One could be forgiven for finding Anne Sofie von Otter’s latest disc (at face-value) light-hearted or even jaunty in places. It is when you realise that Terezín / Theresienstadt is a collection of short pieces written by inmates of Theresienstadt, the concentration camp in what is now the Czech Republic, that the jolliness disappears. It becomes impossible not to get caught up in the emotions and stories surrounding the disc. A huge number of artists and musicians were held in Theresienstadt during the Second World War. As part of Nazi propaganda the inmates were forced to perform their music to the Red Cross as a way of demonstrating their “good fortune”. The songs here are beautifully touching – none more so than Ilse Weber’s Wiegala, a tender lullaby written for children at the camp. As the sleeve-notes inform us, Ilse Weber went voluntarily to her death with the sick children from the camp. There is an incongruity between the text and the music – especially the works by Weber and Karel Švenk which are in a cabaret style. Most of the songs are scored for voice and piano; some are with clarinet and viola, accordion or guitar. Von Otter’s performance is gentle and moving. The disc finishes with Erwin Schulhoff’s folk-like and haunting Sonata for Solo Violin, played here by Daniel Hope. Theresienstadt survivor Alice Herz-Sommer has captured the essence of both this commemoration project and the recording: “Even in the earth’s darkest corner, the music took away our fear and reminded us of the beauty in this world”.

Reviewed by Ruth Squire