SINGING THE NOCTURNES

Passion can be presented in a record in a lot of different ways, but when Elizabeth Sombart is using it as a tool for expression in her album Singing the Nocturnes, we’re not only able to experience her love of music but that of Chopin as well. Sombart interprets Chopin’s compositional whims so brilliantly in her last record that a lot of critics have deemed it one of the more inventive and embracive LPs of its kind to debut on record store shelves in the last year, myself included, and not without due cause. There’s so much tonal presence to the music Elizabeth Sombart records, and yet I’m disinclined to liken her charisma to sonic depth alone. She might not have written a single note of music within Singing the Nocturnes, but her presentation breathes a natural vitality into the material that isn’t normally found in a release exclusively centered on one artist covering another. In all actuality, Sombart never “covers” anyone – she’s reimagining the story they wanted to tell in her own words, which translate as melodic vibrations from the piano as opposed to traditional linguistics we might anticipate out of a standard pop recording. Grammy hopes are running high for Elizabeth Sombart at the moment, and if I were in her position I would be feeling very excited about my chances right now. Singing the Nocturnes is a watershed release for her body of work, and for a genre that rarely allows for exuberance to spill in between the lines that separate tone and tempo, she gives classical fans a lot of stimulation to contend with inside of its complete tracklist. Sombart isn’t the kind of player we would expect to hold back when she gets into the recording studio, and everyone who has come to anticipate a lot of charm from her output isn’t going to be disappointed with her continued efforts anytime soon.

Samuel Pratt (CELEBRITYZONES)