“In front of my window, a lilac bloomed. In my sore heart, love was awakened,” begin the lyrics of a Russian Cossack song about love lost.

In this concert, Planina - Songs of Eastern Europe explores the panoply of love’s flavors, from a father’s love for his baby daughter (Hungarian Rom) to a soldier’s love for his horse (Russia); from a girl asking the stars about her lover (Bosnia) to the awkwardness between a girl and boy expected to spend the night together platonically (Republic of Georgia). Songs on other topics—planting grapes, building towers, heroes—punctuate the evening, as the audience is treated to musical styles from the Balkans, Russia and beyond.

Some of the songs are performed a cappella and others accompanied by folk instruments and/or modern instruments, including accordion played by guest artist Petar Teodosijev.

The Congregation Nevei Kodesh sanctuary, with its warm acoustics, makes it particularly suited for Planina’s nuanced, multi-layered arrangements that aren’t right for outside festival appearances but whose harmonies can pierce right through to the heart. This is Planina’s first full concert in Boulder in more than a year. If you have friends in Colorado who might enjoy going, please tell them about it.

See prices and links to advance tickets (no surcharge) Facebook page.