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| Exceptional Sissel!
Sissel: "In Symphony"
(Mercury/ Universal)
This year's Christmas gift album? Definitely! The reason is first and foremost Sissel. Norway's great musical national symbol shows once again that she has a god-given voice of the sort which is difficult to forget. And with that Sissel has come up with a stroke of genius, namely to hire the NRK Broadcast Orchestra and create a sober and tasteful LIVE recording of the songs the public most wants to hear. The result is beautiful and better than all expectations.
Hyperfolk Not just because Sissel's voice gets better and better with the years, but because the arrangements with violins and a powerful, yet toned down band give a warm and organic sound which clothes the material superbly. Yes, it is hyperfolk-ish, but "In Symphony" does not smell of cynical commercialism as was feared. Everyone who has experienced Sissel knows what she is able to do. On stage she is relaxed. That is her playground--where there are no limits to what she is capable of--whether we're talking about operettas, old evergreens, pop, gospel, ballads, and folk music. Although I knew better, I was hoping to skip the pompous and detestable Olympic theme song "Se ilden lyse" and the Sissel standards "Våren," "Kjærlighet," and "Vestland, Vestland." They are all beautiful, and Sissel sings so one gets goosebumps, but they symbolize her entire lack of priority with songs. Sissel always creates an obvious ambivalence when it comes to the choice of songs. Every time, one hopes it's the last time, even though you know it's futile. But "In Symphony" shows why people such as Paddy Moloney of The Chieftains, editor Timothy White of Billboard Magazine, "Titanic"-composer James Horner and EMI-director Alan Levy are boundlessly in love with the artist and singer Sissel Kyrkjebø, Norway's only natural world star. If you are still in doubt, go to the record store and listen to tracks such as Puccini's "O Mio Babbino Caro," Neil Sedaka's "Solitaire," Jan Garbarek's "Molde Canticle," or "Where The Lost Ones Go" by Espen Lind--who also sings on that track. ESPEN A. HANSEN, translated from Norwegian by Robert A Jones. |
