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Main Stage :: Quiet Voices

Quiet Voices

John Olson and Gioia De Cari’s harmonious husband and wife duo

March 12, 2007

Guitarist John Olson and vocalist Gioia De Cari have enchanted audiences from New York to Hawaii and studied with some of the best teachers in their fields, but John and Gioia are much more than musicians- they are writers, actors, and even scientists: two people who can truly call themselves a “Renaissance Couple” in this day and age. When not playing guitar, John occupies himself with the organ and works in a leading science laboratory, while Gioia has starred in award-winning films and is a fashion consultant. Both have degrees from MIT. On their debut CD, their interesting and varied backgrounds bring a unique perspective to the guitar and voice ensemble- New repertoire, fresh interpretations and a premiere recording of a piece by David Leisner make this a CD worth listening to.

Urban Guitar: Can you tell me about the title of your CD, Quiet Songs?

John Olson: We chose that title for a couple of reasons. First, one of the song cycles on the CD is John Duarte's Five Quiet Songs. This is a piece we have played together for a long time, and it is such a beautiful and under-appreciated contribution of Duarte's to the voice and guitar repertoire that it seemed appropriate to refer to it in the title of the album. The other reason is that the phrase "Quiet Songs" captures something of the nature of the guitar/voice duo. It is an intimate combination, and the music invites the listener into that intimacy.

Gioia De Cari: Yes, the guitar is a quiet instrument, and I like it when the voice matches its intimacy. I had originally envisioned using a cover photograph of us playing in Times Square, such intimate music taking place in the loudest circumstance possible. As classical musicians, that's our life — creating art that requires careful listening in this incredible, frenzied, loud world.

Urban Guitar: How did you choose the repertoire for this CD?

John Olson: Since this is our first CD, we wanted it to represent the range of repertoire we most enjoy. We also wanted to include music that one doesn't hear all the time. Coming up with the final list and the order was actually a pretty long and iterative process. In the end, we decided to include a few very familiar pieces, like the aria from the Bachianas Brasileiras, but also some Bach songs not usually heard with guitar, the first recording of David Leisner's wonderful Outdoor Shadows cycle, the Duarte piece, and a great but little-known collection of arrangements Duarte did of Gershwin songs. We also included a few guitar solos by Villa-Lobos and Bach, plus Fred Hand's beautiful Missing Her — all music I love to play and that complemented the vocal pieces nicely. Overall, it's a diverse set, and we worked hard to make sure the CD would hang together as a whole.

Gioia De Cari: I had long adored David's Outdoor Shadows, particularly the last song, Sing a Song of Juniper. I loved the rhythmic choices in it, and I have a thing about juniper — I could relate to the poet's passion for it. (And no, I don't drink gin!) Once we learned the cycle and realized it had never been recorded, we thought it would be wonderful to include.

Urban Guitar: When did you begin performing together?

Gioia De Cari: We began performing together it seems like just barely after we learned to walk! OK, I'm exaggerating, but we met when we were very, very young.

John Olson: Music was one of the things that first brought us together - and we've now been married over 20 years! I think the first piece we played together might have been a Beatles song. Our first performance was probably of some Italian art songs — or maybe it was a Billy Joel number — I'm not really sure, but that's probably a mystery best left unsolved.

Urban Guitar: Are there any guitar and voice duos that inspired you?

John Olson: One of my early guitar teachers, Jon Harris, and his partner Debra Golata performed as a duo, and introduced us to a lot of the repertoire. For me, watching other types of ensembles is also inspiring, as is watching how pianists approach vocal accompaniment.

Gioia De Cari: I adore the work of Christopher Parkening and Kathleen Battle, and also Salli Terri and Laurindo Almeida. Why? Because Parkening and Battle are such virtuosi, and Almeida and Terri balance so bewitchingly on the edge of so many different styles.

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