Category Archives: Johann Sebastian Bach

Episode 407. Get to Know Eric Tappy

October 30, 2025Art Song, Bel canto, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Great Baritones, Great Tenors, Ileana Cotrubas, In Memoriam, Johann Sebastian Bach, Lieder, Listeners' Favorites, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Schubert, Twentieth Century Music, Voiceless Wonders, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAlessandro Striggio, Antoine Danchet, Armin Jordan, Arthur Honegger, Arthur Rimbaud, Charles Gounod, Christiane Jacottet, Clairières dans le ciel, Claude Debussy, Claudio Monteverdi, Colin Davis, Constantin Regamey, Die Jahreszeiten, Die schöne Müllerin, Die Zauberflöte, Edda Moser, Emanuel Schikaneder, Eric Tappy, Francis Jammes, Francis of Assisi, Franz Schubert, Giambattista Varesco, Gino Quilico, Gottfried van Swieten, Hans Münch, Hans Vonk, Harry Kliphuis, Hector Berlioz, Helge von Bömches, Hermann Suter, Hugues Cuenod, Idomeneo, Ileana Cotrubas, James Levine, James Thomson, Jean Françaix, Jean-Jacques Rapin, Johann Sebastian Bach, John Pritchard, Joseph Haydn, Jules Barbier, Karl Terkal, L’Enfance du Christ, L’Orfeo, Le Laudi di San Francesco d’Assisi, Le medecin malgré lui, Le Roi David, Lili Boulanger, Marcal Cervera, Maurice Maeterlinck, Melchior Gletle, Michel Carré, Michel Corboz, Molière, Nino Sanzogno, Pelleas et Melisande, Rachel Yakar, René Morax, Ruben Lifschitz, Rudolf Escher, Wilhelm Müller, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozartcountermelody

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Swiss tenor Eric Tappy (19 May 1931 – 11 June 2024) excelled in so many different musical styles, eras, and genres, that when one considers his artistic achievement systematically, as a whole, one is positively stunned at all that he achieved, and that within a relatively short international career that extended barely 20 years. In addition, at the beginning of his career, his voice was that of a light lyric tenor, but gradually he came to sing heavier roles such as Idomeneo and Tito. The episode considers his biography and the trajectory of that career, touching upon his opera and concert work which ranged from early Baroque through contemporary. For the first ten years of his adult life, he worked as a teacher, gradually gaining enough exposure that he was able to fully devote himself to his singing career after he won several international singing competitions. Tappy is heard in the episode in concert work of Bach, Berlioz, Haydn, and contemporary Dutch composer Rudolf Escher; art songs by both Franz Schubert and Lili Boulanger; and operas by Monteverdi, Gounod, Mozart, and Debussy (his Pelléas was as legendary as his Monteverdi and Mozart impersonations). In addition, Tappy is heard in live and radio recordings of work by his fellow Swiss compatriots Arthur Honegger, Frank Martin, Constantin Régamey, and Hermann Suter. Guest singers include Countermelody favorites Ileana Cotrubaș, Rachel Yakar, Hugues Cuénod, Edda Moser, and Gino Quilico; musical collaborators include Ernest Ansermet, Michel Corboz, Nino Sanzogno, John Pritchard, Armin Jordan, Hans Münch (brother of Charles), Colin Davis, Hans Vonk, and Jean Françaix, among others. Prepare to be surprised and delighted by this great singer, who ended his active singing career at the age of only 50 but who continued as a formative and beloved teacher well into his old age.

Countermelody is a podcast devoted to the glory and the power of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great singers of the past and present focusing in particular on those who are less well-remembered today than they should be. Daniel’s lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and author yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” At Countermelody’s core is the celebration of great singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. By clicking on the following link (https://linktr.ee/CountermelodyPodcast) you can find the dedicated Countermelody website which contains additional content including artist photos and episode setlists. The link will also take you to Countermelody’s Patreon page, where you can pledge your monthly or yearly support at whatever level you can afford.

