ROBESON
Songs etc by JS Bach, Kern, Rodgers, Davóne Tines et al
Davóne Tines (bass-baritone); The Truth
Nonesuch 7559789891 42:19 mins
‘Ever since I was a young singer, I’ve been compared to Paul Robeson,’ says bass-baritone Davóne Tines, who makes his solo recording debut here. Tines sees an intrinsic connection to Robeson through their socially engaged work and ‘vulnerable human moments’, which, in Robeson’s case, took the form of an alleged suicide attempt following a poisoning by the CIA while in political exile in Moscow. This album is Tines’s attempt to reimagine repertoire that could act as the soundtrack to the fever dream of what happened during this period of Robeson’s life. You could easily miss this powerful purpose behind the recording if you didn’t read the densely academic liner notes, all written in urgent capital letters, as the album itself stands as a showcase of a superb singer’s abilities.
We explore Robeson’s repertoire in the similarly rich, soulful stylings of Davóne Tines, who is occasionally accompanied by piano, synthesiser and a collection of other voices in the latter, more gospel tracks. The listener is taken on a theatrical journey from the shower sounds and ancestral vocal hum in the opening Prelude to the improvised ‘Fly Away’, inspired by the harmonies of Ravel, unexpectedly captured on the recording by the sound engineer. Traditional crooning gives way to electronic, melodramatic interpretations of a Bach chorale. While you get plenty from the aesthetics of the listening experience, there is much more to be gleaned from this album as a piece of history, reinterpreting the story of Paul Robeson through a contemporary lens. Freya Parr
