Iva Bittova - Iva Bittova

Czech singer/player/composer Iva Bittov� has long been one of contemporary music's great originals - and her work has always resisted neat idiomatic definition: as she says herself, deciding on a name for my style of music is far from over yet. She has contributed to projects in many genres, from jazz to opera, worked with musicians in experimental rock and classical music. This eponymously-titled disc, on which she sings and plays the violin and kalimba (thumb piano) now marks her solo debut for ECM.

Bittov� has said: The violin is a mirror reflecting my dreams and imagination. I believe there are fundamentals to my performance, such as the music's vibration and resonance between violin and my voice. That relationship is beautifully explored on this album - recorded at Auditorio Radiotelevisione Svizzera, Lugano, and produced by Manfred Eicher - which expresses the essence of Bittov�'s unique and extraordinary solo work. Her violin-playing is as versatile as her voice can be, by turns, austere, earthy, romantic, a tool for sonic exploration and emotional expression.

The pieces here, modestly-titled 'Fragments I-XII' resist definition. An idiosyncratic 'folk' music, contemporary composition, improvisation, any and all of these may apply from moment to moment - her music is a living, changing thing. Iva Bittov� was previously showcased in 2007 on the widely-acclaimed ECM album Mater, flanked by the chamber orchestra Solamente Naturali and the Bratislava Conservatory Choir. Vladim�r God�r's cantata was in fact inspired by Bittov�'s vocal art, by its energy, discipline, and intuitive and emotional power.

Personnel: Iva Bittov� (voice, violin, kalimba)