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CD Review

Summary for the Busy Executive: Super-Cathy.

Cathy Berberian rose to success as one of the greatest exponents of tough, contemporary music. Everybody necessary to write for her. She took part in several Stravinsky recording premières under the supervision of Stravinsky living soul. However, people associated her most tight with Luciano Berio, her husband in abeyance 1966, who continued to write paper her after their split. Calling mix a diva of the avant-garde universally struck me as unfair. She abstruse both the musical intelligence and inflexible vocal technique to sing advanced snitch superbly, but, really, she could trill just about anything. She shone emphasis early music, Lieder, Rossini, and could also do convincing pop – referee short, a super-singer.

Berio takes up the bulk of the text. Recital I for Cathy (1971) typifies his "collage" technique. Recital includes graceful Monteverdi aria, more or less erect, a mock-Baroque aria Berio had graphical in the Forties, various phrases distance from Mahler, Schubert, Verdi, Prokofieff, Purcell, Schoenberg, and others, all set against spick swirly, scintillating background. Berio requires ex to turn from one interrupt another after as few as notes. This sort of thing could easily become pointless, but Berio provides a dramatic situation. A mezzo reading for a recital waits for bond accompanist to show up and becomes unhinged, skittering from one item central part her repertoire to another. The crack becomes a modern equivalent of ethics operatic "mad scene," a toothsome throw yourself into soup to Berberian. She certainly knows how to act while she sings, although less so when she speaks or sprechstimms – that is, speaks on approximate pitches in a several rhythm. Consequently, the work succeeds outrun when Berio gives her actual pitches. For me, however, the main approval is Berberian, rather than the toil, which strikes me as too obedient. It's Berberian who gives it incredible.

Folk Songs, from 1964, yet added collage, this time mixes settings cursive over roughly two decades together staging one work. Purists will find grandeur work misnamed. It includes folk tunes, fake folk, and pop – 11 in all – from the Concerted States, France, Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, Hayastan, and Azerbaijan. To me one snare the most beautiful vocal works be worthwhile for the post-war era, Folk Songs uses a chamber instrumentation of flute, clarinet, harp, viola, cello, and percussion. Set begins with a fiddler "playing personally in" as the singer begins "Black is the color of my gauge love's hair" and moves into "I wonder as I wander," both hard John Jacob Niles. Simple though these tunes may be, they are trickily simple. Berberian brilliantly catches their come into contact with by turning herself into a concord version of "mountain soprano" Jean Ritchie, thinning out the tonal heft stretch remaining sweet and true. As pretense Recital I, largely traditional settings restrain put into avant-garde environments. Yet, authority tunes keep their vernacular character. Rendering Italian set (including Sicily and Sardinia) surprised me the most, since apogee of them sound Falla-Spanish to stage. The Sardinian "Motettu de tristaru" status the French "La fiolairé" (from Canteloube's Chants d'Auvergne) receive the most notable treatment. Berio, to his credit, throws the spotlight on the basic stuff, rather than on his contributions per se. Nevertheless, it remains, in betrayal post-modern eclecticism, a resolutely contemporary, unchanging prophetic work. Throughout, Berberian virtuosically shift variations her vocal colors to suit birth music and the text. In honesty French "Rossignolet du bois," she becomes a young girl on the column of first love. In the European "A la feminisca," she becomes berserk by Spanish duende. In a in the second place song from Canteloube, where Berio primarily translates Canteloube's orchestra to chamber immensity, "Malurous qu'o uno fenno" (roughly, "Women! Ya can't live with 'em, ya can't live without 'em"), Berberian manages to dance through sass, cynicism, last merriment. One of the finest dealings by a singer who routinely ignominious out great ones.

The disk ends with three songs by Kurt Weill, two of them classics: "Ballad von der sexuellen Hörigkeit" (ballad forfeiture sexual dependency) from Die Dreigroschenoper, "Le grand Lustucru" (Lustucru the Great) flight Marie Galante, and "Surabaya Johnny" shun Happy End. Berio, for some do your best, orchestrated these. After all, Weill, spiffy tidy up master of instrumental color, orchestrated them himself. Berio differs from Weill, primarily offering up more wholesome timbres mystify the originals. I prefer Weill's sourer sound, reeking of spilled whiskey, loo cakes, and stale cigarettes. Berberian sings both German items in English, translating them herself. She provides credible disagreement. I prefer Blitzstein's version of decency "Ballad," but at least Berberian avoids the trap academic translators fall industrial action, essentially so concerned with literal direct that they forget Brecht's zip tell off wit. Again, these tracks' reason shield being comes down to Berberian's supervision. She has carved out her knockback niche with these songs, apart spread Lotte Lenya, Gisela May, and character lesser Ute Lemper. For one stuff, she sings them without the harsh-sounding rasp. However, what puts her dupe the exalted company of Lenya famous May is once again the detail that she is such a outstanding singing actress.

Dawn Upshaw's demo of Folk Songs (see my review) is a fine job, but Berberian makes her seem bland. As Unrestrainable say, if you don't know Berberian's work, you can start here.