Episode 406. Dan’s Belated Birthday Gals (Soprano Edition)

October 28, 2025African American Singers, Art Song, Bel canto, Black History Month, Black History Month 2025, Broadway, Crossover, Forgotten Divas, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Great Baritones, Happy Birthday, In Memoriam, Johann Sebastian Bach, Lieder, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Operetta, Pop Icons, Richard Strauss, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century Opera, Verismo, Voiceless WondersAchim von Arnim, Alicia de Larrocha, André Emelianoff, Andrée Esposito, Annie Fullard, Arabella, Arleen Augér, Bela Jenbach, Benita Valente, Canciones amatorias, Clemens Brentano, Colette Herzog, Delia Rigal, Des Knaben Wunderhorn, Don Shirley, Donald Voorhees, Edith Mathis, Elizabeth Harwood, Enrique Granados, Erik Werba, Erika Eckert, Erika Köth, Eugène Bigot, Eugène Scribe, Faye Robinson, Francis Poulenc, Frank Bridge, Frank Dempster Sherman, Franz Lehár, Franz Schulz, Genevieve Touraine, Georges Bizet, Georges Jean-Aubry, Gerald Moore, Germain Delavigne, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Gordon Gottlieb, Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel, Gotthard Arnér, Gustav Mahler, Hans May, Harold Arlen, Hilde Güden, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Ignaz Michael Welleminsky, Irmgard Seefried, Jacqueline Bonneau, Jacques Février, Jacques Ibert, Jacques Mars, Jean Sibelius, Jerome Kern, Jill Gomez, Joanna Bassett, Joel Lester, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, John Constable, John DeMain, Johnny Mercer, Juan Emilio Martini, Judith Blegen, Judith Raskin, Jules Barbier, Jules Laforgue, Karl Böhm, Karl Engel, Karl Friedrich Wilhelm Herrosee, Klaus Groth, Kurt Eichhorn, La Courte Paille, Laura Zaerr, Louise de Vilmorin, Ludwig van Beethoven, Manuel de Falla, Margarete Teschemacher, Martha Flowers, Martin Katz, Mathieu Ahlersmeyer, Matthew Arnold, Mattiwilda Dobbs, Maurice Carême, Melitta Muszely, Merry Peckham, Métamorphoses, Miriam Gideon, Nino [né Michel Jean Verber], Oscar Hammerstein II, Oscar Levertin, Paganini, Pagliacci, Patricia Spencer, Paul Knepler, Persée et Andromède, Pilar Lorengar, Prayers of Kierkegaard, Ralf Gothoni, Richard Strauss, Robert Gilbert, Robert le Diable, Robert Shaw, Robert Stolz, Ronald Roseman, Ruggero Leoncavallo, Samuel Barber, Show Boat, Søren Kierkegaard, St. Louis Woman, Taru Valjakka, Teresa Stratas, Walter Reisch, Zwei Herzen im Dreivierteltaktcountermelody

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The last of my festive potpourri episodes for this, my birthday month, this episode focuses on a favorite vocal range of this opera queen: the soprano voice, in all its variety and glory. Included are such pristine lyric voices as Erika Köth, Benita Valente (who just departed us last weekend, shortly after celebrating her 91st birthday), Judith Raskin, Judith Blegen, Mattiwilda Dobbs, and Edith Mathis, among others; medium- to heavier-weight lyric voices such as Pilar Lorengar, Delia Rigal, Teresa Stratas, Taru Valjakka, Melitta Muszely, and Margarete Teschemacher; and “ambiguous” voices as Arleen Augér, Martha Flowers, Irmgard Seefried, Andrée Esposito, Jill Gomez (pictured), Faye Robinson, Hilde Güden, and Elizabeth Harwood which could, if you’ll pardon the term, “swing both ways,” at least in terms of vocal weight! They perform a wide range of material of material including vocal chamber music by Manuel de Falla and Miriam Gideon; art song by Brahms, Bridge, Poulenc, Beethoven, Bizet, Granados, Sibelius, and Mahler; operetta and musical selections by Arlen, Lehár, Stolz, and Kern; and full-throated operatic selections by Richard Strauss, Jacques Ibert, Leoncavallo, and Meyerbeer. It’s another jam-packed episode guaranteed (in a limited sense) to bring you the full-range of listening pleasure.

