Short Reviews [Laura Catrani - 2022 - "Vox In Bestia"]

One of the many advantages of having been writing about music for so many, many years (feeling old today), is that I am sometimes approached by artists asking if they can send me material. A few months ago, I was contacted by Italian singer Laura Catrani, who works in the areas of vocal experimentation and contemporary music, while also singing traditional repertoire, from baroque to vocal chamber music. She wanted to send me her latest album, which is bestiary taken from the Dante’s ‘Divine Comedy’ for solo voice. When it arrived, I was somewhat surprised as the booklet is substantial, caused in no small part by being produced in both Italian and English, but having now seen that and played the music I would suggest it is essential to have it in this format so that listeners can follow what is taking place. The idea of performing a new work based on Dante Alighieri came to Laura during the pandemic of 2020, and it seemed right given current circumstances plus it tied in with the 700th anniversary of Dante’s death in 1321. She approached three different composers, asking them each to compose five short pieces for unaccompanied solo voice inspired by Dante’s tercets which talk about animals, and approached writer Tiziano Scarpa to provide the accompanying reflective texts. The project made its debut in 15 episodes, one per animal, on Radio3 Rai in May 2021, which was followed in the following six months by 22 live concerts throughout Italy. She has now undertaken a new recording, and that is what has been made available on CD. Right from the off, I have to say that Laura has an amazing voice, which undertakes some incredible vocal gymnastics in this performance. Much of this is wordless, and the attention is solely on the sound being made, and while there are times when it sounds like a classical aria, there are others where she is making strange noises, and growls while musically one passage can seamlessly follow another, then at others there is no seeming connection whatsoever, which is why it is so important to keep the booklet close to hand. Avant garde, experimental, left field, it is all these things and more, all brought to us in one solo voice with no additional layers, just some reverb. One can only imagine what the score looked like for this, and how much practise went into performing what is a massively complex and engaging piece of work. The first time I played this was in the car and that is definitely the wrong environment as I came away wondering what I had been listening to, and whether I had been listening to music which was actually a series of warmups for a classically trained voice. But I have long understood that the reason for playing music the first time is to be able to then play it a second, as it is often only then that the beauty starts to come through, especially with music which is unusual. Of the many thousands of albums I have reviewed over the last 30+ years I can say I have never heard anything like this, as Laura’s vocals are amazing, beautiful, and warm, but she is taking her voice and placing it in strange situations which takes it to a different level altogether. Laura’s music is easily available on Spotify so I suggest giving this a listen and then buying the CD to get the full experience (play on headphones).