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Vocalist Sojung Lee |
By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
They say that Frederic Chopin’s piano works sing _ and singer-songwriter Sojung Lee actually sings them to life in her new album ``Chopin and the Girl’’ (Sony BMG).
``When I was listening to Chopin I could hear lyrics, picture a story,’’ said the singer in a recent interview with The Korea Times. Of course, storytelling through music is nothing new for Lee, who is famous, among others, as the voice of Mulan in the namesake Disney animation.
``Musicals are more than just song and dance, but are about delivering a story,’’ said the first Korean to play the lead in Broadway’s ``Miss Saigon.’’ Her glamorous style and radiant energy shined in person as much as they do onstage, but it was her warm, down-to-earth personality and palpable passion for Chopin that invited one’s full attention.
Lee took out her iPod, on which a sizeable fraction of the 3,000 songs are those of Chopin. She handed over one of the earphones and sang along, ``chords are setting the mood where the story occurs’’ to Etude No. 9 in F minor, Op. 10. ``Every Melody Bears a Story’’ is not included in the album but will be showcased at her concerts from June 29 to 30 at the Sejong M Theater in Seoul.
``Crossover,’’ in the best sense of the word, may describe how the album translates music across different times and spaces.
While appreciating the smooth, jazzy beat of ``Let Us Be,’’ it may take a while to recognize hints of the Polish composer’s ``Fantasie Impromptu.’’
In ``Wave of Life,’’ on the other hand, Lee’s original English lyrics were laid upon the original melody, and in ``Cho-hon,’’ meaning ``evocation’’ in Korean, Kim So-wol’s poetry embellishes Sonata No. 2 ``Funeral March,’’ Op. 35. For the latter, she ``could not nail the right lyrics'' and chose thus a piece that she often murmured to herself when she felt lonely living abroad in the United States. Interestingly enough, the rhythm of each stanza matched perfectly with with sonata.
In any instance, words are always strikingly simple and naturally melt into the melodies, and the moods they convey demonstrate Lee’s deep understanding of Chopin. While the relaxed vocals are closer to pop than opera, they are more than decorative, balletic melodies, and teem with life, romance and even fantastic, macabre themes.
``I wanted to keep the lyrics as simple as possible, because the original melody is so, so gorgeous,’’ she said. The album is most obviously a ``love letter’’ to Lee’s childhood hero, written in the language she knows best _ song. ``As a teenager I was absolutely in love with Chopin,’’ said the stage beauty, with a hearty laugh.
``I loved playing Chopin’s etudes, and I was completely enamored with the drawing of his hand in the cover pages of the sheet music. I still have an entire bookshelf devoted to his books,’’ she continued.
Lee pays tribute to her childhood hero but also pours her musicality into something new and named.
``Some people, like (Moldovan pianist) Sorin Creciun, who will be performing with me in my concerts, said it was a brilliant idea, while other more conservative individuals said `don’t ruin our Chopin’,’’ she said. ``It’s not the genre that defines music but the music itself that pursues truth.’’
This proposal to the Romantic composer adds special meaning, as this year marks the 160th anniversary of his death in 1849 as well as the 20th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Korea and Poland. Moreover, the project marks a turning point for the singer who is best known as a musical star.
``It’s an adventure, and I still can’t believe it,’’ she said about seeing her very personal ideas realized onto the slim disc.
``Musicals launched my career, and I loved it and learned so much. But musicals are just one genre among many for me as a vocalist,’’ she said. Lee explained that she left ``Miss Saigon’’ after four years because she wanted to challenge herself with something new and creative. But ``the experience of learning how to tell stories through musicals paid off,’’ she said, since ``Chopin and the Girl,’’ the title track, is really a story about herself and ``her Chopin.’’
In the upcoming concerts, she will give more powerful and opera-like renditions of her album tracks opposite the pianist Creciun. ``He is so open-minded and supportive of the project,’’ she said about the rising young artist.
With the Seoul concerts as a starting point, she plans on releasing the album elsewhere and tour more extensively through next year, which marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Chopin.
Tickets cost 30,000 to 70,000 won. Call (02) 518-7343.
hyowlee@koreatimes.co.kr |
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