I felt a huge sadness first thing this morning. As my ears woke up, the pitter patter of rain outside alerted me to the fact that it was raining. By the looks of the swamp outside, it had been raining for a while. Normally, the fact that it was raining wouldn’t make me particularly sad, but today was the re-opening of Emils Backe. I imagined the organisers waking up to the same miserable morning.
Emils Backe is one of our favourite places in Trosa where we often have brunch, pick flowers and generally enjoy being out in the sun. Well, that wasn’t going to happen today given the general lack of sun. Besides, we had plans to go and listen to a soprano.
It was the latest chamber concert at Skärborgarnas Hus, just up the road. It was to be Mirinda’s first time attending a Trosa Kammarmusikförening concert. I, of course, have been to a few. Mind you, I didn’t fancy walking up in the rain.
After lunch the rain stopped and the sun started appearing. By the time the concert finished, and we walked back home, the sky was blue, and the sun was beaming. It was so beautiful that Mirinda took the girls for a walk down to the Baltic as soon as we got back.
As for the concert…Mirinda accused me of tricking her into listening to opera. I didn’t think that was completely fair. She sang songs, not arias. It would be like going to a Taylor Swift concert and being told it was the same as going to a musical.
Hilma Wikström, the soprano, sang a series of songs, composed by Ture Rangström, Rachmaninoff, Gösta Nystroem, Strauss and Sibelius. She was accompanied by the energetically expressive pianist, Helge Kjekshus.
I’m fairly certain I enjoyed it more than Mirinda but we both agreed that her top notes were not strong while her alto range was lovely. The piano playing was amazing, particularly when he played the Rachmininoff. His gusto was totally on show.
The pair have been performing together since 2014, proving that Mirinda’s command of Swedish is not perfect yet, given her translation was that they had just met and had been performing together since last Tuesday.
“The soprano, Hilma Wikström regularly sings around in various contexts in Sweden, and has also given concerts in the USA, Great Britain and Norway. Hilma has, among other things, sung at Operafestukene in Kristiansund and for Woodhouse Opera in London. Furthermore, she has been selected as Young Artist at Glogerfetspillene and the Nordic Song Festival.“
While “…Helge Kjekshus has been a soloist with several prominent orchestras and conductors and toured in Scandinavia, Europe, USA, Russia, Japan and South Korea. As a dedicated chamber musician, he collaborates with both instrumentalists and singers.“*
Anyway, I enjoyed it very much and, I’m very pleased to report, there was a much bigger audience than I’m used to seeing. Mirinda reckoned there were around 35 people there. An excellent turnout.
* Both quotes are from the Kammarmusikförening website.