Episode 405. Rescue Mission (Belated Birthday Edition)

October 24, 2025African American Singers, Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Bel canto, Black History Month, Black History Month 2025, Forgotten Divas, Full-Figured Baroque, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, Great Contraltos, Great Tenors, Johann Sebastian Bach, Lieder, Listeners' Favorites, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, NYCO Divas, Pop Icons, Queer Pride, Richard Strauss, Singers in Old Age, Singers of Color, Sylvia Sass, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century OperaAdam Mickiewicz, Adolphe Jaime, Aida, Alec Wilder, Alexander Pushkin, Allen Rogers, Andrzej Hiolski, Ángel de Saavedra, Angelo Anelli, Antonino Votto, Antonio Ghislanzoni, Apollon Maykov, April Cantelo, Auguste Mariette, Borislav Ivanov, Carol Neblett, Charles Baudelaire, Charles Wadsworth, Claude Debussy, Dalton Baldwin, Dave Wolpe, David Rendall, Die Zauberflöte, Don Giovanni, Elly Ameling, Emanuel Schikaneder, Ernest Lush, Ethel Ennis, Étienne Tréfeu, Francesco Maria Piave, François Coppée, Franz Schreker, Fryderyk Chopin, Fulvio Vernizzi, Gabriele Ferro, Geneviève de Brabant, Gerard Souzay, Gioachino Rossini, Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti, Giuseppe Verdi, Gladys Shelley, Gloria Davy, Guido Menasci, Hector Crémieux, Heinrich Schütz, Helmuth Rilling, Hermann Schroeder, Ilse Wolf, Jacques Offenbach, Jennie Tourel, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes-Passion, John Pritchard, Karl Friedrich Henckell, Klaus Martin Ziegler, L’italiana in Algeri, La forza del destino, Lorenzo da Ponte, Malcolm Williamson, Marcel Cariven, Margaret Marshall, Maureen Lehane, Milton Kaye, Morty Palitz, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Peter Maag, Pietro Mascagni, Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky, Richard Strauss, Robert Louis Stevenson, Robert Massard, Rosanna Carteri, Sarah Reese, Sergiusz Nadgryzowski, Shannon Bolin, Stuart Burrows, Sylvia Sass, Temistocle Solera, Veronica Tyler, William Engvick, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Zanettocountermelody

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Today’s episode is the latest installment in my series entitled “Rescue Mission,” which reintroduces great singers who have already been featured on the podcast. This is the Belated Birthday edition of that series, which reintroduces us to a wide range of Countermelody favorites, including jazz singer Ethel Ennis; baritones Robert Massard, Gérard Souzay, and Andrzej Hiolski; sopranos Sylvia Sass (pictured), Veronica Tyler, April Cantelo, Elly Ameling, Gloria Davy, Margaret Marshall, Rosanna Carteri, Sarah Reese, Ilse Wolf, and Carol Neblett; mezzo-sopranos Jennie Tourel, Maureen Lehane, and Shannon Bolin; and tenors David Rendall and Stuart Burrows. The repertoire is as varied and rare as are the artists featured, including songs by Rimsky-Korsakov, Chopin, Malcolm Williamson, and Alec Wilder; opera arias by Schreker, Mozart, Mascagni, and Verdi; and selections by Bach and Schütz. I love doing this kind of episode, because it allows me to cast my net wide and share with you the kinds of singers and repertoire that are bringing me comfort and joy in these trying times.

Episode 400. Meet Ilse Wolf

October 6, 2025Art Song, Forgotten Divas, Full-Figured Baroque, Johann Sebastian Bach, Lieder, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Richard Wagner, Schubert, Singers in Old Age, Voiceless WondersApril Cantelo, Bernard Rose, Carlo Milanuzzi, Christian Friedrich Henrici, Claudio Monteverdi, Clemens von Brentano, Das Liebesverbot, Eduard Mörike, Edward Downes, Ernest Lush, Felix Mendelssohn, Franz Schubert, Friederike Robert, Friedrich zu Stolberg-Stolberg, Geraint Jones, Gerald English, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Gottfried Keller, Hans Schmidt, Hugo Wolf, Ilse Wolf, Janet Baker, Johann Mayrhofer, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Johannes Brahms, Johannes-Passion, Joseph von Spaun, Karl Klingemann, Klaus Groth, Ludwig Hölty, Ludwig Tieck, Marianne von Willemer, Martin Isepp, Matthäus von Collin, Ottavio Rinuccini, Pablo Casals, Picander, Raymond Leppard, Richard Wagner, Robert Franz, Robert Schumann, St. John Passioncountermelody

