Natalka Pasicznyk

Natalka’’s entire repertoire was very moving, and the song ‘Tears of Hope’ was particularly powerful and she captivated the entire audience. Her vocal control was exceptionally sustained among disjunct melodic leaps, changeable dynamics, and trills throughout the song. She embodied the quietness and soft timbres of the verse, and beautifully prepared the dramatic climax towards the end.The clarity of her tone was exceptional throughout, particularly in the higher registers which were so well controlled and sustained. It was an extremely special performance as she created an intimate atmosphere in communicating the story of the songs. Natalka’s voice is truly unique, and can touch the heart of any listener.

I Wonder as I Wonder: The first feature in this concert was an American song, originally composed by John Jacob Niles composed somewhere between 1918 and 1933, of which Berio rearranged in 1963 for a small orchestra and solo singer (originally Cathy Berbarian). The song is heavily inspired by the theme of thought and ponderance and is often described and used as a Christmas carol due to its religious inspiration. The lyrics are made even more potent by their evident inspiration from Niles’ experiences of longing for home and peace during the latter half of the First World War, of which Niles participated. Natalka captures this seamlessly with a real sense of lyricism in her soft yet distinctive tone. Particularly notable was her broad and profound higher register which clearly carries the weight of a well-developed and experienced operatic soprano’s voice. Yet, this did not overpower the sense of phrasing but, instead, added an increasingly emphatic and wishful sense of feeling and emotion to each line. Her handling of the profoundly legato nature of this piece was distinctly reflective of Nile’s own emotions and feeling when thinking of home during such a solemn period of our world history. Her tone also clearly adopted a more relaxed and lighter timbre which reflected both the more reflective nature of the piece itself, but also the culture of which Niles was a part of back in the United States in the early part of the twentieth century.