Cheerful melancholy

Born in the south of France with Jewish-Spanish roots, the Geneva-based singer Esther Ackermann literally soaked up the Jewish songs her mother sang to put her to sleep as a child. This is how she tells it. Fascinated by the musicality of the language, she is said to have written her first poem at the age of seven. Now, almost 40 years later, she has recorded these songs with guitarist Paco Chambi under the title A la una yo naci recorded. It is a short album with twelve tracks - a total playing time of just 31 minutes - on which she sings about childhood and Jewish culture with great tenderness. And she does it with intensity and concentration and with such childlike delight, as if she were simply singing to herself under a shady tree while picking vegetables in front of the house. This creates a haunting intimacy that is all the more moving as it allows the listener to immerse themselves in a world that awakens longings without lapsing into folksy sweetness. Perhaps it is the cheerful melancholy of her songs that has made this a very personal album. It has what makes beautiful and good music: it is able to touch us.

The simple songs are accompanied by a classical guitar, unobtrusively and with great flair in a folk-jazz style. That's all this music needs. And so you quickly get the feeling that two artists are making music here who are never concerned with technical intrusiveness and sophistication, but only with expression. A glass of wine at a bistro table and the dream of escaping to the south somewhere. - Fortunately for A la una yo naci the Repeat button.