Mathilde Santing
Texas Girl & Pretty Boy

What to say about a CD permeated by the warm sounds of a velvety piano, a deep double bass, and the melodiously therapeutic voice of the Dutch artist Mathilde, a harpist and multi-instrumentalist unfortunately not widely acclaimed, despite her international fame?

Yes, because listening to this work inevitably relaxes every muscle and especially the mind, sweetly invaded by so much delicacy.

In itself, the idea of presenting in a completely personal way an anthology of the most successful songs by an eccentric composer like Randy Newman works, and brilliantly so. Additionally, if the performer has Mathilde's energy and professionalism, her sensuality and sweetness, the result cannot disappoint us; rather, in my opinion, it achieves masterpiece status.

The selected tracks (14 to be exact) for the playlist are presented with the arrangement originally designed for a series of concerts for Dutch television (Amsterdam), and the lyrics (included in the booklet) are written in a way that does not always faithfully interpret Santing's rendition, sometimes deviating from Randy Newman's original transcription - sometimes deliberately, sometimes accidentally.

This CD offers "music from another era," presented with elegance and sophistication by a singer who has nothing to envy to the original performer in terms of personality and cunning, released at a time when this type of operation (so dear to the likes of various Bublé fans) was not yet so fashionable.

Ars gratia artis, the love for art and beauty, undoubtedly.

The work as a whole is a blend of delicacy and divertissement in which there are episodes of hilarity and vocal as well as piano virtuosity ("Tickle Me" and "Lonely At The Top"), as well as moments of true yearning and strong introspection. Santing's voice that opens with the beautiful "Dayton; Ohio - 1903" (a true gem) is at times whispered, sometimes shouted ("God's Song") and at moments carries the desperation of a prayer or the tenderness of a love promise (the splendid "Marie" at the end). The lyrics are often bitter, sad ("It's So Hard Living Without You") and at the same time, biting as only Newman knew how to be.

A CD highly recommended even for the insatiable, with just one enormous flaw: being almost impossible to find. I am still and again and again and again sadly looking for it.......