The women of Zhena Folk Chorus resurrect the songs of unknown grandmothers in unfamiliar languages of Eastern Europe and beyond that wrap around the tongue like a tantalizing new spice. They bring to life again lullabies and rain chants, spells to keep the dead in their graves, songs of riding horses, songs for begging God's mercy, songs of dark willows and mysterious nights, songs of struggles against the disapproval of parents, songs of longing to leave for a new land or of being the one left behind. In waves of cascading beauty, these ancient songs express the joy of wedding and union, the ecstasy of feasts and village dances, the ache of sorrow for lost loves and a moment of exultation at the simple sight of a bird.

Zhena's music is the legacy of peasant farms, barns and fields, women gathering on Sunday after church in the only other set of clothes one possessed. It carries the imprint of forests and fields, of hoes and herders, of cradles and shrouds, of tea from samovars and baskets of onions and turnips.