Customer Reviews

Home for Christmas

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Let's begin by putting one misconception aside. Although Ms. Von Otter is the reigning young mezzo of the opera world, she never intended her Christmas album to be sold as an operatic venture or as a rehash of every other opera diva's Christmas albums. From the title forward, she makes it clear that these are intimate songs of Christmas that were her favorites in SWEDEN, and that's exactly how they are sung. Thus, what you hear in this beautiful set of songs is not Sutherland melismas or high-powered Leontyne Price, but a rich assortment of traditional and contemporary Swedish Christmas ballads, a few American contemporary classics (most Swedes know English better than most Americans, and that includes our music too), and a few classical Christmas chestnuts scaled down to quartet and quintet proportions. The warmth of Ms. Von Otter's voice is made even more so by removing the operatic 'head voice', bellowing volume and 96-piece orchestras, replacing those with a quieter tones, controlled mid-ranges, and relaxed pacings. Rather than huge orchestrations and choruses conducted by a star conductor, Von Otter has wisely chosen to sing with the simple, quiet, folkish instrumental background of guitar, accordion, a violin, a recorder, and a few piano notes or two. This album sounds as though it could have been recorded in her Swedish living room with a roaring fire blazing and smorgasbord on the sideboards, with an occasional sip of grog between songs.

Years ago, Eileen Farrell, grand diva of the Met in her day, showed an ability to appeal to the rarified audiences of grand opera, yet turn around and record showcase jazz stylings of Porter, Gershwin, Wilder, and Kern in 'another voice.' With 'Home for Christmas' Von Otter shows that she too has those 'other voices,' and that she can use those voices at their peak for the magic of all forms of music: Baroque masters, Mozart trouser roles, art song recitals, the 20th century dissonances of Weill and Korngold, and, now, the music of common folk. She is a blessing to the holidays and a gift to the musical world.

Van Otter's "Home for Christmas" is simply marvelous. I read a rave review in Opera News and went out to buy the CD. (I didn't want to wait a few days for Amazon.com to get it to me.)It was sold out at one Tower Records shop in NYC and at the Metropolitan Opera's own shop. When I finally found a copy and put it on, I knew why it had been snapped up. This is Christmas and seasonal music that makes you sit down, shut up and just listen - then play it again ! The title gives you a clue that you don't pick up until you hear the music; it's the kind that could be played in your home (if you have five superb musician friends and a world-class mezzo-soprano right down the street.)Warm, wonderful rendtions - most of them of songs (some Swedish) that I had never heard before.

I love this album--but my family is tired of hearing it! I always like to find a new and different Christmas album each year and feel lucky to have discovered von Otter. This recording won't please those who expect the same familiar songs, nor I suspect those who are looking for very classical, operatic Christmas music. So if you want to listen to a simply beautiful voice and enjoy a variety of different music then I would definately encourage you to get this CD. Most of the songs in Swedish are familiar tunes and the song "Koppangen" alone is worth getting the CD for. Happy Holidays.

That's the word I think of most when I listen to this recording; warmth. Anne Sofie von Otter gives us a wonderful Christmas surprise with this album. I have never been an opera fan, and had never before heard of Anne Sofie until I'd heard this recording. Once I'd listened to koppangen, however, I was sold on her voice and unique approach to Christmas. Track 5 ("Oh Sweet little Jesus" in English) has a rich, warm string accompaniment that is truly moving to hear. I had to search everywhere to find this gem. Enjoy

I don't know why the first reviewer hate this lovely recording by Anne Sofie von Otter. I think this is an excellent recording. Now, I'll explain why I do love this recording.

Whenever opera singers made Chrstmas album, they seemed to show they can sing popular songs as well as opera arias. Some of them are failed. Forutnately, this album is not one of them. Because this one is very unique. And I think there are many reason to be so.

Anne Sofie von Otter sings these Christmas songs beautifully as well as opera arias. Besides, she sings them in four different languages! Especially, "Koppangen" (This song is sung both in English and in Swedish.) is very great and lovely. "White Christmas" is also romantic. It reminds me of the movie "White Christmas" which Bing Crosby and the rest of cats sing this song in the final scene. "Santa Lucia" is suited well.

These arrangements are very wonderful. I enjoyed them very much. I fels as if I were invited a private concert held in a homw. (Yes, this album's title is "Home for Christmas.")

This album has already been one of my favorite album. It reminds me of the same atomosphere we felt in every winter. Ms. Anne Sofie von Otter says about this album: "When I think of people as far as Tokyo or New York listening to my Swedish Christmas music disc..That's a nice feeling." I live not in Tokyo but in Sapporo, I'm really enjoy with listening to this album. You does a great job, Ms. von Otter!

