Cathy Berberian
magnifiCathy : The Many Voices of Cathy Berberian
Wergo/Trio Records (Japan) 1971
PA-1029 (LP) w/obi, 2 x insert.
sleeve : NM-
media : NM-/EX(B5 has one very small and slightly scratch that does not affect to sounds.)
This album was released in 1971 by Cathy Berberian, an American soprano who has been active since the 1960s and is highly regarded as one of the foremost voice performers in contemporary music. The album features songs that transcend genres and styles. The overall image is of classical vocal music, but the focus is on John Cage's compositions, A5/A6. A5's "Flowers" is music for a dance composed in 1950, and the only sounds other than the vocals are the piano lid and hand clapping on the wood. A5, "The Wonderful Widow Who Came to the Spring of Eighteen," is a text from page 556 of James Joyce's novel Finnegans Wake, where the accompaniment of palm and fist tapping on the piano lid is heard behind the flat, intonationless vocals. Both of these songs are important to the idea of "4 minutes and 33 seconds". The voice improvisation B5 at the end of the album is also excellent. This Japanese edition was released to commemorate she visit to Japan, and the silkscreen printed artwork by Kohei Sugiura, who has designed all the albums in this series for Trio Records, is superb. Comes complete with obi and two inserts. This is a promotional copy of white label.
A4: John Cage “Flower”A5: John Cage “The Wonderful Widow of Eiteen Springs”
B5: Cathy Berberian “Stripsody”