With "before – Songs Between Love and Death", Quinton Records presents an extraordinary song cycle by Austrian composer Berthold Cvach. Fourteen songs explore the timeless themes of love, transience, farewell, and mortality. Rather than offering simple answers, they invite listeners into profound musical reflections of remarkable emotional depth and artistic intensity.

At the heart of the album lies the relationship between love and death— a subject that fascinated Plato in the “Symposium” and remains as compelling today as ever. The settings move between intimate lyricism and dramatic expression, creating a rich dialogue between poetry and music.

In this cycle, Berthold Cvach combines a contemporary musical language with an unexpected sense of accessibility. His compositions transcend stylistic boundaries and resist easy categorization, existing somewhere between the tradition of the art song and the expressive vocabulary of contemporary classical music. Virtuosic piano writing, highly expressive vocal lines, and a carefully crafted dramatic architecture give each song its own distinctive musical identity.

The cycle sets poems by distinguished writers including William Blake, Wolfgang Borchert, Wilhelm Busch, Else Lasker- Schüler, and Alfred Greimel, alongside several original texts by the composer himself. Together they form a poetic journey through the many facets of love, loss, memory, and human mortality. The performances are entrusted to two exceptional artists. Japanese soprano Kaoko Amano captivates with extraordinary vocal flexibility, crystalline clarity, and deeply expressive interpretations that have established her as an outstanding interpreter of contemporary vocal repertoire. At the piano, Austrian concert pianist Jan Satler brings exceptional technical brilliance, interpretative insight, and a profound affinity for contemporary music. Together they transform Cvach's songs into a compelling and unified artistic statement.

Musically, the cycle ranges from uncompromisingly atonal soundscapes to unexpected stylistic references, including echoes of boogie, waltz, and Bossa Nova— always serving the expressive purpose of the music rather than stylistic effect. Works such as “Weltende”, “Kalium.Zyanidum”, “The Garden of Love”, and the title song “… before I Sink into the Night” demonstrate the remarkable stylistic diversity and emotional breadth of this unique collection.

Quinton Records releases an album that reimagines the art song tradition while opening new expressive and sonic perspectives. It is a deeply moving musical meditation on the fundamental questions of human existence—sensitive, intellectually engaging, and interpreted with exceptional artistry.

The Artists

Kaoko Amano’s voice is distinguished by its exceptional flexibility, crystalline clarity, and remarkable versatility in the interpretation of art songs and contemporary vocal music. A soprano specializing in contemporary classical music, she extends her vocal artistry far beyond the traditions of classical bel canto. Her bright, transparent tone remains expressive and resonant even in the highest registers and the most delicate pianissimo passages. Equally impressive is her seamless transition from the softest pianissimo to powerful fortissimo outbursts. Above all, her impeccable intonation and emotionally compelling interpretation lend the songs extraordinary depth and expressive power. At the concert grand piano, Jan Satler delivers a performance of outstanding artistry. The demanding piano part was intentionally entrusted to a concert pianist rather than an accompanist. His technical precision, interpretative clarity, stylistic versatility, and specialization in contemporary music make him the ideal musical partner for the soprano. Together, these two exceptional artists shape the composer‘s work into a compelling and unified artistic statement.

The Composer

The songs of Austrian composer and musician Berthold Cvach are characterized by an extraordinary stylistic breadth that deliberately resists any clear genre classification. The fourteen songs move freely between contemporary classical music and sophisticated modern art song, while deliberately avoiding jazz influences. Alongside settings of texts by renowned poets such as William Blake, Wilhelm Busch, Wolfgang Borchert, and Else Lasker-Schüler, Cvach also sets his own poetry to music, deepening his artistic engagement with the themes explored throughout the cycle. Despite their complex contemporary language, the works remain highly accessible to the listener. Virtuosic piano writing alternates with narrative passages and demanding vocal lines. Two settings of poems by Alfred Greimel subtly reflect the pharmaceutical background shared by both poet and composer. Together, these songs create a carefully balanced sound world that unites classical elegance with surprising spontaneity.