Bardic Divas

The Bardic Divas will be performing as part of the BT River of Music on the Asia Stage in Battersea Park. They are eight exceptional female singers and instrumentalists from Central Asia: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

These female performers sing stories, romances, epics woven through with poetry, philosophy, proverbs and social and political commentary. They accompany themselves on long necked lutes, drums, or spiked fiddles. And carry the repertoire and musical heritages of their particular cultural and tradition. The concert will take the listener from the folk music of the nomadic cultures of the Mongols, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, to the  urban classical traditions of Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

The role of the bard is an important part of culture across Central Asia, and no celebration is complete without the bard evoking the spirits of the ancestors and blessing the celebration. The role was traditionally fulfilled by men, and female bards were once rare. I think it is often challenging to be a female storyteller in the UK! But these female performers are inspirations. Their voices are astounding and they are beloved by their audiences. I am honored to have been asked to present the Bardic Divas on the Asia Stage. And I will try to weave through the concert a sense of the remarkable traditions that each bard carries.

‘Only songs can cover the vastness of the steppe’

                                                          Kazakh saying

  On stage with the astounding voices of the Bardic Divas at the BT River of Music: