Hope, Julia

Julia Böhme is described on the cover as a "female alto". Fair enough I suppose; such is the current dominance of the falsettist (in baroque music anyway) that altos are assumed to be male, while lowish females always call themselves "mezzo-sopranos". The word "contralto" is almost forgotten. And indeed Böhme's sound is reminiscent of falsetto - clear and rather hollow – but she is far more powerful and flexible than male altos, and can sing right down to a good loud g without any baritonal embarrassments. No wobble, and a pleasantly unaffected delivery. So far I have only noticed her as a principal alto in Václav Luks' Collegium 1704 – you can see her (a tall lady) in their DVD of Biber's Missa Salisburgensis, where she makes a striking contribution…

Julia Kadel recorded Kaskaden – her latest trio work to date – at the historic MPS studio in Villingen in 2019, where jazz legends, such as Oscar Peterson and Friedrich Gulda recorded in the sixties and seventies. Not long after the release of the album, Julia Kadel was awarded the Essener Jazz Pott 2020 for her innovative musical work. The upcoming trio album Powerful Vulnerability was recorded at the not less legendary Hansa Studios in Berlin. The album presents highly exciting, stylistically idiosyncratic and deeply personal music.