Bold Beauty
Blue Griffin, 2021
8/10
The professor Molly Fillmore brings her inimitable soprano to Elvia Puccinelli’s strong piano on these songs by Juliana Hall, and they stem from letters, poems and texts by Edna St. Vincent Millay, Emily Dickinson and Carl Sandburg, among others.
“Letters From Edna” starts the listen with jumpy keys as Fillmore’s bright and expressive singing takes us through 8 animated movements that glide with adventurousness and warmth, and “Syllables Of Velvet, Sentences Of Plush” follows with a calmer approach of sublime beauty as Fillmore’s stunning range is explored alongside the very agile keys.
The back half of the listen offers the emotive and poetic “Theme In Yellow”, where gentle moments are met with fascinating vocal acrobatics from Fillmore that are as consistent as they are stirring.
The final track, “Cameos”, has 6 of Fillmore’s poems set to music, and they express the work of 20th century American women painters, including Sarah Albritton, Kay WalkingStick, Nellie Mae Rowe, Alice Dalton Brown, Agnes Pelton, and Corita Kent. Undoubtedly the best selection present, these 6 pieces highlight the iconoclastic nature of the artists, as Fillmore indeed brings Boldness and Beauty to the affair.
Fillmore, Puccinelli and Hall all have accomplished resumes and a lengthy history in music, and together they make every moment of Bold Beauty worth repeated listens as they explore the power of the soprano.
Travels well with: Andrea Botticelli- Stimme aus der Ferne- A Voice From the Distance; Inna Faliks- Reimagine: Beethoven & Ravel