- Cathy Berberian
Catherine Anahid Berberian (
Attleboro ,Massachusetts ,July 4 1925 -Rome ,Italy ,March 6 1983 ) was an Americancomposer ,mezzo-soprano singer, andvocalist .From 1950 to 1964 she was married to composer
Luciano Berio , who deconstructed her voice in "Thema (Omaggio a Joyce)" (1958) and wrote his "Circles" (1960), "Folk Songs" (1964), "Sequenza III for woman's voice" (1965), and "Recital I (for Cathy) " (1972) for her. In additionSylvano Bussotti ,John Cage ,Hans Werner Henze andIgor Stravinsky wrote works for her voice.She interpreted contemporary avant-garde music, Armenian folk songs, Monteverdi,
The Beatles , and her own compositions. Her best known work is "Stripsody" (1966), in which she exploits her vocal technique usingcomic book sounds (onomatopoeia ).Cathy Berberian is mentioned in the
Steely Dan song "Your Gold Teeth" from the 1973 album "Countdown to Ecstasy ":: "Even Cathy Berberian knows/There's one roulade she can't sing."Albums
*Ora Mi Alzo / Autostrada (1956)
*Revolution (1969)
*Cathy Berberian's Second Hand Songs (1980)
*Songs Cathy Sang (1988)
*magnifiCathy: The Many Voices of Cathy Berberian (1988) - a compilation album
*The Unforgettable Cathy Berberian (1993) - a compilation
*Cathy Berberian Sings Monteverdi (1995)
*Homage to Cathy Berberian (1997) - a compilation
*Beatles Arias (2005) (Same as Revolution)External links
* [http://www.cathyberberian.com/ CathyBerberian.com]
* [http://www.mvdaily.com/articles/2002/03/cathy1.htm MVDaily.com: A musical enchantress] On the anniversary of Cathy Berberian's death, Jennifer Paull remembers the legendary singer who cast musical spells
* [http://radiom.org/detail.php?omid=OTG.1972.11.01.A Cathy Berberian interview] byCharles Amirkhanian at her home in Milan, Italy, first broadcast on 1 November 1972
* [http://www.meirion-bowen.com/mbartberb.htm Meirion-Bowen.com: Contemporary Cathy]
* [http://franklarosa.com/vinyl/Exhibit.jsp?AlbumID=73 Frank's Vinyl Museum: Cathy Berberian: Revolution] Beatles songs go baroque! An operatic first!
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