Northern Passion

PRODUKTBESCHREIBUNGEN
When I started thinking about what to record for my debut CD, I knew I wanted to choose music that ignited passion in my soul. Critics have described my unique contralto voice as 'spellbinding', 'lush' and 'distinctive' and so I was looking for songs that would allow me to draw on the full power and range of my instrument. Ultimately I chose classical songs sung in German by Danish, German and Austrian composers. The Danish composer, Jacob Fabricius (1840 - 1919) is little known even in Denmark, but when I worked through Die Schönste Erscheinung I was struck by it's emotional depth - greatly aided by Frederick Schiller's text - in the tradition of German Romanticism. When I discovered the song cycle 'Bilder des Orients' by Danish composer, Niels W. Gade (1817 - 1919) I immediately fell in love with the juxtaposition of the Schumann-like quality and distinct Danish character of the five songs. The song cycle describes the great love between the Prophet Mohammad's daughter Fatima and the poor citizen Ali. The four Robert Schumann songs with texts by Hans Christian Andersen have been in my repertoire since I started taking a keen interest in Andersen in the late 1990s. Andersen and Schumann crossed paths in the 1840s (as did Gade and Schumann) and the result is four riveting songs that are typical Andersen tales, cleverly distilled into the Lieder Art form by Schumann. The Two Songs for alto and viola by Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897) have been part of my personal favorites since my college days, and fill me with a sense of peace and timelessness every time I sing them. I have been a devoted fan of Gustav Mahler (1860 - 1911) and Richard Strauss (1864 - 1949) since my late teens. Mahler's Rückert Lieder and Strauss' Four Songs, Opus 27 are a part of the standard repertoire and the magnitude of their scope fill me with awe. Nothing brings me to greater soul searching depths or greater spiritual heights than their music. This CD is the fruit of both the tragedies and the miracles I have experienced in my life. Singing has always been my salvation and my passion. As a native of the frosty, northern country of Denmark, these Romantic songs warm my heart with their beauty and pathos. I hope that as you listen, you too are touched by the special magic such wondrous music can create. A portion of the proceeds from this CD will be donated to the Cancer Society of America.

Number of Discs: 1

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