Thursday, 21 January 2016

How I discovered Gerard Zuchetto

When we moved to France in 2003 and as I was already interested in Troubadour culture I bought some CD's and my choice was Thomas Binkley (seems to have a good reputation!) then a German edition and then I saw the cover of Gerard Zuchetto with the background of Carcassonne on a CD, so this should be a local lad, so that might be interesting, but perhaps not professional!
When they arrived I put them on when I was doing the dish washing, and the first two were very nice and beautiful to listen to and then I put on Gerard Zuchetto and I had to stop the washing up, because this kind of sound I never heard before. I had to put some effort in to listen. This was different. He sang each word clearly and it was sung by a real man, not just by somebody, who had a beautiful voice. The music kept you on your toes, awake and he conveyed the emotions and meanings (What ever that was!) and this was not just only singing beautiful melodies or tunes. The recording was excellent, as it was done in a church with good acoustics and not in a studio. He also does not sing each couplet (stanza) the same way, because he expresses the meaning of the words, so you don't feel the repetitions, which can put you to sleep. It is a real pity the recordings are not more well known, but perhaps people are too lazy to listen properly and just want to hear music for easy pleasure.
Since then I try to see them every time they are around.



Troubadours Art Ensemble

First he started working with the Perceval Ensemble (Katia Care) and then also with Gisela Bellsola, who sang on some of his CD's. 
When later he worked with Sandra Hurtado-Ros, I was at first disappointed, as she seems to me to put more accent on the singing, that is; put a lot of accent on the melody and tune and it is much more difficult to hear the words. And her voice can sometimes be quit thin and after a few songs can become boring. However when I saw her perform then I noticed she is as much engaged in bringing over emotions and meaning as Gerard, but in her own way. Also here you have to listen attentively.
Her most interesting pieces are where either the music is beautiful and gentle or where there are strong emotions (She is after all Spanish!)
Then we should not forget the musicians; they are fantasic and many worked with Gerard Zuchetto for a long time.

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