Hooked on pop

Measha Brueggergosman's new album "Night and Dreams" features works by a host of composers, including Debussy, Brahms, Franz Liszt and Mozart, among many others.

The classically trained Canadian singer studied both in her home country and in Germany. But while she is versed in the classics, she admits she's addicted to pop culture. A part-time TV host and wannabe yoga instructor, Brueggergosman found it hard to make time for an interview. But when she did, she revealed the vibrant personality so many viewers find riveting on stage. Recently, Brueggergosman dazzled viewers when she sang the Olympic Hymn at the Winter Games in Vancouver.

Deutsche Welle spoke to her about her love of the night - and of the German language.

Deutsche Welle: You've chosen "Night and Dreams" as the title and topic of your new CD. Why?

Measha Brueggergosman: We wanted to do something different from "Surprise," which was my first album on Deutsche Grammophon and which was percussive and funny and a little dirty and slightly "alternative." So we wanted to find something that was long and languid and gave me a chance to "blow." It is beautiful music for beautiful music's sake and although we featured composers who are core classical composers, it also gave me the chance to be slightly subversive by combining [Franz] Schubert and [Francis] Hime for example, or [Xavier] Montsalvatge and [Henri] Duparc, who I guess are not that far apart, but Peter Warlock and Mozart, for instance.

What's the feel of the album?

I kind of picture people putting it on at a dinner party or at night. I am a nocturnal creature, so Justus Zeyen - the pianist on this album - and I, we were really looking for poetry that would not only evoke an atmosphere of romanticism, but, I dunno, we kinda want people to make out while they're listening to it. I think there should be more music in classical music that people just want to make out to. I think it's important that we provide a soundtrack for people's lives…All aspects of people's lives!

Which pieces do you like best?

I'd never done Duparc's "Phidyle" because it's typically a man's song. I had never sung the Lizst, "Oh! Quand je dors," even though it had been recommended to me so many times...Oh, and I love the "Clair du lune…" There's just something about that piece, especially the relationship that the piano and the voice share. It's so intricately woven - it almost feels unfortunate that I have to come in because Justus just plays the crap out of it. And speaking of Justus - well, Hime's "Anoiteceu" - the only piece in Portuguese on the album, well, I just think Justus plays the snot of it. He's very inspiring.

Was there a reason to choose so many different languages, or was it really because of the texts and music themselves?

The whole concept and reasoning behind doing so many different was really to showcase the different linguistic approaches to nocturnal activities, you know, how "night" sounds in Portuguese, how "the moon" is described in German, how Duparc candles through French, the idea of dreams or "la nuit" - these kinds of subtleties that are linguistic ones but also speak to a culture…There's a way that Schubert sets "An den Mond" or Strauss sets "Wiegenlied." There's only really one way to do it …it sets the language where it is most descriptive. That is what the best composers do. So, you don't really think about it. Duparc is French, Faure is French, de Falla is Spanish, and these composers embody the best of what language can do, musically, percussively, compositionally, poetically.

Earlier, you described your album "Surprise" as a bit "dirty." What did you mean by that?

Well, it's bit slummy ...I mean there's subject matter on "Surprise" that we don't find on "Night and Dreams," but that is the nature of cabaret. Whereas this piece…I mean, I'm not saying this album is classier, because it's still me singing it, but I do think there's a sacredness, a sense of occasion to this kind of repertoire, to this track list, that makes everything…calming. It's a stress-free zone.

Why classical music?

I often say that I do believe that classical music chose me. I don't know if it would have been my natural inclination. I think I am very much a product of nurture over nature. I mean the musical tradition of my home church in Fredericton, on the East Coast of New Brunswick, was classical. My father worked for the CBC, which at that time had  predominantly classical programming, and that was the only radio station we listened to, so when it came time for me to take piano and voice lesson, there was a structure there.

You speak German. Does that come from your training, or did you learn it growing up?

I learned it for love. I was lucky enough to marry my first love, and he is Swiss, from the German part of Switzerland, and then, I knew that I would probably work a lot in the German repertoire. German is a tough nut to crack linguistically if you don't speak it. It really doubles your workload, just through translations alone. So I knew that if I was going to learn a third language, it would have to be German.

You're also a TV host. What attracts you to that medium?

I'm genuinely interested in other art forms, so when the "arte Lounge" came along, or "Cribs" or "Video on Trial" or any of these kinds of extracurricular activities that I do come along, I do them because they're great fun, actually. Because I'm kind of addicted to pop culture. All these horrible TV shows, I mean they're really bad sometimes, but still, I kind of love it all, because it keeps me fresh, keeps me connected to the audience that I love to reach and that will hopefully ultimately give classical music a chance. But at the end of the day, I am grateful that I am in this corner of culture that I've found myself in.

Who are you trying to appeal to? Looking at your website, you're not a typical classical singer. Are you trying to bring classical music down from the ivory tower?

What's funny is that I don't think I would listen to classical music if I weren't a classical musician. I rarely listen to it. If I'm being honest, I'm really only own either the repertoire of my friends, or repertoire that I need to learn. But I'm an exploratory spirit, I like to find out new things, research things…and I have enough energy for extracurricular things, like interviews and a cute Website and I want people to be able to come to the website and not find out just about classical music, but also about me as a person, or what I enjoy...There are a lot of cool people in this profession, a lot of really hip, connected people in this classical world.

What was it like singing at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver this year?

I mean, it was 2.5 billion people watching, and 60,000 people in the stadium. It was out of this world. As soon at the Olympics were announced, as soon as Vancouver won the bid, I said: "Well, let's start workin', 'cuz I wanna be there." I would have been third chorister from the right in the back just to sing there…I am thankful that I sang the Olympic Hymn. I have always been a proud Canadian and in that moment, well, there was a little something extra.

Where do you think you'll go from here?

I'm going to become a Bikram Yoga instructor. I'm going to take a course this spring, so that will be another skill that I can put on my resume. I may someday open a Bikram Yoga studio in my hometown and I know that really has nothing to do with singing and I know there is probably another answer I should have. I don't need to be the best singer; I just want to be really good at my own voice, really good at promoting this genre of music and I just really want to have fun with my friends and watch my nieces and nephews grow up and not miss too much.

Measha Brueggergosman will be singing from her new album "Night and Dreams" at the Deutsche Welle-sponsored "Concerto Discreto" series in Bonn's Arithmeum hall on March 15, 2010.

Interview: Louisa Schaefer
Editor: Jennifer Abramsohn