Nono, Luigi – “20 Jahre Inventionen V ” – [Edition Rz]

If the wealth of recent KFJC library acquisitions (Guaccero, Berio, Maderna, Scelsi, Patrucco, etc and further back to Casavola and his futurist ilk) hasn???t convinced you yet that writing for the female voice is an innate ability for Italians, this one will. Don’t forget that 100+ years ago, their females ruled the airwaves: Verdi, Mascagni, Puccini… And don???t you forget that it was the Italians that started the whole fad of dramaticizing human conflict through singing (especially by women!) in the first place ??? point your browsers to Monteverdi and the Concerto delle donne. I proudly present another phenomenal disc of Luigi Nono???s music mostly featuring the female voice.

Quando Stanno Morendo (diario polacco no.2) (37:25): ???When They???re Dying (Polish Diary #2)??? for five female voices, bass flute, cello, and live electronics. A protest piece from 1981 reworking the first polish diary from 1969. Divine singing eventually yields to instrumental and electronic rustling.
Canciones a Guiomar (9:47): for solo soprano, 6-voice female choir, and instruments. More radio-friendly, but only for reasons of length.
Omaggio a Emilio Vedova (4:53): Nono’s first purely electronic composition, realized in 1960 at Milan’s Studio Fonologica (founded by Berio & Maderna). A fine listen, one that lets you appreciate how masterfully Nono would come to combine electronics with instruments and protests in the 1980s.

The singing overall is of a fuller quality than the Voices Of Protest Nono disc, but just as engaging, unsettling, and ultimately enrapturing. All other instruments, tape sounds, and electronic manipulations fade seamlessly and purposefully in an out like the best character actors.

-Cujo, KFJC, June 2007