Armed with tuning forks, the ladies of Resonant Bodies<\/strong><\/a>\u2019 second night of concerts won over the audience with their wide array of 20th<\/sup> and 21st<\/sup> century vocal works.\u00a0 Performed to a backdrop of geometric abstract art and colorful lights in Brooklyn\u2019s sprawling bar and live music venue ShapeShifter Lab<\/strong>, the evening began with vocal quartet Elizabeth-Caroline Unit<\/strong> (Sarah Dyson<\/strong>, Amirtha Kidambi<\/strong>, Jean Carla Rodea<\/strong>, and Kristin Slipp<\/strong>.)\u00a0 The Over-Soul Manual<\/i> by saxophonist-composer Darius Jones<\/strong> was comprised of 12 solos, duets, trios, and quartets, all a cappella<\/i>, set to \u201c\u2026the linguistic and sonic vocabulary of an alien birthing ritual.\u201d\u00a0 Jones\u2019 program notes continue: \u201cEach female alien gives birth to some aspect of the genetic makeup that forms the child,\u201d and this was clear in each singer\u2019s unique character and purpose.\u00a0 Jean Carla Rodea had a primal sound, her solos reminiscent of indigenous Australian calls.\u00a0 Amirtha Kidambi\u2019s expressive face and pinpoint-clear voice brought angst to her mother-character.\u00a0 Kristin Slipp was the practical one and Sarah Dyson\u2019s rich operatic quality brought equal parts warmth and drama.\u00a0 The piece concluded with a film entitled I Wish I Had A Choice<\/i>, set to Jones\u2019 own jazz soundtrack, with intriguing illustrations by Randall Wilcox<\/strong> depicting a tribe\u2019s journey through settlement and war.<\/p>\n The second set of the evening featured the versatile Jamie Jordan<\/strong> singing works by Henri Pousseur<\/strong>, Paul Coleman<\/strong>, Jacob Cooper<\/strong>, and Kaija Saariaho<\/strong>.\u00a0 The standout works were Coleman\u2019s Mock Me<\/i> and Cooper\u2019s Unspun<\/i>, both for voice and electronics, and both erring on the side of minimalism, providing variation from the mostly atonal music of the evening.\u00a0 Mock Me<\/i>, likely named for its heavy use of delay in the microphone, began with Jordan chanting alone.\u00a0 She managed to produce a lovely speech-dominant sound in this opening, a sharp contrast from the pure brilliance she achieved on the high notes of the Pousseur.\u00a0 The haunting electronics, including gong-, triangle-, and chime-like sound effects, provided a strong foundation for the pop-inspired melodies of the vocal line.\u00a0 The next piece, Cooper\u2019s Unspun<\/i> from the song cycle Silver Threads<\/i>, seamlessly fused the genres of \u201cart song\u201d and \u201cpop.\u201d\u00a0 Beginning with a pulsing electronic ostinato, the playful words of Dora Malech<\/strong> rang out against the synthesized texture.\u00a0 While Jordan\u2019s singing was full of warmth, I wish she had chosen the more pop-influenced sound of Mock Me<\/i> for this multifaceted piece.<\/p>\n The evening ended with a set by the virtuosic Megan Schubert<\/strong>.\u00a0 Her mastery of Babbitt<\/strong>\u2019s Phonemena<\/i> and Berio<\/strong>\u2019s Sequenza III<\/i>, pieces filled with extended techniques that could overwhelm the most experienced singer, were startlingly precise and, most impressively, expressive.\u00a0 \u201c[Babbitt] can swing,\u201d said the singer.\u00a0 This simple remark turned the composer\u2019s atonal mutterings into spirited scat sessions that truly gripped the audience.\u00a0 For 1 Voice<\/i> by Matt Fagen<\/strong>, a former mentor of Schubert\u2019s at Bennington College, was an a cappella piece, which, she said, reminded her of \u201cold building sounds.\u201d\u00a0 She asked the audience to close their eyes as she roamed the room and played with the acoustics of the space.\u00a0 The night ended with Schubert singing and playing two original songs at the piano, including the sassy cabaret piece, \u201cI\u2019m No Third Wheel,\u201d with charming lyrics like, \u201cI\u2019m a unicycle; I just have to pedal a little extra to get anywhere.\u201d\u00a0 With her musical flexibility and commitment to contemporary vocal techniques, Megan Schubert is clearly a visionary in her field.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Danya Katok is a vibrant performer whose “crystalline soprano” (Boston Globe) and “appealing” stage presence (The New York Times) have led her to burst onto the contemporary classical music scene. In April 2011, she made her New York City Opera debut at Lincoln Center as Max in Oliver Knussen’s Where the Wild Things Are<\/i>. \u00a0Other operatic roles include Comm\u00e8re in Virgil Thomson’s Four Saints in Three Acts<\/i> with Mark Morris Dance Group, “Soprano” in the world premiere of Christian McLeer’s short opera Sonata<\/i> at Carnegie Hall, and Judy in Lee Hoiby’s This is the Rill Speaking<\/i> with Chelsea Opera. \u00a0In her short career, Danya has already performed ten world premieres and is constantly looking for new music on which to collaborate.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n![\"Photo](\"http:\/\/sybariticsinger.files.wordpress.com\/2013\/09\/rb1.jpg?w=600\")
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