Mathilde Santing
Elegant, whisper-soft vocals meeting lush orchestral arrangements. A masterclass in vulnerable jazz-pop interpretation for quiet nights and deep reflection.
Elegant, whisper-soft vocals meeting lush orchestral arrangements. A masterclass in vulnerable jazz-pop interpretation for quiet nights and deep reflection.
Mathilde Santing possesses a voice that feels like a shared secret. It is remarkably intimate, often characterized by a breathy, whispered quality that draws the listener in close. While her foundations are in jazz and traditional pop, she operates with the precision of a storyteller, treating every lyric as a delicate artifact to be examined and polished. Her sound is frequently bolstered by rich, sophisticated arrangements, ranging from sparse piano accompaniment to the full, cinematic sweep of the Metropole Orchestra.
What truly distinguishes Santing is her role as a supreme interpreter. She doesn't just cover songs; she inhabits them, often dedicating entire projects to the songbooks of idiosyncratic writers like Randy Newman, Todd Rundgren, or Joni Mitchell. This curated approach, combined with her status as a pioneering figure in the Dutch LGBTQ+ community, gives her music a layer of lived-in wisdom and quiet defiance. There is a specific 'theatrical' weight to her performances that never feels overacted, only deeply felt.
Start with her 1999 album 'To Others To One' to hear her at her commercial and creative peak, particularly the hit 'Wonderful Life'. For those who prefer a more focused, conceptual experience, 'Texas Girl & Pretty Boy' offers a brilliant, jazz-inflected window into the cynical yet beautiful world of Randy Newman through her unique vocal lens.
Mathilde Santing (born Mathilde Eleveld, 24 October 1958) is a Dutch singer. Santing was born in Amstelveen, Netherlands. She started receiving national attention in 1981 after she appeared on a Dutch television programme called Sonja Op Maandag hosted by Sonja Barend. Over the next 25 years, she released a steady stream of albums, making her a fixture in the Dutch music scene. In 1986 she won the BV Popprijs at Noorderslag in Groningen. She was the first artist to win this prize. In 1993 the album Texas Girl & Pretty Boy was released, on which Mathilde performed 14 songs by Randy Newman. Later she would do the same with songs from Frank Sinatra and Joni Mitchel. In 1997, she played a role in the musical Joe. The song Inspiration was released as a single. In the same year she had a hit with a cover of Melanie's 'Beautiful People'. Black's ‘Wonderful Life’ from 1999 is her biggest hit to date. In the 2006/2007 theatre season, she appeared in the role of Glinda in Joop van den Ende's production of the musical The Wiz. In November 2012, she collaborated with Todd Rundgren and the Dutch Metropole Orchestra. At the Paradiso venue in Amsterdam Todd Rundgren was backed by three backing vocalists, including Santing, with whom he sang a duet that night. During her career, she has covered 14 of his songs. She was the winner of the Buma Cultuur Pop Award (Popprijs) for 1985, the first edition of the award. She also won three Edisons and a Gouden Harp. On 27 April 2007, Santing was knighted by Queen Beatrix (Order of Oranje-Nassau).
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