ANNE SOFIE VON OTTER’s A SIMPLE SONG

ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

ANNE SOFIE VON OTTER

A SIMPLE SONG / BIS 2327 / ANNE SOFIE VON OTTER, MEZZO-SOPRANO and BENGT FORSBERG, ORGAN / 2018 / SWEDEN / SONGS BY BERNSTEIN, COPLAND, IVES, MAHLER, STRAUSS, PÅRT, MESSIAEN, POULENC, MARTIN, LISZT, RODGERS

Swedish mezzo-soprano Anne Sophie von Otter collaborates with Bengt Forsberg playing the Marcussen organ of St. Jacobs Church in Stockolm in an eclectic collection of Lieder by Mahler and Strauss, melodies by Poulenc, Messiaen, Duruflé, Martin and Liszt, and songs by Copland, Ives and selections from the musical theatre stage.

The results are effective to the extent that the selections serve to showcase the still fresh and functioning voice of the 64 year old singer and her facility with languages and styles.

Always a significant song recitalist Von Otter delivers intelligent readings of the Mahler and Strauss selections and later sounds quite comfortable in the French language selections by Messiaen and Poulenc.

The choice of the King of Instruments for accompanying this collection is less felicitous in this music not meant for liturgical use notwithstanding the addition of solo instruments in several of the tracks, and that is not to say that Forsberg does not play other than very well.

The engineering and the accompanying booklet, including translations are both excellent in this new release by the Swedish label BIS

Rafael de Acha      http://www.RafaelMusicNotes.com

Published by ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

Rafael de Acha has enjoyed a distinguished career in the arts as a performer, stage director, producer, and educator. He was born and grew up in Cuba. At the age of 17 he moved to the United States to study Drama at the University of Minnesota, and later Languages at L.A. City College, Music at the Juilliard School of Music, at the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music, and at the New England Conservatory of Music, from which he received the Master's degree. He has taught courses on the History of Music at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music and at Florida International University, and contributed writings and reviews to Seen and Heard International (www.seenandheard-international.com ) and to this blog. He co-founded the award-winning New Theatre in Coral Gables, Florida, where he produced and staged twenty seasons of classical and contemporary theater, including fifty world premieres of plays that went on to have international and national productions on and off Broadway, including Ana in the Tropics by Nilo Cruz (Pulitzer Prize for Drama 2002 and Tony Nomination 2003.) In 2006 he was presented with a citation from The Dade County Cultural Affairs Council for “trailblazing contributions to the arts in South Florida.”