band from Slovenia. On Friday May 19, 2006, ‘Igor in Zlati Zvoki’ paid a visit to Winnipeg and our community, and brought with them their very special brand of music.

The planning for this event occurred during the winter months, and the CSCS would like to acknowledge and thank Milan Stefanec from Stoney Creek Ontario, for offering this band to our community, and for working with us to make it happen. Najlepša Hvala Milan!!!

Igor in Zlati Zvoki, are a group of six musicians and singers, led by Igor Podpečan. Prior to starting this group, Igor was a baritone and bass player for the legendary Slovenian group, Bratov Avsenik. With the Avsenik’s retiring in the early 90’s, Igor took it upon himself to take on the accordion and form his own ensemble, and this is truly a world class group of musicians.

Joining Igor, were lead singer and violinist Jelka Hafner, clarinet/saxophonist Brane Jahn, trumpet/drummer Matej Mastnak, guitarist Mike Oresar, and baritone/bass player, Sašo Vavpetič.

These musicians arrived in Winnipeg Thursday evening, and were hosted by three different families from our community. Upon their arrival, and being greeted by the President of the CSCS, Elizabeth Blazanovic, it was off to each respective family for dinner and some good times. Having just arrived from Europe the previous day, jet lag was still visible in our travellers and they all caught a good night sleep.

On Friday morning, the band congregated at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, which is the Slovenian church in Winnipeg, in order to set up their equipment and perform all their sound checks. After each musician set themselves up, they started singing a song or two, and even though this was a practice, the musical talent was clearly visible.

After their setup, we took our visitors to see the Manitoba Museum, so that they could get a feeling of what Winnipeg and Manitoba was in the past. As with all European visitors, the fascination with the life and workings of the First Nations people in Canada was at the top of their lists to see. As soon as we entered the museum, the camera’s came out, and all were taking pictures of different artifacts and displays. Especially interesting to all of them, was the initial display of the ‘buffalo hunt’, and further on the real life teepee (or wigwam).

After the museum, it was time to eat, and it was time to visit one of the best Italian restaurants in the city, DeLuca’s on Portage Avenue. While at DeLuca’s authentic homemade pasta, sauces, pizza and breads were quickly devoured. A few went up for seconds, and over glasses brimming with wine, songs were sung. A number of cappucino’s and espresso’s were enjoyed after lunch. The ladies working in the restaurant enjoyed the rendition of a very traditional Slovenian song, ‘Majolka’, that was sung by Igor in Zlati Zvoki.

After lunch, it was time to go home, and rest/relax for the upcoming evening. Some of them went for a nap, others just chatted with their new found friends, while other’s prepared themselves for the upcoming evening. Eventually the time came, that we had to go to the hall, and start our magical evening of music.

Doors opened at 6:00PM, but already at 5:30PM, people where gathering outside the doors, no doubt to secure a choice seat, as this was another sold out event. The doors opened at the top of the hour, and people began streaming in, finding their choice seat, and looking forward to an evening of music and dance.

At 7:00, Elizabeth Blazanovic, welcomed Igor in Zlati Zvoki to our community, presented each member of the group with a small gift from our community, and formally introduced our visitors from Slovenia.

As is customary in our community, the first 45 minutes of the program is a concert, and what a concert Igor in Zlati Zvoki put on. Their initial song was a short version of the title song from their new CD, entitled ‘Halo Evropa’. Each song that they did play during the concert was greeted with enthusiastic applause from the attendees this evening. The group harmonized incredibly well together, and the music was awesome. This is also a group that has fun with their music, as was evident with their rendition of ‘Kavboj Joe’. People warmed up during this song, and started tapping their feet to this very catchy tune. The lead singer of this group, Jelka Hafner, was voted best singer in Slovenia, in the years 2002 and 2004, and when she began singing, we all saw why. She truly has a voice of an angel, and during the entire night, she didn’t miss a note. Jelka has the perfect voice, for this perfect group! One of the classic moments from the concert, was when clarinetist, Brane Jahn, performed the classic Avsenik song, ‘Veter Nosi Pesem Mojo’. This is a song, that truly requires a top quality clarinetist, and Brane certainly is in this category. Igor in Zlati Zvoki concluded the concert with the full version of their new hit, ‘Halo Evropa’. This song is sung in seven different languages, including Slovenian, German, French, Hungarian, Czech, English and Italian. Many of our community come from the Prekmurje region of Slovenia, which borders Hungary, and many of them, while not speaking the language, recognized the distinct language that Hungarian is, when Sašo started singing Hungarian, and they enjoyed hearing those words again.

After the concert, a light supper was served, and during this time, the group began selling five different CD’s that they brought with them. Many people snapped up many copies of the CD’s, and it is great to once again see a bit of Slovenian music being left behind in Winnipeg to be enjoyed for years to come.

After the light supper, the dance floor was cleared of the food tables, and the dancing portion of our evening began. Playing traditional ‘narodne zabavne’ songs, the dance floor was full, and everyone was enjoying themselves. While Jelka has an angelic voice, her counterpart Matej had an amazing voice as well, and together they sound absolutely wonderful. After a few sets of Slovenian music, the repertoire of this group was truly showcased, as they began playing a singing a variety of music, including classic songs from Elvis Presley, latin songs, foxtrots, samba’s and even songs in Italian. With Mike having an excellent command of the English language, Brane of the Italian language, and Jelka in the latin languages, songs such as ‘Blue Suede Shoes’, ‘Marina, Marina’ and ‘La Bamba’ were part of the repertoire that we all heard this magical evening. In some ways it was different, seeing a group of musicians, dressed in traditional Gorenjska costumes, playing non-Slovenian songs, but it just shows how far Slovenia has come, as it relates to the music that it plays. All songs were appreciated and acknowledged by dancers and listeners, and the group looked like they were truly enjoying themselves.

Eventually the night had to come to an end however the memories of these fine musicians, singers and people will not end. From the bottom of our hearts, we would like to thank Igor, Jelka, Sašo, Mike, Matej and Brane to adding Winnipeg to the list of cities that they have performed in. We all hope that the memories that you have of us, are as fond as our memories are of you.

For further information about Igor in Zlati Zvoki, visit their website at http://www.igorinzlatizvoki.com

Še enkrat, Igor, Jelka, Sašo, Mike, Matej in Brane, najlepša hvala za vas obisk preko našo društvo, tukaj v Winnipeg!

Written by,

Stan Majowski

If you would like to see a video of Igor in Zlati Zvoki please click here.

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