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German-British soprano Ilse Wolf (07 June 1921 – 06 September 1999) was another fine lyric soprano active primarily in Britain from the 1950s through the early 1980s. One of the reasons she is remembered today is because she recommended a very young Janet Baker to her own teacher, Helene Isepp, which began a long association between the two which lasted until Isepp’s death in 1968. But Wolf was a fine singer in her own right and was a particularly cogent and expressive singer of Lieder as well as Baroque music. My listeners may remember that during Holy Week this year I played a live recording of Wolf singing the Johannes-Passion under the baton of Pablo Casals. I knew of Wolf because she is the soprano on a delightful 1967 recording of Monteverdi madrigals led by Raymond Leppard. In 1969 she also made a delightful recording of Lieder, her one solo disc, with Martin Isepp, Helene Isepp’s son and also an early collaborator of Janet Baker’s. I decided to scour the interwebs to see what other Ilse Wolf material I could come up with to feature her in her own episode. The answer, beyond these few examples, is: not much, but there were a few additional choice items, and in listening and relistening to the Lieder recording in particular, I discovered that Ilse Wolf was a very fine interpreter, indeed. Her life story is also a compelling one, and I’m privileged to share it (and her delectable singing) with my beloved listeners.

Episode 399. Eileen Farrell (Jane’s Divas II)

October 3, 2025Art Song, Bel canto, Broadway, Comic Relief, Crossover, Eileen Farrell, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Giuseppe Verdi, Holiday Music, In Memoriam, Johann Sebastian Bach, Lieder, Listeners' Favorites, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Operetta, Pop Icons, SchubertAdrian Ross, Al Goodman, Alfred Bachelet, Arnold Gamson, Babes in Arms, Bernard Greenhouse, Bernard Hermann, Charles Jennens, Claude Debussy, Édouard Guinand, Edvard Grieg, Eileen Farrell, Eugène Adénis-Colombeau, Fiançailles pour rire, Francesco Berio di Salsa, Francis Poulenc, Frank Graham, Franz Lehár, Franz Schubert, Frederick Weatherly, Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock, George Frideric Handel, George Malloy, George Trovillo, Giuseppe Verdi, Hans Christian Andersen, Harold Barlow, Irving Kahal, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Wallington, Johann Sebastian Bach, L’enfant prodigue, Leopold Stokowski, Lorenz Hart, Louise de Vilmorin, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Maurice Wilk, Messiah, Michael Praetorius, Oscar Hammerstein II, Otello (Rossini), Paul Ulanowsky, Percy Faith, Peter Matz, Richard Rodgers, Robert Bloom, Robert Sharples, Sammy Fain, The Merry Widow, Theodore Baker, Thomas Schippers, Ugo Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Walter Hatchek, William Shakespearecountermelody

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Today, the day that we lay my beloved mother, Jane Elizabeth Herbst Gundlach, to rest, I offer another tribute to her memory by way of another favorite singer of hers, Eileen Farrell. My mother grew up hearing her on the radio, and when I was young we would often see her featured on the variety shows that were the typical fare of mid-1960s television. But even more than that, she was the soprano soloist on a recording of Messiah that my father brought as a gift for her when he returned from a summer away at seminary. I have once again chosen a program that allows me to share stories of special events in my mother’s life, some charming, some painful, but all of them reflective of the great love that bound us together as mother and son.

