UNDERTONER (Denmark)
Diamanda Galás, 28.05.10, Marmorkirken, København
by Kim Elgaard Andersen
Photo by Tania Gibson
As Diamanda Galás walked up to the huge grand piano, the entire church was completely darkened to protect the vampire-queen’s white skin. She was truly majestic and looked like Morticia Addams’ evil sister with her long black hair dyed green in the back, and her broad-shouldered back which gives her strength to do long tones and to span over four octaves. Fortunately, there was a healthy self-ironic distance to her awe-inspiring appearance, which came to light after a couple of songs when she thanked Lars Top-Galia for organizing the concert. She admitted to being a very complicated artist, after which she burst into a devilish laugh.
Galás is an extraordinary artist because her musicality is deeply rooted in opera and composition. And her fascination with suffering and despair along with her socio-political engagement (in the 80’s she wrote a trilogy that attacked the Catholic Church's demonization of AIDS, the disease that killed her brother) have appealed strongly to 80’s Goth culture.
This evening her performance was not so conceptual. A number of compositions were played on the piano: half of them were her own, mixed with some French chansons that were for the most part written by Belgian singer Jacques Brel. There was a good mix of pop songs and songs of more extreme expressiveness.
The imposing lady hit hard on her piano, sometimes even hitting rhythmically on its body, and there were some very powerful notes accompanying her matured voice. Her voice! For that was certainly the night's main attraction. Naturally, her tone has deepened with age, but she could still break a concrete wall into pieces with it. Maybe that is why the Marble Church had been chosen?
Her voice could inspire everyone to believe in demons, and her enthroned shadow that was alarmingly cast upon the church wall was an unholy and enthralling presence. The way she used her voice only heightened this impression, as if rising from a crevice in the ground. At times, she actually spoke in tongues, but what really made your hair stand on end were her inhumanly long, intensive vocal effects that made the brainstem run at full speed on testosterone: 'Run damn it! The animal is superior to you!’
Fortunately, I remained seated and enjoyed the beautiful ending, which sounded like a dark aria. The audience's enthusiasm was unconditional, expressing their enjoyment of the concert, and she went up on the stage again to perform a slightly clumsy version of Shel Silverstein’s "25 Minutes to Go", a song that Johnny Cash has also tried his hand at. Overall it was an excellent concert and was like being in the company of the devil herself.
(translation by Lejla Foric)
Diamanda Galás, 28.05.10, Marmorkirken, København
by Kim Elgaard Andersen
Photo by Tania Gibson
As Diamanda Galás walked up to the huge grand piano, the entire church was completely darkened to protect the vampire-queen’s white skin. She was truly majestic and looked like Morticia Addams’ evil sister with her long black hair dyed green in the back, and her broad-shouldered back which gives her strength to do long tones and to span over four octaves. Fortunately, there was a healthy self-ironic distance to her awe-inspiring appearance, which came to light after a couple of songs when she thanked Lars Top-Galia for organizing the concert. She admitted to being a very complicated artist, after which she burst into a devilish laugh.
Galás is an extraordinary artist because her musicality is deeply rooted in opera and composition. And her fascination with suffering and despair along with her socio-political engagement (in the 80’s she wrote a trilogy that attacked the Catholic Church's demonization of AIDS, the disease that killed her brother) have appealed strongly to 80’s Goth culture.
This evening her performance was not so conceptual. A number of compositions were played on the piano: half of them were her own, mixed with some French chansons that were for the most part written by Belgian singer Jacques Brel. There was a good mix of pop songs and songs of more extreme expressiveness.
The imposing lady hit hard on her piano, sometimes even hitting rhythmically on its body, and there were some very powerful notes accompanying her matured voice. Her voice! For that was certainly the night's main attraction. Naturally, her tone has deepened with age, but she could still break a concrete wall into pieces with it. Maybe that is why the Marble Church had been chosen?
Her voice could inspire everyone to believe in demons, and her enthroned shadow that was alarmingly cast upon the church wall was an unholy and enthralling presence. The way she used her voice only heightened this impression, as if rising from a crevice in the ground. At times, she actually spoke in tongues, but what really made your hair stand on end were her inhumanly long, intensive vocal effects that made the brainstem run at full speed on testosterone: 'Run damn it! The animal is superior to you!’
Fortunately, I remained seated and enjoyed the beautiful ending, which sounded like a dark aria. The audience's enthusiasm was unconditional, expressing their enjoyment of the concert, and she went up on the stage again to perform a slightly clumsy version of Shel Silverstein’s "25 Minutes to Go", a song that Johnny Cash has also tried his hand at. Overall it was an excellent concert and was like being in the company of the devil herself.
(translation by Lejla Foric)