Remembering Elisabeth Söderström

I first fell in love with the Swedish soprano Elisabeth Söderström as a teenager listening to a long playing record which my father played frequently. She sounded convincing and exquisite, but at that age, I was unable to learn much about her.

Decades later, I was working in public radio and on a trip to London discovered the BBC had made some spoken word programs with her, and I asked to listen to a couple of them. I did and fell in love with several quite different aspects of her voice - her intelligence, her sensitivity, her sense of humor, and her commitment to the art of singing.

In an instant, I decided that I needed to make a radio program with her...something to help people better understand both the art of song and the art song. Because I knew nothing about music, who better to open my eyes and ears than Elisabeth?

In her recitals, she often spoke about the next song to give the audience a perspective on it and to help deepen their understanding; I believe that she thought very carefully about what she was going to say, and the words were essential to the full appreciation of the performance. Her way of doing this helped the audience appreciate not just the voice and the performance but also the warm, funny, and intelligent person behind the notes.

About the same time, I met the Swedish baritone Håkan Hagegård; he was intrigued with the idea of working with Elisabeth, and then the American accompanist Warren Jones joined our group. I had developed some contacts with Swedish Radio, and they were intrigued and agreed to participate as the lead producer.

And so I fell in love with Elisabeth yet again. We made the programs in western Sweden, in Håkan's local church, and our time together was one of the highlights of my life - to work with highly talented performers, producers, and technicians was such a great privilege. Three one hour programs in both English and Swedish, culminating in a recital at Berwald Hall in Stockholm. I wanted to call the programs "Take Me To Your Lieder," but the Swedes preferred "Sing Me A Song," and they prevailed. (I still prefer my idea [naturally].

Our lunch break was not in the church but in a hostel across the road. The wife cooked, and the husband served, and at the end of the meal every day, Elisabeth would head into the kitchen. After a couple of days, I asked her why she did that. "To thank the cook," she said, adding, "It takes so little, and it seems to mean something."

Elisabeth was a consummate artist who could handle the great gestures of grand opera, but she provided all the little gestures, too. Her eyes were on the stars, but her feet were solidly on the ground. Always.

Hard to believe it was twenty two years ago because the memories are still so fresh. After the series was broadcast, I saw Elisabeth in Stockholm, London, and New York. Eventually she retired after a turn at running the Drottiningholm Court Theatre where she made her debut, and I heard that she had been having some major health problems.

She slipped off life's stage earlier this week, leaving many of us deeply saddened. If you saw her in performance you never forgot her; if you heard her tell a story, it remained indelibly told. No one's eyes sparkled like hers, no one had a laugh like hers. Just being around her made the day special.

She was one of a kind, and I feel triply blessed to have known her a little bit and to have been one of the multitudes of people who loved her for her art, heart, and, more importantly, for her humanity.

Something Old, Something New

Having reached my three score and seven, I have pretty much given up on contemporary music. Hell, with the exception of Carly Simon, I gave up on contemporary music something over four decades ago. I have always thought that decision to have been a good one...until last week.

I was listening to Wake Up With Wogan on BBC's Radio Two. He's probably the best I've ever heard in morning radio (and I've heard and know some great ones), but next month he's retiring, even though he is clearly still at the top of his game. The Beeb is giving him some sort of weekly show, so that the next young bucko can come into the morning and try to hold onto Wogan's very large audience.

But I digress.

Last week, I was in my office working on some orders while I listened to Wogan, and he played a song called "Story." I couldn't quite figure out the lyrics, but the performance and arrangement knocked me over. I couldn't quite get the name of the artist, so I checked the play list on the BBC's web-site (thank you, thank you), and I found that the artist is Leddra Chapman (aka Anna Leddra-Chapman in some places), and she writes her own material. Based on what I've heard, she's off to a great start.

Her first album comes out later this month in the UK, and so, after all these years, I've succumbed - again - to the blandishments of the music of the young and talented and happily so.

Have a look-see and a listen....

Postscript: I downloaded a couple of tracks from her MySpace web-site, burned them to a CD, and I have found great pleasure in listening to them over and over as I drive around. Either some element of my own youth has been reawakened, or I am losing it sooner than I thought I would. But I'm reasonably certain it's the former.

I said reasonably.

Bottom line is that her CD will be out in the states next month, and when I'm across the pond for Christmas, guess what CD I'll be looking for....and hoping for printed copies of her lyrics to be included?

.

I'd be interested in hearing your reactions....

And if you think I've slipped my moorings, I'd like to hear that, too.

Persistence Is All

You don't know Roberta Scherf, but you should.

I came to know Roberta when she worked for me in a large non-profit in Saint Paul...this was back in the Dark Ages. Anyway, I decided to hire her after I blabbered about the job description and asked her what she knew about the organization. She told me what she had learned about from her visits to the public library, so she was the only logical choice for the job. A decision I have never regretted.

Well, decades have gone by, and for the last few years she's been developing a product to help kids. As it turns out it helps kids and oldsters, and seems especially well-suited for those with ADD, autism, and related problems.

The product, called "MeMoves" came out of Roberta's experience with a daughter who appeared to be headed for a special education program. Roberta was convinced that this would be a mistake, so she began working with her child doing physical and musical games and such. One day, not long after she began this work, her daughter began to put letters into words, and shortly thereafter she was reading books. (The daughter has grown into the kind of child any parent would want - bright, funny, with dimensions to her thinking and creativity that entrance all who know her.)

With this success Roberta began to teach herself about the relationships between the kind of thing she was doing with her daughter and the results of research into this area of learning and doing. She has gotten to know many of the researchers in the field, and the program she has developed derives from scholarship going on in schools, school systems, treatment centers, geriatric programs, colleges, and universities.

What does this program do? Decreases stress, improves mood, and enhances cognitive focus.

But here's the thing - we live in a world where everything has to be fast, loud, and colorful for adults to be convinced that kids will like it. Yeah, well look at how a cardboard box engages a nine year old.

This program is not fast, not loud, and is thoughtfully colorful. What matters is that it just works - this combination of hand movements and music (great music by the way).

Let me repeat that - it just works. One of my friends described it as a moving meditation, and I think that's about right.

MeMoves is not very expensive and can be used by nearly everyone who needs a break from the breakneck pace of life.

So if you know someone like that, whether they're nine, nineteen, or ninety, please go visit and have a look.

Talk about a present that could last a lifetime...even extend it.

To have a look at MeMoves, click here. If you're intrigued with what you see and hear (and do), then think of a friend with a child who might be having some difficulty in school or a parent who could use an easy-to-do mental "boost," and pass along the web address.

You won't be sorry, and they might well be grateful.