When voice boxes form an orchestra

The National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa) hosted a unique musical programme on Wednesday evening, featuring an Italian vocal group, Mezzotono, who, without the help of any orchestra, performed only with their voices – voice boxes to be more precise as they replicated the sounds of musical instruments with their voices only.

The way they mimicked the musical instruments’ sounds was absolutely incredible and even the sounds of the bass and the drums were orally produced. Besides, they have a comical approach to their shows which becomes an interactive affair with their audiences. Their music covers a range of musical styles, including jazz, folk, bossa nova, mambo, tango, big band, and classical. However in the particular show, they did not include classical music.

The group repeatedly injected humour into their performance. At one juncture, the leader announced that vocalist Daniela Desideri would render a soprano, which is the highest range for a woman’s voice. And, lo and behold, when she started singing, it was a rich, deep male baritone. Kudos to her talent in mimicking a male voice, this did cause chuckles through the audience.

They opened the show with a performance which must have been a nostalgic time trip for many among the audience. It was ‘Mambo Italiana’, a number that was all the rage in the 1960s. The rendition was simply flawless, especially when considered against the backdrop of the fact that there were no musical instruments. Their voice boxes were serving as the musical accompaniment as well as the percussion.

Their next number was titled Bari, it being the name of the town they all were from.

Again, another number they performed was a nostalgic reminder of the 1960s. It was ‘Quando, Quando, Quando’, a number rendered by Pat Boone, which was the English version of the song. This was a tune which, during the 1960s, was featured prominently when Radio Pakistan used to broadcast Western music.

It was also a nostalgic reminder of the great crooner and of the golden era of music gone by. The best part of it was the enthusiasm of the audiences and the way they responded to the antics of the group.