The connection between language and music is as old as human history. In rituals, religious ceremonies and storytelling, language and music merge to form a unity that goes far beyond conveying information - a tradition that stretches from antiquity to modern times. In language and music, people and their lives come together and discover a bond where before they were strangers.
Etta Scollo's new album “Nirgendland” (Nessunluogo), which will be released by Jazzhaus Records in January 2025 and on which Etta Scollo translates poems by the poet Mascha Kaléko into music to mark the 50th anniversary of her death, is part of this tradition. The story of the encounter between Etta Scollo and Mascha Kaléko's work begins in 2007 in Catania, Sicily. In a small bookshop, the singer discovers a bilingual volume of poetry by Mascha Kaléko, whose poetry captivates the musician. “I always had the book with me and had the feeling that her poems accompanied me like a good friend,” says Etta Scollo about the experience. The idea of interpreting Kaléko's poems musically took several years to mature until Etta Scollo found the right setting to dedicate a tribute to the poet. With the support of cultural institutions such as the renowned Villa Massimo in Rome, where the artist spent a two-month artist residency, the idea was distilled and concretized - also through the invitation of guests such as the actress Eva Mattes, with whom Scollo recorded two duets for “Nirgendland” (Nessunluogo). The idealistic support of the Exilmuseum Foundation in Berlin also played an important role in the realization of the album.
