This enterprising collection, containing 16 songs by 16 different composers grouped in fours and thematically arranged to illustrate the four seasons, showcases the remarkable talents of mezzo-soprano Malena Ernman (and her accompanist, Francisca Skoogh). The languages employed include German, French, English, Italian, and Swedish, with composers ranging from the familiar (Mendelssohn, Liszt, Grieg, Respighi, Mahler, Sibelius, Copland, Tchaikovsky, and Fauré) to the much less so (Storm, Koechlin, Gefors, Backman, Schreker, Jennefelt).
Ernman’s voice is lovely and she commands a wide range of tone colors, from the boyish opening of Mendelssohn’s “Frülingslied” to the lightly chirpy birdsong of Mahler’s “Ablosung im Sommer”. On the whole, she’s at her best when she’s at her least affected. Copland’s “Nature, the Gentlest Mother”, Sibelius’ “Arioso”, and Fauré’s “Automne” all fall into this category. Ernman also characterizes Liszt’s brooding “Es rauschen die Winde” with the right sort of narrative zest. Occasionally though, as in the aforementioned Mahler song, Ernman seems a bit too willing to declaim rather than sing the text, and it’s a good thing that texts are included as her English pronunciation is quite difficult to understand. Of course, this is true of most native English speaking singers as well, so I wouldn’t overestimate the seriousness of that problem.
The fact is that today singers are called upon to master as many original languages as composers choose to set, and the real question is whether or not this proves to be an inhibiting factor in communicating the music’s expressive intentions. Clearly this isn’t the case with Ernman, whose creative choice of repertoire and thoughtful ordering of the material speak eloquently of the care that went into her program. This would be a marvelous recital to hear live, and Ernman’s accompanist Francisca Skoogh stays with her every step of the way, matching the singer in her sensitivity to the meaning of each song. Excellent sonics complete a package that Lieder aficionados certainly will want to seek out.
