The Inside Story: Cornelia Sommer and NEW ENCHANTMENTS

Fairy tales have deeply and consistently fascinated humanity throughout the centuries. Enter NEW ENCHANTMENTS, bassoonist Cornelia Sommer’s exploration of magical archetypes that features music by living composers along with new arrangements by Sommer herself across six world premiere recordings. Enriching and engrossing, this album could not be more aptly titled.

Today, Cornelia is our featured artist in the “Inside Story,” a blog series exploring the inner workings and personalities of our composers and performers. Read on to learn about the joy she finds with performing in all types of musical settings, and the psychology behind her Navona Records release…

What were your first musical experiences?

I studied piano from a young age and always enjoyed it. But the experience that made me realize I needed music as part of my life forever was singing in the youth chorus for three opera productions at Seattle Opera: Parsifal, Carmen, and Lohengrin. Not only did I love the music, but I was thrilled to be a small part of such a gargantuan collaborative endeavor. Playing piano was a solitary activity, so being involved in the opera opened my eyes to the joy of collaborative music-making. I was inspired by the professionalism of all the artists, as well as how warmly everyone treated us. In my career, I’ve found the same joy in smaller ensembles, from playing in orchestras to busking with a bassoon quartet in Central Park.

If you weren’t a musician, what would you be doing?

My childhood dream was to be an actuary. Both of my parents are actuaries, and I liked the idea of having a stable, safe job that involves math. Music was always part of the equation, though; I envisioned evenings playing piano or singing in a chorus. Toward the end of college, I realized that I enjoyed practicing bassoon more than doing math homework, so I dropped my math degree and went all in on music.

Take us on a walk through your musical library. What record gets the most plays? Are there any “deep cuts” that you particularly enjoy?

For several years, my top artist on Spotify has been Jean-Philippe Rameau. I had the chance to play baroque bassoon for his opera Hippolyte et Aricie while I was a student at Juilliard, and I fell in love with his lush harmonies, stylish ornaments, and over-the-top plots. Luckily for me, Rameau wrote about 30 operas and ballets, many of which have been recently recorded by the top early music groups. For NEW ENCHANTMENTS, I arranged five of my favorite dance numbers from Rameau’s opera Zaïs. In my arrangement for flute, bassoon, violin, and harpsichord, I also drew inspiration from his sublime chamber work, Pièces de clavecin en concerts.

If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be?

I recently visited New York City and stopped by the Morgan Library to see an exhibition on the Ballets Russes, a dance company led by the impresario Sergei Diaghilev in the early 20th century. I’ve never gone through a museum exhibit so slowly. Though I was already familiar with the incredible volume and variety of artistic talent associated with the Ballets Russes, I felt overwhelmed seeing autograph manuscripts by Stravinsky and Ravel, set and costume designs by Léon Bakst and Pablo Picasso, and photos of choreographers and dancers, including Bronislava Nijinska, Vaslav Nijinsky, and Tamara Karsavina. Some of my favorite pieces of music were born from the Ballets Russes, but the music was just one part of creative enterprise. To be surrounded by such incredible musicians, choreographers, dancers, and visual artists would be a collaborative dream come true.

What emotions do you hope listeners will experience after hearing your work?

The psychologist Carl Jung believed that fairy tales were the purest expression of the “collective unconscious,” a shared subconscious understanding of life that unites humanity. Jung believed that fairy tales, which on the surface are delightfully magical escapes from reality, portray human impulses and behaviors in remarkably consistent stories from around the world. These qualities explain why fairy tales are so enduringly popular. Maybe you’ve experienced something similar with music: there’s a lot to enjoy about the sounds you’re hearing, but you also feel that it communicates something deep about humanity. NEW ENCHANTMENTS explores what happens when these two artforms meet in music inspired by fairy tales. I believe that fairy tale music creates an even purer expression of the collective unconscious than either artform can do alone.