CD - Furusato - A Japanese Journey 2
故郷〜日本の旅路ニ

The latest CD from Rothschild, who sings in 18 languages and is said to "sing the soul of Japan better than a Japanese". Her richly resonant voice has a limpid quality, and combined with her Japanese which reels out smoothly, the 23 Japanese songs in the recording are all filled with refinement. Occasionally she can give the impression of varying from the natural Japanese line eg with where she places her stress, but that happens because she gives priority to the line of the melody and the rhythm of the music, and one should rather say that in musical terms the songs flow naturally and she succeeds in stressing the key words in the lyrics.

Above all, the way in which she captures the unique Japanese lyricism and refines it into sound, is astonishing. Particularly in "Sakura Yokocho", her careful depiction of the fleeting beauty of the cherry blossom and of a woman’s delicately changing heart is brilliant.

A number of short Japanese poems set to music by a several Japanese composers.
Charlotte de Rothschild renders these in a langorous legato interspersed with clever variations in volume and tone with an underlying beautiful soprano which is a real treat for those admiring vocal technique at its most expressive. Very special mention must be made of the exquisite piano accompaniment by Adrian Farmer which provides a perfect Japanese canvas against which the vocal line reclines in comfort. Truly a most sympathetic union between two talented artists.
The accompanying booklet give the full libretti - in Japanese but, mercifully, a synopsis of each item in English is included.. The singer confides that she considers Japan in the light of a second home and her sensitive rendititon of these songs quite confirms this.

This is a follow-on recording from two previous CDs by Charlotte de Rothschild. On this CD she is joined by pianist Nimbus's very own Adrian Farmer. Charlotte de Rothschild clearly has a great affinity with Japanese song and has spent many years absorbing the culture and history of the land. There are a mixture of well known songs such as "Cherry Trees" and less well known songs. Tongue Twister is great.
All the songs are translated in English. There is also the full Japanese text if you want it. Clearly Nimbus have put the full Japanese text in with an eye to that market. The sound quality is excellent.