Baritone Lee Eung-kwang Releases Carol Album "Wanted to Offer Comfort in Difficult Times"

[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] "Because I know how much art influences people's souls, I wanted to offer comfort during these difficult times."

Baritone Lee Eung-kwang released a digital album titled The Gift on the 2nd, featuring eight Christmas carols. The reason for releasing a carol album, which is rare for a classical singer, was to convey the power of music during the challenging period caused by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

At an online press conference held to commemorate the album release, Lee said, "With performances canceled and future plans uncertain, I thought about what I could do as a musician. Christmas was approaching, so I prepared an album like a gift for the public at the end of the year."

Jazz pianist Daum (Korean name Jeong Da-um) participated in the album recording. Daum said, "I incorporated my musical style and recorded in a way that suits Mr. Lee Eung-kwang's voice well. I aimed to create music that classical and jazz enthusiasts could listen to without difficulty, something fresh yet not light, but deep."

Daum arranged all eight tracks, and the recording took place over three days with Lee Eung-kwang. Lee mentioned that many parts were recorded with spontaneous changes during the process. Jazz is originally a genre with a lot of improvisation.

Lee said, "Since Daum is also a jazz pianist, if there was any discomfort with the sound during recording, we re-recorded spontaneously based on the emotions felt on site. So, if you ask me to sing exactly like a CD, it would be very difficult to reproduce. In that sense, this will be a unique audio source and album."

Lee recalled his childhood memories of singing Christmas carols at dawn and chose the songs accordingly.

"I was born and raised in a small rural village called Buseong in Gimcheon, Gyeongbuk. I remember staying up all night on Christmas Eve and singing Christmas dawn carols. I selected many songs that were frequently sung then. Also, I lived in Switzerland for a long time, where the Christmas atmosphere is felt for a month starting from late November. I included carols I heard during that time. I chose familiar songs that are comfortable to listen to and often sung."

Lee Eung-kwang was a principal singer at the Basel Opera House in Switzerland from 2008 to 2015. In September, he performed the lead role of Figaro in the premiere of The Barber of Seville at the Luzern Theater in Switzerland. "At that time, Switzerland, with a population of 8 million, was seeing 400 to 500 confirmed cases daily. Still, both the theater director and the conductor believed that art delivers strength to the audience's souls and that performances must continue. It was a very moving and grateful experience."

After finishing the Barber of Seville performance, Lee returned to Korea in October. After completing two weeks of self-quarantine, he has been appearing on TV broadcasts, expanding his connection with the public. "I don't have a grand goal like popularizing classical music. I think popularizing classical music is difficult anyway. I'm just doing what I can with the hope that people will take a little more interest. Communication with the public is important. I released the carol album hoping it would receive a bit more attention and support."

Lee Eung-kwang will hold a Christmas concert to celebrate the carol album release on the 24th at Social Venue Raum in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Pianist Lee So-young and the Daum Jazz Trio will join him on stage.