A Promising Pan-Nordic Program

Elly Erickson is an American soprano who performed a fittingly Pan-Nordic program on Thursday evening at Scandinavia House. Not only did she include works by Swedes, Norwegians, and Finns, but she performed at the Victor Borge Auditorium, adding a bit of Danish flavor to the mix. Her Memorial Day weekend barbecue was both rare and well-done.

A young performer can often be described as a work in progress, AND in Ms. Erickson's case, this is true. Already encased in a solid career path, with some impressive credits on her résumé, she decided to seek the scholarly side of her Swedish roots and obtained a grant to study folk music and art songs in Scandinavia. Temporarily at home in New York, she gave this recital on the eve of her returning, this time primarily to Norway, to further immerse herself in ethnic musical tradition.

Her program included not only bucolic and ancient music, but also songs by composers virtually unknown in America, including Alf Hurum, Agathe Backer Grondahl, and Lars Johan Werle. She pushed her soubrette with decidedly mixed results, but every discovery spoke volumes about her assiduity and dedication.

Ture Rangstrom studied in Berlin with Hans Pfitzner and is probably best known for his opera "Kronbruden" ("The Bridal Crown"), based on a text adapted from a play by August Strindberg. The most successful set of the evening was Ms. Erickson's traversal of three of his songs, each very different in mood. "The Girl Under the Moon" was delightfully playful, "Pan" was calm and contemplative, and the masterful "Only Moment" was delivered with a haunting melancholic quality that belied Ms. Erickson's youth and inexperience.

Wilhelm Peterson-Berger was known primarily in his lifetime as a music critic — by all accounts quite an acerbic one. His music is reminiscent of Dvorák, especially in the through-composed folk melodies that color much of his lieder. Like his Bohemian counterpart, he is credited as a canny ethnomusicologist, an ardent collector of peasant country tunes, when, in actuality, he wrote them all himself. A kindred spirit to Ms. Erickson, he helped to expose his insulated culture and musical heritage to a larger audience. Her rendition of Titania was thrilling.

Of course, it wasn't all unfamiliar. When Ms. Erickson turned to Sibelius and Grieg some of us felt a little more able to evaluate her communicative impact. The Diamond in the March Snow of Sibelius is a very famous mood piece, in recent times a favorite encore of Barbara Bonney. Ms. Erickson did a fine job of capturing its glittering elements and was well-coached in its unusual pacing. When she attempted "The Girl Came From Meeting Her Lover," however, she simply did not have the ability to darken her tone significantly — her inner ingénue refused to give in to tragic circumstance. I got the distinct feeling, though, that she will someday be a master of this song; her throat simply needs time to mature.

Accompanying Ms. Erickson was pianist Craig Ketter, who was pleasantly supportive throughout. In order to give her some breaks, he explored the Lyric Pieces of Edvard Grieg, but stumbled a bit in Papillon, Op. 43, No. 1. His touch seemed a bit weighty for this unbearable lightness of being, but I'm guessing he has played the work much better many times in rehearsal.

Ms. Erickson is well on her way in the Grieg songs as well. Studying in Norway will only help her, and I eagerly await the results. Those old Kirsten Flagstad recordings of this repertoire, particularly Haugtussa, are some of the finest lacquers of the last century. With Ms. Erickson's infectious ethnomusicological spirit and solid raw material, she should develop into a fine and interesting ambassador for her rapidly vanishing culture. Besides, when was the last time you attended a recital that opened with Norwegian cow calls?