Search - Savina Yannatou :: Songs of an Other (Ocrd)

Ravishing

Marius Cipolla | 03/25/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"What can you say about this voice? Tender, caressing, sometimes almost fading to nothing, then swelling to great power, it is a magnificent instrument under the control of a singer with immense feeling. Savina Yannatou is a huge star who sings in several Mediterranean languages but seldom in English, something which may make her inaccessible to some US listeners; but for those prepared for new experiences, she is a whole paradise waiting to be discovered. I urge all lovers of the human voice to give this stellar singer a listen."

NON-STEREOTYPICAL AND BREATH-TAKING VOCALIST

Steven H. Koenig | Brooklyn, NY, United States | 10/01/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Too often the term world music has a negative connotation, like jazz fusion had. The difference is, I feel, one of integration as contrasted with fusion- the sticking together of disparate parts. The strength of Songs Of An Other that the "otherness" here is actually a unity: of sound, of interplay, and universal sentiments.



Songs Of An Other contains folks songs from Serbia, Armenia, Macedonia, Greece, and Jewish Ashkenazy music. There are also compositions and/or improvisations credited to the band based on Greek tradition. Instruments include oud, accordion, ney, double-bass, violin, viola, guitar, unnamed percussion instruments, and qanun (Wikipedia says the "kanun is a descendant of the old Egyptian harp, and is related to the psaltery, dulcimer and zither"). Yet this doesn't sound like a hodgepodge nor a travelog. "Smilj Smiljana" is a Serbian lament for an uncertain love, but it could just as easily be a Child ballad. Each lyric is a tiny jewel, like a Schubert lied.



Yannatou has a tremolo which, in ECM's typical echo, resonates as if under a stone arch in a monastery. There is much use of breath, and vocal calls, sea-gull like sounds which one associates with the works of both Kate Bush and Shelley Hirsch. Sample, if you can, track 5: "O Yannis kai o drakos," which relates the tale of Yannis in a battle of wills with a dragon, Yannatou's haunting voice like a violin or bird call, at other times growling. Other songs use gutteral utterances and ghostlike, non-stereotypical throat-singing which at first sounds like an arco-bass, or is it indeed one of the instruments? Totally breathtaking.



The packaging is typical ECM: beautiful, arty cover photo, cardboard slipcase, booklet with session photos, notes on each song's heredity (all traditional; which nation) and song text summaries. Given the expensive look and feel, why not print full bi- or multi-lingual translations of each song? Highly recommended for tastes ranging from Hamza el Din to The Incredible String Band, Om Khalsoum to June Tabor to Sainkho Namtchylak. One of the best of 2008.



Steve Koenig, Editor, AcousticLevitation dot org, a journal of art, music and culture

"

A beautiful little corner of the music market

Wyote | Seoul | 01/21/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Savina Yannatou has a lovely voice, and anyone interested in beautiful music should hear Savina Yannatou Sings Manos Hadjidakis if you can find it (it must be brought back into production - it is simply too good to remain obscure). That album took me a few listens to get used to, but now it has ascended in my estimation: it is one of the most beautiful I have ever heard. Hadjidakis' songs are not naively romantic, but neither are they anything like avante-garde.



So although I thought I didn't have any expectations for this album, I was repeatedly startled, track after track. The intermittent conservative bass anchors the music in the jazz tradition, but bouyed by Yannatou's lovely vocals the rest of the music soars far beyond anything widely marketable as world or folk music. At times it sounds something like the most beautiful epileptic fit ever recorded, at times something like a psychedelic remix of southeastern European folk music, and at times like Native American inspired new age music played fast-forward. I want to say it's something like Conception Vessel meets Osvaldo Golijov: Ayre.



Besides all that, there is the occasional Tuvan throat singing, and accoustic instruments that sometimes sound conspicuously hand-made and sometimes like a cheap synthesizer keyboard from the mid-1980s. It is simply all over the place: each track offers something distinct, and there is no way to predict what you will hear next. Yet there is an obvious unity to the album, especially in its tone color and the progression of its moods (both are roughly the kind of thing expected from an ECM album.)



Above all, in case I haven't emphasized the word enough, it is beautiful. This has more to do with Yannatou than with the band, but their contributions are notable.



I'm the third reviewer so far, and I'm very surprised that all three of us have been unreservedly positive. A lot of listeners will hate this music - no matter what musical conventions you secretly cherish, this will at some point break them; there is no risk of the sort of popularity that Officium enjoys - but of course a lot will love it instantly, and it was for these latter (a niche that ECM knows how to exploit) that the album has created, recorded and marketed.



I suspect you can already tell what sort you are, and whether you should drop your cash for this music. I hope you will, for your own sake, but also because I hope that Savina Yannatou's career will continue with ECM for awhile. I think it could continue to be a very interesting, productive partnership."