14 Récitations
New Focus, 2023
10/10
The soprano vocalist Stephanie Lamprea births a very daring effort here, where she performs Georges Aperghis’ 14 Récitations for solo voice, and it’s a very avant-garde experience that focuses on tonality, repetition and puzzles.
“Récitation 1” opens the listen with Lamprea’s stunning vocal acrobatics that are both melodic, flowing and often are used like an instrument and lets us know that this will be no typical a cappella listen.
Further on, the expressive storytelling of “Récitation 3” unfolds like dialogue, while “Récitation 5” has Lamprea showcasing an impressive range that’s bright and uplifting. “Recitation 7”, one of the album’s best, then illustrates a very impressive ability to make sounds with her very animated pipes.
Approaching the end, “Récitation 10” moves with a swift pace of very focused and atypical gestures, and “Récitation 14” exits with much emphasis on breathing via the often whispered bouts of song craft.
A Colombian-American artist who delivers classical music in very unorthodox ways, Lamprea manipulates timbre and dramatic flair for this truly unique record that you could never listen to just once.
Travels well with: Christopher Cerrone- The Air Suspended; Aaron Myers-Brooks- Oblique