From Graubünden to the world and back

Despite her long and successful international career, Corin Curschellas has remained surprisingly unknown in Switzerland; she was probably always too idiosyncratic and unwieldy for the local mass taste. Moreover, she never sought public attention herself; music was always more important to her than success. The grande dame of the Swiss music scene is now celebrating her 50 years on stage with a box set that will be of interest not only to old fans but also to a new audience. Compact discs may already be a historical format, but the beautifully designed cardboard box with four CDs and two books is a fascinating object that goes beyond the music. CDs still make sense because the box contains a lot of information worth reading: all the song lyrics, the Rhaeto-Romanic ones even with translation, the performers and lyricists involved, a complete discography and short texts by Corin, companions and companions who provide coherent impressions of the person and the work. The books have an extremely attractive graphic design and are supplemented with a wealth of photographic material. This alone is worth the purchase.

The sixty tracks on the four CDs come from Curschella's solo albums from 1990 to 2010, supplemented by new recordings from 2022. Fortunately, the old albums have not simply been reissued, but the songs have been very carefully selected and put together in a new order. As a result, they appear in a different context and, even if you already know them, you suddenly hear them in a completely new way. Two things come to the fore here: on the one hand, the linguistic and musical versatility of the creator. The lyrics are written in Rumantsch, dialect, German, English and French and Corin can sing in all languages. On the other hand, her life's journey is beautifully reflected in the recording locations: from Graubünden to Zurich, Berlin, Vienna, Paris, London, New York and back to the Surselva.

Another characteristic of Curschella's work is her gift for networking with the best people, whether for the lyrics or for the recordings. The list of lyricists and musicians is impressive: in Switzerland - among many others - Heiri Känzig, Christy Doran, Max Lässer or Co Streiff, in Vienna the Vienna Art Orchestra with Mathias Rüegg, in Paris Noël Akchoté and Steve Argüelles, in New York Marc Ribot, Robert Quine, J. T. Lewis or Greg Cohen, all renowned greats in their field. Stylistically, the pieces oscillate between jazz, experimental, world music and chanson. However, Curschellas does not lose herself in this incredible versatility, but always manages to give her songs a very unique and personal touch.

Over the past 15 years, Corin has mainly focused on Rhaeto-Romanic folk song, which has been very well received by audiences and the press. It has been somewhat forgotten that she has also had a great international career and brought Switzerland to the world - and the world back to Switzerland. This wonderful box clearly demonstrates this.Corin Curschellas: Collecziuns 1990-2010 + 2022 Her Songs, Tourbo Music TOURBO068