Agnes Obel

In a setting evoking medieval ritual or sacred Catholic liturgy, the church of Sant'Ambrogio in Villanova di Castenaso hosts a series of special concerts tied to the Rocker Festival, held every year in Bologna around mid-May. Thanks to the collaboration of the Covo Club and the openness of parish priest Stefano Benuzzi, the dates have brought in music of the highest quality: after a noble opening with the acoustic tenderness of Mark Kozelek, the program continued with the intense pop songwriting of John Grant and the neo-classical compositions of Dustin O'Halloran. The final concert of this particular series was the performance of Agnes Obel, the Danish singer-songwriter launched by a wonderful album ("Philarmonics") and by the inclusion of one of her songs in the soundtrack of "Grey's Anatomy".

With the church pews filled by a varied crowd, the artist takes the stage at the piano, with her violinist taking her seat alongside to accompany her. Taken aback by the warm, thunderous applause, the young woman, though sheltering behind an extreme shyness, pours incredible strength into her songs. Able to personalize the original tracks from her debut with live arrangements, the Dane draws attention with an almost angelic manner, playing piano with precision and finesse, perfectly supported by her partner, who matches her in empathy and vigor. The atmosphere grows ever more intimate through a continuous stream of whispers, gentle vocal lines and gorgeous piano writing.

The performance is swift, moving, flowing, without a single flaw, and the slow pace of the songs doesn't weigh things down but instead makes everything deliciously languid, breathtaking, almost a soft ninety-minute love song. The church setting is a perfect shell that seems built specifically to house these sounds and no others: the walls, the lights, the small recesses of the eighteenth-century chapel cradle the sound, releasing a crystalline, enchanted acoustic. Despite all this, it's hard to imagine the delicate litanies "Just So" and "Riverside" resonating within these consecrated walls beforehand; words cannot do justice to such emotion, so singular is the bond forged between content and container.

Despite some irritation caused by photographers' flashes, the Danish artist showed herself grateful and appreciative of the warmth shown by the audience, in a manner both understated and respectful. Smiles, a few nods of acknowledgment and a couple of bows before and after the encore were all her introverted nature allowed us.

Convinced we had witnessed something truly special, we urge anyone with the chance to see an Agnes Obel concert in Italy or abroad to rush there without hesitation: the price of the ticket will be richly repaid by a show with few equals.

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