This was one of those rare concerts where I felt I was in the presence of greatness. Iva Bittovà from the Czech Republic, simply has one of most extraordinary voices I’ve ever had the privilege to hear live.
It is the sheer versatility of her singing that makes it so special. One minute she’s reciting what could be a kids playground song, the next she’s producing raw, guttural sounds that could be death rattles.
This phenomenal demonstration of the voice as instrument could easily have been merely an impressive exercise in style but here conveys a real feeling that she is adding expression and punctuation to the words and mood of her music.
Admittedly, the fact that she mostly sings in languages I do not know (Czech or German) I have no way of verifying this but, for example, there’s such a vitality and sensuality at the heart a song she introduces as “a small song about big love” that translation becomes redundant. In addition, a lot of her vocal energy stems from screams, sighs, whispers, yelps and clicks that are so universal that they communicate to any nationality. Continue reading
