About the album

Soprano Channa Malkin made her operatic debut at age 16 as Barbarina in Le Nozze di Figaro at the Dutch National Opera. Since then, she has become a sought-after soloist. Highlights include Handel’s Dixit Dominus and William Hayes’ The Fall of Jericho with Holland Baroque, as well as Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under the baton of Mariss Jansons. Channa is known for her wide expertise, from baroque to Sephardic chamber music. “Her voice is beautiful: a young sound, a mature treatment. Her storytelling is captivating” (Merlijn Kerkhof in De Volkskrant about her debut album Songs of Love and Exile).

The birth of her son Ezra formed a new source of inspiration, with motherhood as a central theme. On her new album for the audiophile label TRPTK This is not a lullaby, she highlights the immense emotional impact of becoming a mother with an unconventional choice of repertoire by Mieczyslaw Weinberg, Sir John Tavener, and her father Josef Malkin.

Channa came across Weinberg’s song cycle Rocking the child during one of many sleepless nights with her baby, and was instantly touched by its honest, unidealized portrayal of a mother’s experience. The cycle is based on the works of Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral from her book Ternura (Tenderness, 1924).

Josef Malkin, Channa’s father, composed his Five Russian Songs on the colourful and haunting poems of Ilya Selvinsky, Boris Ryzhy, Vladimir Riabokon and Anna Akhmatova. Malkin, born in Tbilisi, Georgia, was a violinist in the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra for over 25 years, and his music has been performed by top orchestras and performers across Europe and the United States.

Of all contemporary composers, Sir John Tavener is one of the most iconic. His work is steeped in a deep spirituality, and has a profound impact on the listener. His haunting Akhmatova Songs were inspired by the oeuvre of the prolific Russian poet Anna Akhmatova.

What makes this release extra special is Malkin’s collaboration with Maya Fridman, winner of the Dutch Classical Talent Prize, and the extraordinary pianist Artem Belogurov, who regularly performs in the main concert halls of Europe and the United States. The three artists: “In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, we are excited to bring some positivity and share this story about motherhood with the world”.