Gotlands Tidningar 2021-12-18
By: LENA TORNDAHL
It was crowded in the cathedral yesterday when Helen Sjöholm and Anna Stadling together with the musicians Jesper Nordenström and Tobias Fröberg offered two concerts filled with beloved Christmas songs, famous hits and some songs from their brand new album coming this spring.
The candles flickered in the freshly plastered ore crowns in the aisle and spread their gentle glow over the rows of benches where people sat close together – but only a handful had face masks. On the stage stood a grand piano and a small organ and some guitars stood leaning against a chair. The audience buzzed expectantly.
Then they came, childhood friends Sjöholm and Stadling, and began the concert with a heartfelt interpretation of Gläns över sjö och strand and Nu tändas tusen juleljus. Helen Sjöholm’s jubilant soprano with her melancholy timbre was beautifully intertwined with Anna Stadling’s dark chocolate delicious alto voice, which from time to time floated to mezzo height without effort. Sjöholm, short-cut and blonde, wore suede boots and an oat-colored dress with a stylized floral pattern that harmonized in color with Stadling’s chestnut brown suit that stood out beautifully against her red hair (…)
The middle talk flowed nicely and was about musical memories, Christmas joy but also about how important it is to take care of the people on the outskirts. The song Sankta Klara, the church in the middle of Stockholm city, was about mercy in everyday life. Then came a wonderful version of Det är en ros utsprungen and then everyone calmed down and became shiny in the eyes.
Anna Stadling told us about a difficult time a few years ago when life was turned upside down and sang a song with lyrics by Andreas Mattsson that fits just as well now in pandemic times: När allt det här är över (…) Then we were treated to some pop and americana and then came the long-awaited melody that Sjöholm sang as if it were new: Gabriella’s song. The audience shouted for joy. A handful of Christmas songs, Som en bro över mörka vatten and then thank you and goodbye and Stilla natt as an encore.
The organizer Robin Waernquist should have a praise for arranging these wonderful concerts. “When all this is over / when all this is finished, when everything is as usual / and we have exhaled” as Mattsson wrote his poetry. We long for that pandemic-free moment (…)
(The full review is not reproduced for copyright reasons)