Salomix Mac: In Memoriam Cathy Berberian

Salome Kammer is an artist who is able in her interpretations to exploit the entire spectrum of the human voice. She moves between styles of singing with the ease of an actress changing roles. Sometimes she is a jazz singer, sometimes an opera diva; she can sing in the traditional style of Broadway and then mesmerize with interpretations of Romantic lieder. In her performances of experimental compositions, she can explore unplumbed depths, balance her way through daring eruptions of feeling, or playfully parody the musical structures. She tells a story with her breath, with throat noises and rhythms; she warbles, murmurs, trills, grunts, bawls, whistles, shouts, vibrates, resonates, and sings. Salome Kammer is also at home in the world of traditional chanson; she is a master of both satirical and lyrical moods, and is equally able to explore the ironic pathos of Brecht and Weill as well as the melancholy of Alban Berg or the intimacy of an early Baroque lullaby by Tarquinio Merula. It is impossible to classify Salome Kammer's voice. She is a unique phenomenon, both in her vocal range and in her ability to coax the most unusual noises out of her throat.Salome Kammer: "When I began to take an interest in the vocal music of the twentieth century, I of course encountered the unforgettable singer Cathy Berberian (1928-1983), who was the muse of so many composers in the 1950s and 60s. She also had no qualms about using all possible musical styles, and her courage and her readiness to cross borders changed the direction of musical history. It is to her that we owe a masterpiece like Luciano Berio's 'Sequenza III', which I sing here as an homage to Berberian. Numerous vocal colors and sounds were notated in this piece for the first time, in a very simple yet exact manner."