The Peacock and the Sunflower, the latest album by the Berkeley klezmer trio Veretski Pass, is something of a miracle, showcasing dozens of tunes gleaned from an archive of manuscripts collected in Ukraine and Belarus in the decades before World War II by educator and musician Zinovy Kiselgof and violinist Avrom-Yeshiye Makonovetsky.
Long assumed to be irretrievably lost under Stalin, the treasure trove resurfaced about 30 years ago. The manuscripts and some historical recordings continue to be held in the Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine in Kyiv, under constant threat since the 2022 Russian invasion of that country, and Veretski Pass has been involved in an international effort by musicians and scholars to digitize and disseminate the sheet music.
Inspired by the online publication of the Kiselgof-Makonovetsky Digital Manuscript Project (KMDMP), The Peacock and the Sunflower brings these tunes gloriously to life. And on Friday, April 11, at Fifth Street Farms, a long-running house-concert venue in West Berkeley, Veretski Pass interpreted the music with the expert calibration of a chamber ensemble and the joyful brio of a wedding band.
