Christmas from Norway

Christmas holds a special place in Lise Davidsen’s heart. The soprano took the first steps of her stellar international career by singing seasonal songs at Arnadal Church near her hometown in rural Norway. She returned there to perform yuletide favourites long after her diary became flooded with dates on the opera world’s top stages. Christmas from Norway transports the singer back to her roots with a blend of Scandinavian and universal favourites. She responds by channelling her soulful artistry into the simple melodies and powerful sentiments of “Deilig er Jorden” (“Wonderful is the Earth”) and “Mitt hjerte alltid vanker” (“My heart always lingers”), the latter given in an enchanting arrangement by Christian Eggen, the album’s empathetic conductor. “Although I was already performing around the world, I sang ‘O Holy Night’ where I grew up every year into my late twenties,” Davidsen remembers. “People would fill the gallery in the small Arnadal Church and sit in the room next door to watch the service. It was always full, and you wanted to wish everyone happy holidays.” Christmas from Norway, beyond its autobiographical associations, places Lise Davidsen in company with those great classical singers who recorded Christmas songs for the Decca label, Kirsten Flagstad, Kiri Te Kanawa, and Luciano Pavarotti among them. “It’s quite emotional thinking about it,” she says. “I feel very privileged to have made this album, especially with the Norwegian Soloists Choir, the first choir I was in, and with the orchestra I’ve been watching on television since I was a child. And with Decca, who have supported me from the beginning of my career. It’s amazing. I lack words to say how much I appreciate being able to do this.” Davidsen’s Christmas hitlist inevitably included Adolphe Adam’s “O Holy Night.” She seized the chance to perform the piece in Norwegian and English. The rest of the programme, she recalls, was carefully crafted in dialogue with Decca. “I wanted certain songs to be there, such as ‘Deilig er Jorden’ and ‘Jul, jul, strålande jul’ (‘Christmas, Christmas, glorious Christmas’), and Sibelius’ ‘Julvisa’ (‘Christmas Carol’). You can’t have Christmas without a choir, so that was essential for me too. “But then I wasn’t sure what would fit my voice for the other songs. Hugo Wolf’s ‘Schlafendes Jesuskind’ was the biggest surprise to me. I fell in love with it immediately. If one talks about the birth of Jesus, we think that something magical has happened. I feel this song captures those minutes of absolute stillness, when you take in what’s happened.”