Measha Brueggergosman
Quirky Canadian Soprano Releases Surprise, an Album of Cabaret Songs
Dec 8, 2007
Quirky soprano Measha Brueggergosman teams up with the BBC Symphony Orchestra to record songs by composers from the late 19th and 20th centuries in an album called Surprise. But in keeping with Brueggergosman's playful style, all of the songs on the album were written for the cabaret rather than the concert hall.
The Canadian singer sees cabaret as a more intimate form of communication, offering particular kinds of story-telling possibilities. The characters are extravagant, tragic, and/or peculiar, accompanied by music just as eccentric. Though stories are misfortunate, the form of telling them is outrageously melodramatic by today's standards, creating an odd mixture of comedy and pathos. Satie, Schoeberg and Bolcom all draw on this humorous jab at the tragic, making Surprise a fun album for those who appreciate playful music or caricature.
This is not Brueggergosman's first experience with the contemporary William Bolcom: in 2004, she appeared on the American composer's recording of Songs of Innocence and Experience, music that uses texts by William Blake. Listeners interested in Bolcom's music can visit Brueggergosman's Myspace and stream "George." This Bolcom song relates the sad tale of a transvestite who loves to sing opera and is killed with a pie knife by a navy officer. "Gingerlette" from Surprise is also available.
From New Brunswick Baptist Choir to Grad School in Germany
Born Measha Gosman in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Brueggergosman sang with her Baptist church choir and began formal training at age seven. She studied with Mary Morrison at the University of Toronto and later pursued postgraduate studies in music with Edith Wiens at the Robert Schumann Hochschule in Dusseldorf, Germany. Her current surname is a combination of her husband's last name (Bruegger) and her own last name (Gosman).
Surprise: Cabaret Songs by Bolcom, Satie and Schoenberg (Album Notes)
Surprise: Cabaret Songs by Bolcom, Satie and Schoenberg is Brueggergosman's third commercial release and her first with big classical label Deutsche Grammophon.
Label:Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg
Released: October 9, 2007
Performer: Measha Brueggergosman, soprano; BBC Symphony Orchestra,
Track Listing:
1. Surprise!
2. The Actor
3. Song Of Black Max
4. Amor
5. Toothbrush Time
6. The Total Stranger In the Garden
7. George
8. Gigerlette
9. Jedem Das Seine
10. Mahnung
11. Galathea
12. Nachtwandler
13. Einfaltiges Lied
14. Der Genugsame Liebhaber
15. Aus Dem Spiegel Von Arkadien
16. La Diva De L'empire
17. Tendrement
18. L'omnibus Automobile
19. Dapheneo
20. Je Te Veux
Sources
Church, Sarah. "Measha Brueggergosman." Encyclopedia of Music in Canada
Schulman, David. "Measha Brueggergosman: Classical Cabaret." November 26, 2007. NPR Music.
Measha Brueggergosman's website
Measha Brueggergosman's Myspace
"Surprise-Measha Bueggargosman." Amazon video
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