The Current
Katherine Heinrich, Current editor
Cd Review, interview
How did a Russian-born folk singer end up
in Jersey City? Actually, Julia Vorontsova, a 21-year-old St.
Petersburg native, is emblematic of the cultural phenomenon
that is J.C. Vorontsova, who moved to this country four years
ago, represents both the city's immigrant culture and its
vibrant arts scene.
But most of all, she's just doing her own
thing. And come to think of it, maybe that's what Chilltown (as
Jersey City is sometimes known) is all about.
Vorontsova has just released her debut CD,
From St. Petersburg With Love. The disc features 23 tracks, all
written and performed by Vorontsova - and all in Russian.
She thinks of herself as a
singer-songwriter, performing poetry with music.
"I've been writing poetry since a very
young age," Vorontsova says.
All of the songs on her album originally
took shape as poems, some of them written when she was as young
as 15.
Vagabond
Julia Vorontsova moved to the United States
at the age of 17, more or less on her own. Her family was
planning a move to Portugal, and rather than joining them in a
country where she couldn't speak the language and she knew
nothing of the culture, she chose to move in with her step-aunt
in Rockland County, N.Y. (Vorontsova's stepfather is a New
Yorker, and the family had spent many Christmas holidays in New
York over the years.)
With only one year remaining in high
school, Vorontsova decided to finish up in New York, rather
than Portugal - partly because she wanted to explore the
possibility of attending college in the United States.
And the singer-songwriter is now a
sophomore at Baruch College in Manhattan, studying
communications and creative writing.
Russian arts community
Vorontsova moved to Jersey City in February
2003, a few months after a Russian friend invited her to a
Thanksgiving dinner at 111 First St. - the arts building that's
the center of a thriving community of Russian artists. At last
October's Studio Tour, she met Mark Dagley of Abaton Book
Company at the Jersey City Museum. Not long after, they began
working together, and Abaton, based in Jersey City, released
her CD.
"She's actually singing poetry,"
Dagley says, "and putting a melody to it. Her work reads
like poetry - not song lyrics."
Vorontsova's first live performance took
place in December at the Waterbug Hotel in downtown Jersey
City. So how did the audience respond to the Russian folk
songs?
"I always try to explain a little bit
about the song," Vorontsova says. And many of her
listeners really seem to get it.
One member of the audience approached her
after a show to tell Vorontsova that the songs are so
expressive that she doesn't need to explain them.
"At my first show, there was an
American woman who had tears in her eyes," Vorontsova
marvels.
The folk singer's distinctive sets have
been capturing attention throughout the area. Vorontsova has
performed at clubs in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and New Jersey -
including a recent gig at Maxwell's. She was also profiled in
last week's issue of Time Out New York. One of her songs is
featured on the WFMU benefit CD Tunes on Toxic Terrain.
What's next?
Vorontsova has begun writing songs in
English, and plans to record her next CD in her adopted
language. So far, she has five songs in English, but she's only
performed one live once or twice. As a songwriter, she still
has reservations about her grasp of the language.
"The songs that I have in English are
coming from the heart," Vorontsova says. "But what I
don't like - in my eyes they seem a little more simplistic. I
don't have a deep, deep phonetic feeling of the language. I
can't feel the subtleties."
But based on her introspection and concern,
the future sounds promising.
Upcoming shows
When: Sunday, June 20, and Sunday, June 27,
both at 9 p.m.
Where: Pianos Upstairs Lounge, 158 Ludlow
St., Manhattan's Lower East Side
Admission: Free
Lyrics
Here is an excerpt - translated from the
original Russian - from a song on Julia Vorontsova's debut CD,
From St. Petersburg With Love. The disc is available at
www.amazon.com and www.abatonbookcompany.com.
Cities and Countries
He changes cities, he changes countries.
He means "Forever" when says:
"Farewell!"
The woman in the hut once asked him to
stay,
But since then so much water has flown
away.
Here is a piece of land. Here is his
shelter.
He once knew what was meant by the word
"home."
But today it has been four years
Since no one called him by his real name.
Longer than any feeling
Is the cold of a night in March.
He can't recall all the times he's been
hurt.
He can't count up all of his losses,
And he is still just so, so young.
