Pettersson, Allan - Barfotasånger (Complete Songs) - Mattei, Peter

From 1950 onwards, Allan Pettersson worked mainly on monolithic symphonies, for which he is best known. But before that, while still studying at the Stockholm Conservatory and later as a violist with the Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, he composed two song cycles: Six Songs and Barfotasånger (Barefoot Songs). The latter two became particularly important to the composer, and he returned to them throughout his life, quoting several of the songs in his symphonies. In Barfotasånger, he set his own poems to music, which are full of autobiographical details and use very personal, old-fashioned language. Many of the songs reflect his childhood as the youngest of four children in a poor working-class neighborhood in Stockholm. With the exception of two, all the songs are in a minor key and use a form reminiscent of folk songs, hymns, and popular songs. They are brought to life here, sometimes painfully, by Peter Mattei, one of the great singer-actors of our time, supported by Bengt-Åke Lundin, with whom he first collaborated almost 30 years ago on an album of songs by Wilhelm Stenhammar.