Natalia Cappa's artistry shines brightly on this release of new works for solo voice and with electronics by a collection of her Argentinean composer colleagues. Cappa has an uncanny gift for communicating the expressive and theatrical meaning behind the extended techniques in the music, as ambituous as some of the vocal sounds are, they are always presented in the most bracingly human fashion. The album traverses a capella territory as well as dialogues with and immersions in electronic environments. It is a testament both to the power of Cappa's performing personality and her programming instincts that the listener perceives all of this aesthetic diversity through the lens of a journey her voice is taking, through dark psychological spaces and lighter, humorous moments. The composers enlisted in the project capture a range from ritualistic and mournful to circus-like and irreverent. Given the rich tapestry of Argentinean culture and lineage this feels particularly appropriate, a snapshot of an avant-garde community that, while at the cutting edge, still captures something of the polyglot identity of a nation that has been profoundly shaped by immigrants. 

Una is Cappa's first solo album and includes works written in Spanish for her by composers from her home country. Works by Jorge Sad Levi, Diego Tedesco, Jorge Diego Vázquez Salvagno, Agustina Crespo, José Halac, and Ramiro Mansilla Pons traverse a wide range of aesthetics, all showcasing Cappa's remarkable versatility, from virtuosic melodic flights to realization of complex, abstract notation.

- Dan Lippel

“Una is a vocal journey through different Argentine works for solo voice and voice with electronics composed especially for this album. The common thread running through all the pieces is the voice of the singer, Natalia Cappa, sounding free and displaying her full virtuosity and expressivity. The works in Una cover a vast territory of aesthetics and compositional tools, reflecting the richness of contemporary Argentine music nowadays.” - Diego Tedesco


Natalia Cappa’s first solo album is the result of her long journey in music as a singer and creator. She decided to commission six works from composers residing in different regions of Argentina — Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area, Córdoba, Buenos Aires City, Salta; representative of quite different aesthetics and with diverse musical experiences. The works would fit only two requirements: they would be conceived for female solo voice, and should explore the richness of the Spanish language and its roots.

The six pieces were created in total freedom and in constant dialogue with the composers Jorge Sad Levi, Jorge Vázques, Diego Tedesco, Agustina Crespo, José Halac, and Ramiro Mansilla Pons. Each work has a specific vocal and musical challenge, allowing the voice to display the fascinating range of contemporary vocal resources and expanded singing, in conjunction with improvisation, theatricality, and even technology applied to voice processing. Whispers, melodies, words, songs, screams, take us by the hand on this musical journey through different emotions, weaving together the old and the new, what already exists and what is yet to come.

Jorge Sad Levi’s La culor dil tiempu (2023) is based on Ladino poems by Clarisse Nicoïdsky. Levi writes, “These songs are a homage to my grandmother who came from Turkey to Argentina during the war, bringing only her books with her. So Ladino was one of the tongues I heard continuously during my childhood together with French.”

Jorge Diego Vazquez Salvagno’s Mujer Frutal is the third work based on the poems “Posibilidad” and “Mujer equilibrista con joroba” by writer Teresa “Kuky” Leonardi Herrán from Salta, Argentina. The composer writes: “Each of these works, Mujeres equilibristas, for trio of flutes and soprano, Mujer trapecista for double bass flute and pedals effects and Mujer frutal for solo voice, explore different uses, fragments and variations of Herrán's texts. The poems are reworked through anagrams, permutations and filters, achieving a unique perspective of them. The text, the result of potential processes, unfailingly articulates the sound flow and releases musical rhetorical figures that are directly reflected in the material of the piece.”

Diego Tedesco’s De los Sos Ojos was commissioned in 2022 and is an open score in which Cappa has enough freedom to display her histrionic virtuosity. Tedesco writes, “Distortion, nonsense and limits of comprehension are part of the work, and the multiple types of reverb add a layer of polyphony that complement and challenge the entire piece.”

Agustina Crespo’s Kenkos for soprano and electronics (2022) is inspired by a style of folkloric singing from northwestern Argentina that emphasizes ornamentation, and is frequently accompanied by an Andean percussion instrument called “caja” (in English, box), usually played by the singer themselves.

José Halac’s Secreta Voz for soprano and electronics (2023) sets a court statement by an influential Argentine activist, Milagro Sala, speaking out against her unjust imprisonment and general levels of corruption in the legal system. Halac seeks out the meaning that lies beneath Sala’s words, using the electronics as a counterpoint to Cappa’s voice as well as the environmental container that it inhabits.

Ramiro Mansilla Pons’ Tres Descripciones del Amor is a setting of texts by Russian poet Fyodor Tyutchev that Andrei Tarkovsky used it in the ending of his film Stalker (1979), and subsequently was the source of a 2007 song by Björk. In this piece, Pons reflects on the poem itself, as well as its journey through the imaginations of artists throughout multiple centuries.

– Natalia Cappa