Thanks to musicologist, singer and director Katarina Livljanić, the archaic becomes present, and the Middle Ages speak to us. This is more than a reconstruction!
Le Figaro, September 9, 2004
dialogos
programmes
discography
press clippings
photos
Ms. Livljanic has assembled a work so magnificent and moving that its resemblance to what medieval listeners might have heard is beside the point.
The New York Times
Katarina Livljanic …employs a wide spectrum of vocal nuances: in recitation and in singing she brings a wealth of emotions to our experience; in her clear, very agile and technically secure voice one hears not the tiniest insecurity. The concentration she brings to this tour de force is impressive.
Kölnische Rundschau (Cologne), June 2008
A voice of great beauty, with an extraordinary expressivity.
La Vanguardia (Spain)
Yet again, Katarina Livljanic has created a real miracle… This miracle grows from her strong and passionate conviction that 'old music' never became 'old', just that we have forgotten it. KL shows her love for the past by using it as a living, strong and vital materia. She uses it to create artistic and musical forms which become alive in her excellent interpretation.
As in the most fantastic scientists' dreams of reviving lost species by using DNA fossils, KL is using written and oral traces to create her art and move the spirit of today's audience, with no difficulty, just as it would have pushed a medieval monk into a visionary and spiritual ecstasy.
Jutarnji list (Croatia)
The leader of Dialogos, alto Katarina Livljanic, added another dimension to the concert… Her impressive rendition of "Domine, exaudi orationem meam," with its extended melisma, was especially ear catching.
The New York Sun
The conception and direction of this project were in the hands of the young, extremely impressive musicologist, singer and director Katarina Livljanic. Using old musical sources from Dalmatia and southern Italy, she reconstructed this long voyage of the soul into an invisible world.
Süddeutsche Zeitung (Germany)
Katarina Livljanic interprets Marulic’s text and makes it very alive, intimate and touching, thanks to her excellent diction …her performance revives not only the Croatian language from five centuries ago, but also a whole lost world in which storytelling and singing were inseparable.
In the interaction (of instruments) with Katarina Livljanic’s marvelous voice, there was no affectation or self-indulgent virtuosity - everything seemed like a perfect improvisation, created at the very moment of the performance…with surprising force and breathtaking concentration.
Jutarnji list (Croatia)
In these pieces as well as the liturgical selections, Katarina Livljanić's ornamentation and rhythmic interpretation are extremely convincing. Her skills as both musicologist and performing artist combine to create a truly superior recording.
Liturgica
The sung and spoken words have the same importance in the interpretation of Katarina Livljanic, who succeeds in bringing us close to the archaic and seductive sound of the old Marulic language. But the aspect which should be especially mentioned, is her supreme vocal skill. Measure and equilibrium in the voice positioning, beautifully shaped vowels, high level of control in phrasing, these are the attributes of very rare performers, those who deeply reflect and live through the essence of the message they transform into sound.
Vjesnik (Croatia)
The voice is in the center of the performance, refined and resonant with its perfectly shaped sound, using archaic melodic fragments with a lot of imagination and ease. The synergy with the original text is very moving.
Glas Istre (Croatia)
Magic secrets of medieval dark sounds are brought to light in the most impressive and original way by Katarina Livljanic, musicologist, singer and music director.
Her warm voice with its dense colour and expressivity uses a rich palette of sound nuances between speech, singing-speach and singing. This was the only day in this year’s musical life in Croatia when we experienced a real ritual of hypnosis by a music-theatre magician KL.
Vijenac (Croatia)
Excerpt from a concert at the Zadar Festival (Croatia), in July 2007
Summer 2008
• June 3rd, Cité de la musique, Paris
Amphithéâtre, 8pm
Programme: Judith
Booking: 01 44 84 44 84
www.cite-musique.fr
• June 16th, Dvigrad Festival
Kanfanar, Croatia
Crkva sv. Silvestra, 9.30pm
Programme: Judith
• June 25th, Romanischer Sommer
Köln, Germany
St Pantaleon’s church, 9.30pm
Programme: Judith
www.romanischer-sommer.de
• August 13th, Edinburgh International Festival, Edinburgh, Scotland
Greyfriars Kirk, 5.45pm
Programme: Chant Wars
www.eif.co.uk
• August 19th, Festival de música antigua de Sajazarra, La Rioja, Spain
Iglesia de la Asunción, 8.30pm
Programme: Abbo Abbas
Booking: +34 941 320 346
• August 27th, Académie Bach, France
Varengeville sur mer’s church, 8.30pm
Programme: Judith
www.academie-bach.fr
August 28th-30th, 2008, Antwerp, Belgium
International Young Artists Presentation - Early Music
More information at www.musica.be