World-renowned soprano Sumi Jo released Continuum, her 40th-anniversary album, today (the 7th).
The album traces Jo's musical life—past, present and future. All tracks were released on streaming platforms at noon, and a special video for her duet with Suho, \"Romance,\" premiered simultaneously on SM CLASSICS' YouTube channel.
\"Romance\" (composed by Park Jong-hoon; lyrics by Danny Gu and Jang Geun-yeop), which features EXO's Suho, pairs Jo's powerful yet clear and nuanced soprano with Suho's warm mid-to-low voice. Among the album's selections, the song most fully realizes Jo's long-held idea that artists from distinct, well-defined positions can together forge a new musical language.
Leading composers from Korea and abroad contributed to the project. Aside from Reinhold Glière's Concerto for Coloratura Soprano, the medley \"Medley: History of Sumi Jo,\" which weaves together her 40-year repertoire, and an \"Adagio\" based on an Albinoni theme, the album's remaining tracks are original compositions.
The title track, \"How Beautiful,\" is a newly written Korean art song by composer Kim Jin-hwan created for Sumi Jo. With lines such as \"Even the tears born of hardship—love is simply beautiful,\" the piece celebrates gratitude and love deepened by the passage of years.
\"Encore\" evokes a moment when Jo walked along the Seine and pondered her future, while \"Arirang Cantabile\" expresses her feelings for the place where her ever-worried, loving parents live. Across 11 tracks, listeners encounter the breadth of Jo's vocal range and emotional expression.
Photo: SM CLASSICS