There are not enough stars to rate this incredible compilation of Christmas songs. The lead off song "Koppangen" is the most beautiful Christmas song that I have ever heard. She sets the wintery scene perfectly, better than any version I know of. Her interpretation and voice rise to a level of artistic mastery that is dazzling. "Sankta Lucia" is likewise beautifully done. "The Christmas Song" is another triumph. The superlatives go on and on. There is no filler music on this CD. Every selection is masterful. What's more, each piece of music is song in a very intimate way; there are no overblown choral arrangements. You feel as though you could be sitting at the fireplace with Von Otter and and a small ensemble of musicians. I do not have enough praise for this album. Her selections, traditional and otherwise, give you a sense of a quintessential northern European family Christmas. What a thoughtful, poignant and uplifting CD.

I've been in charge of holiday music for the extended family for the last decade or so, and I generally buy a half-dozen or so CDs every year from a wide range of genres. This is perhaps my favorite of them all. It manages the almost impossible feat of engaging an audiophile like me who's looking for something different while simultaneously enthralling more tradition-minded family members. The CD stands out in most of the critical areas in the holiday field. First, the selection of songs is brilliant--a few English-language standards with some foreign-language songs people may know (Il est ne, le divine enfant) and a handful of really engaging Swedish tunes. Second, the spare but warm instrumentation conveys the coziness van Otter is seeking. Last, and most important, van Otter's low mezzo is put to incredibly expressive use. For those who are turned off by overly operatic recordings that sound completely alien from the renditions of carols that we know and love, this is a much more low-key, accessible form of art music.

This disc is worth buying for the first and last tracks alone, a haunting Swedish number that is now so much part of my Christmas that I can't believe I'd never heard of the song until a few years ago (one track is the Swedish version, the other an English translation). Much as I love holiday music, I have to say that this is one of the only holiday discs I'll listen to throughout the year.

Both version of Koppangen (English and Swedish) alone with Bred Dina Vida Vingar will make you want to keep this album forever. The other arrangements, as I call them, do not sound as authentically as they should do for classical fans. Above all, Anne Sofie never sings so personally in this recording. A Strong Buy rating is hereby initiated.

Home for Christmas is not your run-of-the-mill "listen to me, I'm an opera singer lavishing my gorgeous voice on these pretty Christmas songs" recording.

Anne Sofie von Otter's fans have long-since learned to expect the unexpected from this exceptional singer and, on this recording, now several years old, that's what she offers - the unexpected. With only a couple of exceptions, the songs are traditional Christmas fare, though usually with an added twist: the distorted rhythm that makes "Tomorrow will be my dancing day" really dance, or the jazz blue notes that take "Have yourself a merry little Christmas" to the cocktail lounge. (In this, as well as White Christmas, Ms. von Otter bears more than a passing resemblance to another great cross-over artist, the late Eileen Farrell.) In this free rhythmic treatment, Deck the Halls, arranged for accordion and violin accompaniment, is much less a fa-la-la madrigal than an introspective folk-song that builds on its own momentum. In contrast, the simple hymn, Beautiful tone Star of Bethlehem, which Ingvar Wixell recorded many years ago on his Christmas offering, shows Ms. von Otter's lush voice to full effect.

Her subtle use of vibrato in "I wonder as I wander" (along with a provocative arrangement) captures the Scotch-Irish influence on the folk music of Appalachians without being a condescending parody while the marimba accompaniment and fiddle obbligato to the French "Il est le divin enfant" evoke an unidentifiable folk music - is it Spanish or French countryside? Or, is the point that it is universal?

True, a couple of the arrangements stretch beyond my endurance: Although Ms. von Otter does lavish some beautiful tone on Cantique de Noel (O, Holy Night) I found the over-echoed, new-wave arrangement irritating and White Christmas, rather than being nostalgic verges on surreal.

In total, there are twenty songs, each a little gem of interpretation. As I mentioned above, sometimes I don't really like the interpretations or arrangement; however, I never doubt for a moment, that Ms. von Otter believes what she is singing; her commitment to communicating through music is never in doubt. By the way, her English diction is exemplary - a lesson for many singers for whom English is first language.

I have never been one to buy much Christmas music -- why bother when for the month of December I can hear the stuff everywhere I go whether I want to or not. So, it's a real treat to find a disc like this one that I just want to listen to over and over again. I bought it last year and it was kind of depressing when the season was over and I had to stop listening to it until next Christmas. Anyway, the other raves for "Koppangen" are spot on: it really is a very warm and moving song and I'm glad it appears twice on this disc. There are several carols that are unfamiliar to most English listeners (me included) but they soon become favourites. And even the weird arrangement of "White Christmas" with its minimalist and almost slithering string accompaniment grows on you after a while if only for its ability to amuse. Definitely a must-have for fans of Anne Sofie von Otter or those looking for something a little different.