Robert Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf

Unsuk Chin - Cantatrix Sopranica

As part of the EIGHT BRIDGES | Musik für Köln two recordings of significant works by this year's Composer in Residence, Unsuk Chin, and other renowned composers of contemporary music were made on May 1 and 2, 2017. 

In collaboration with the WDR, on May 1 at the Cologne Philharmonic students in the IMM Classical Music Recording major recorded a concert given by the Neues Ensemble with works by Ligeti, Birtwistle and Chin. The students had the opportunity to use the control room and the equipment of the WDR, and were supported by the WDR sound engineer Brigitte Angerhausen. 

At the concert recording on 2 May in Sartory Hall, the ensemble Musikfabrik (conductor Peter Rundel) performed a program of works including Cantatrix Sopranica by Unsuk Chin. A team of IMM students led by Hari Yim (recording producer) and Joan Lennard Schubert (sound engineer) recorded and edited the concert with 44 channels in stereo. The institute's own mobile sound studio was used for the recordings. It allows students to carry out elaborate mobile productions on site and mix them live. 

The piece Cantatrix Sopranica for two sopranos, countertenor and ensemble by Unsuk Chin was inspired by a passage in the nonsense text “The Soprano Project” by Georges Perec, a parody of scientific treatises. In the piece various vocal and music styles are set against each other. Here the first three movements Warming up.Tuning, Singing Sing it! And Cis n’est pas Ces can be heard.