JOHN FRANDSEN Songs

Musical polymath John Frandsen has notched up seven operas and a recent long-form Requiem, ‘an eloquent statement’ for Malcolm Riley (11/14). Not for Frandsen the ‘gravy and grease’ referred to by Carl Nielsen; these songs are notably direct in expression, even if Frandsen’s wild forms often belie a harmonic language rooted in tradition.

That makes for a very Scandinavian seduction in The Liturgy of Desire. Frandsen’s accompaniments, on both piano and guitar, can be fascinatingly contrary as in ‘Knarren eines geknickten Astes’ from the Hesse settings Winternächte, a sign of how he does things his own way. Nor does he toe any lines when it comes to what we might think of as naturally ‘vocal’; his writing is full of odd leaps and angles.
For all Frandsen’s elfin character, the most effective songs here have someone or something else in the corner of their eye: I hear the quasi-Elizabethan geometry of Britten’s Gloriana in ‘The Echoing Green’ and a shapely nursery rhyme in ‘The Lamb’ - both from the Blake settings Songs of Innocence. Elsewhere, there can be a tendency to hammer away at a single, undeveloped idea.

As for talent, it’s a mixed bag. If you’ve sought this disc out as the recording debut of future Wagnerian Lise Davidsen, you shouldn’t be disappointed. She offers richness, depth, presence and character, particularly in the deeper Blake settings Songs of Experience, but can lack clarity up top and the in-your-ear subtlety of a mature Lieder singer. Alexander Nohr’s baritone is warm and embracing in some areas but inconsistent (he doesn’t transfer from head to chest too smoothly in ‘Tornerose’ from the rummet, hvor jeg engang boede collection). Morten Grove Frandsen’s countertenor has a sharp edge and loses control as it increases in altitude, but he shows endearing character in Seven Silly Songs and elsewhere. Liv Oddveig Midtmageli sings with clarity though with some squashed vowels, and handles Frandsen’s angular challenges well. Fine accompaniments, particularly from Orsi Fajger.