«Zurbrügg impressed us most of all with her voice,
her eloquent sense of humour and her brilliant yodelling,
which lends wings to herself (and to her audience) ...»
(FF, Die Südtiroler Wochenzeitung
A Swiss girl coming to the metropolis of Vienna to yodel?
And then going back to Switzerland to doodle?
Yes, that’s reality – to be perceived as the tall
figure of Christina Zurbrügg.
Zurbrügg’s attraction lies in her unique combination
of singing, rapping and modern yodelling – a mixture
of archaic-urban sounds with loops, natural sounds and electronics.
The polyglot cosmopolitan sings German, English, French, Spanish
and the exotic Schwyzerdütsch (Swiss German). And of
course she accompanies herself for some of the songs on her
accordion.
With her marvellous voice Zurbrügg is building bridges
between down to earth traditionals and urban soundscapes.
A crossover between old Viennese doodlers and alpine yodels
combined with the remix culture and world music of our millennium.
A Cosmo musical evening concert with an ethno pop singer and
songwriter.
Raised in the Berner Oberland, Christina Zurbrügg came
to Vienna after a long stay in South America and studied acting
and classical singing. She became well known through her music
theatre productions about the Spanish poet Federico García
Lorca. She studied and played folk music, shot the documentary
film “Orvuse on Oanwe” about Vienna’s last
doodlers (doodling is the Viennese version of alpine yodelling)
and in doing so rediscovered her own roots.
Next was her solo program “Christl’s Wonderworld”.
The film “Staying/Leaving” by zurbrügg &
hudecek was awarded the “Golden Dragon”, her song
album “now” was reviewed as a first class work
between tradition and modernity and the film “Half Time”
was nominated for the “Golden Rose 2009”. Last
was her CD “best of yodel 99-09“.
“A
musical universe that cannot be limited by any mountain, no
matter how high.” (Die Presse)
Zurbrügg & Band:
Christina Zurbrügg – vocals/accordion/fujara
Michael Hudecek – sax/vocals/git/laptop www.gams.cc
Wolfgang Tockner – keyboards, analog synthesizer
Harry Tanschek – drums
Herfried Knapp – bass
music for yodelling - organ - saxophone - accordion and electronics
Christina Zurbrügg
– vocals/accordion/fujara Michael Hudecek
– soprano sax/vocals/laptop – www.gams.cc Josef Novotny – church organ/electronics
– novotny.klingt.org
Plain, bombastic, icy, melodious, poetic, buoyant, soft and massive.
Swiss singer Christina Zurbrügg, organist Josef Novotny and saxophone player Michael Hudecek are surfing over sonic landscapes with their CD "Change of Register".
A contrasting mixture of subtle overtones, fragile moments, both orchestral and minimalistic, shrill and still.
"Change of Register" was recorded in Saint Martin's Church of Dudelange, Luxembourg, at the first performance on the symphonic Stahlhuth-Jann-Organ in September 2010.
This project focuses on the combination of tradition and modernity, on sacral and new music.
New yodel compositions in the tradition of J. S. Bach and Gregorian chants mix with electronically adapted organ sounds. Organ improvisations balancing between abstract and harmonic structures. Sometimes smooth and jazzy, then again ragged and original, soprano sax and accordion meet to perform joyful grooving yodel melodies. Yodelling here is being interpreted as "vocal instrumental music".
"Alternating between chest- and head-voice Christina Zurbrügg offers a completely modern and decidedly contemporary way of yodeling, far apart from the clichés and mannerism of that genre."
(Luxemburger Wort)
christina zurbrügg - yodelling, accordion, fujara
michael hudecek - soprano saxophone - www.gams.cc
josef novotny - organ, electronics - novotny.klingt.org
“…her music and films do not fit into traditional
categories.” (Falter)
Music for two voices, accordion, saxophone and laptop –
plus visuals
The live-project “still chill”
developed while working on different film music soundtracks.
In the beginning there was the soundtrack “tai chill”
for the Tai-Chi-Dance film “IN OUT – Move the world”.
A film about slowness in the hectic world of today.
“still chill” generates landscapes
inside your head. “still chill”
sometimes sounds airy and light, sometimes like a Gregorian
chant, sometimes smooth and jazzy, then again ragged and original.
Soprano sax and accordion meet to perform joyful grooving yodel
melodies and beats, followed plainly and purely by a slow instrumental
ballad. A yodel solo rising above a prevailing keynote, a minor
key from the Puszta hovers above a triad and then dissolves.
Voice, accordion and soprano sax mix to form a very special
and unique sound pattern.
Christina Zurbrügg – vocals/accordion/fujara www.zurbruegg.cc
Michael Hudecek – soprano saxophone/vocals/guitar/laptop
www.gams.cc
archive
„TO THE END OF LOVE“
Songs from films with accordion
played by:
Christina Zurbrügg, Maria Düchler & Martin Kelner
vocals, accordion, guitar
visuals: Thomas Treu
„To the End of Love“:
Stories full of passion, poetry and lightness, tragic and comic
like life itself – songs with accordion from the beginnings
of sound film till today.
«The world is small and the heart is vast ...»
(F. G. Lorca)
Spanish songs from the folksong-collection of Federico García
Lorca, Flamenco and music set to the poetry of the Andalusian
poet. Music by Zülfü Livaneli, Leonard Cohen, Pepe
de Lucía, Judith Pahola, Christina Zurbrügg und
Martin Kelner.
From Haitian freedom song to Asturian mountain carol, from the
tango of Argentina to Spanish-Swiss greetings from the “Buena
Vista Social Club”, congenially accompanied by the flamenco
guitar virtuoso Martin Kelner.
Christina Zurbrügg – vocals / accordion
Martin Kelner – flamenco guitar
«Magical
like the early deceased poet’s words, which were interpreted
by Christina Zurbrügg with wonderful intuition.»
Wiener Zeitung
“The clear, dark woman’s
voice leads us into the scintillating scenes of these songs,
which accompany a whole people from the cradle to the death
in the bull fight arena. Unobtrusively, with erotic timbre,
she paints pictures of passion, blood and tears.”
(Kronenzeitung)
„christl's wonderworld“
– zurbrügg solo
“A musical universe that cannot be limited by
any mountain, no matter how high.” (Die Presse)
Pure Christina Zurbrügg:
In her solo program Christina Zurbrügg, the most charming
cultural export from Switzerland to Vienna, roams through her
own musical worlds – a biographical resume, so to speak.
Exuberant yodels and doodles, rap, pop, tango and Spanish melancholia
follow one another, as if that was the most obvious thing in
the world.
At last her vocal and musical virtuosity, her eloquent sense
of humor and her passion for film can all be experienced in
one program:
She tells us about life at home and abroad, about coming and
going, about life and show, multilingual and multicolored, accompanied
by her “Golden Phil-Harmonica Orchestra” and video
projections.
If Woody Allen was a female and would furthermore step down
from the silver screen to entertain us with music and personal
stories, then we would be right in the middle of «CHRISTL'S
WONDERWORLD»:
A one-woman-show full of earthiness and glamour, offering humour
and wisdom, as otherwise only life itself is able to write it.
With her own works and that of others, polyglot and with exotic
Swiss German – and with the most universal language of
them all: Yodelling.)
A brilliant musical evening à la Zurbrügg.
Christina Zurbrügg – vocals / accordion / fujara
