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Dance of the Vampires
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| Czech singer, violinist, and composer Iva Bittová has created a distinctive performing style by mixing folk songs and classical music with avant-pop and delivering them in a flamboyant manner that has invited comparisons to Laurie Anderson. Bittová clearly emphasizes her Czech roots over any other influences, and there's no mistaking the cultural flavors of Dance of the Vampires, her live 2000 album with the Netherlands Wind Ensemble. To underscore the source of Bittová's inspiration, the program includes three pieces by Leos Janácek, taken from On the Overgrown Path for piano and arranged for winds by Ronald Karten, as well as her own original songs in Czech, arranged by Steven Kovacs Tickmayer. The combination of Bittová's penetrating voice and violin with the rounded timbres of the winds may seem an odd one, yet it works well, since the ensemble's colors are complementary and its textures are seldom out of balance. Sound quality, though, is problematic in this live setting: some of Bittová's string playing gets lost in the excessively resonant venue; and while her voice is always audible, it carries in too many directions as she moves about the stage. Fans of Bittová's studio recordings may not rate this disc highly, but it at least gives a sample of her inimitable style, and amply demonstrates her charisma with an enthusiastic audience. |
ARTISTS
Iva Bittova, Leos Janacek, Netherlands Wind Ensemble. |
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