Episode 397. Anna Reynolds Sings Bach and Mahler

September 26, 2025Art Song, Forgotten Divas, Full-Figured Baroque, Great Contraltos, Gustav Mahler, In Memoriam, Johann Sebastian Bach, Lieder, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Orchestral SongsAchim von Arnim, Anna Reynolds, Clemens Brentano, Das klagende Lied, Das Lied von der Erde. Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, Des Knaben Wunderhorn, Gabor Kaposy, Geoffrey Parsons, Gustav Mahler, Helen Donath, Hermann Scherchen, Johann Sebastian Bach, Josef Krips, Karl Richter, Lieder und Gesänge aus der Jugendzeit, Lorin Maazel, Peter Schreier, Richard Leander, Richard Volkmann, Rudolf Kempe, Teresa Żylis-Gara, Wyn Morriscountermelody

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As many of you know, my beloved mother died this past week. I’ve been trying for two days now to put together a memorial episode that would do justice to the many divergent aspects of the woman that she was. Alas, I have not yet been able to rise to the challenge, so instead, I offer a recently published bonus episode devoted to the exceptional English contralto Anna Reynolds (05 June 1930 – 24 February 2014), a true servant of her art. She was an extraordinarily eclectic interpreter, blessed with a caramel voice and a vivid interpretive sense. I have chosen music by Bach and Mahler to highlight the qualities that made her so special, and which served the ethos of both of these composers remarkably well. These are among the finest interpretations of the vocal music of either Bach or Mahler that you will ever encounter. Today’s guest artists include soprano Helen Donath and tenor Peter Schreier, pianist Geoffrey Parsons, and conductors Hermann Scherchen, Josef Krips, Lorin Maazel, Benjamin Britten, Wyn Morris, Rudolf Kempe, and Karl Richter. May this exceptional artist and her colleagues bring a sense of peace, grace, and repose to all of us who so desperately need it.

Episode 395. Hildegard Behrens, Liedersängerin

September 19, 2025Full-Figured Baroque, In Memoriam, Johann Sebastian Bach, Lieder, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Orchestral Songs, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Schubert, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAdalbert von Chamisso, Alban Berg, Carl Hauptmann, Daniel Barenboim, David Syrus, Des Knaben Wunderhorn, Eduard Mörike, Felix Schumann, Francis Travis, Franz Schubert, Frauenliebe und -leben, Friedrich Schiller, Georg Scherer, Georgine von Baumberg, Gottfried Stölzel, Hector Berlioz, Heinrich Heine, Hermann von Gilm, Hildegard Behrens, Hugo Wolf, Johann Rudolf Zumsteeg, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Les nuits d’été, Lovro von Matačić, Mathilde Wesendonck, Matthias Claudius, Paul Heyse, Richard Dehmel, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Sieben frühe Lieder, Theodor Storm, Théophile Gautier, Wesendonck-Lieder, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozartcountermelody

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Today we celebrate the recorded legacy of Hildegard Behrens, but from an unexpected angle. Like George London and Cesare Valletti, the last two artists heard on the podcast, she is best remembered today for her operatic portrayals. But like both London and Valletti, she was also a recitalist, although this was not, admittedly, a prominent part of her repertoire. Nevertheless, as a recitalist, as in everything she sang, she displayed a keen musical intelligence, a commitment to the inherent drama in the text, and an insistence upon truth in expression. Today, however, we hear the great Wagner and Strauss singer not only in songs by both of those composers, but also less-expected music, including Schumann’s Frauenliebe und -leben, as well as songs by Bach, Elgar, and Zumsteeg. This material was featured in her Carnegie Hall recital debut in April 1985 and subsequently recorded in Paris at the legendary (and now no longer extant) Salle Wagram. This recording is supplemented by excerpts from three different orchestral song cycles, Les nuits d’été or Hector Berlioz, the Wagner Wesendonck-Lieder, and Berg’s Sieben frühe Lieder. May this episode serve as a tantalizing Vorspiese to an upcoming episode celebrating the operatic career of the great Hildegard!

Episode 383. Get to Know Carol Smith

August 8, 2025Bel canto, Forgotten Divas, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, Great Contraltos, Honor Your Mentors, In Memoriam, Johann Sebastian Bach, Lieder, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Twentieth Century Opera, VerismoAlexander Young, Bach Aria Group, Barbara Scherler, Bernard Greenhouse, Camille Saint-Saens, Carol Smith, Cavalleria Rusticana, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Erich Itor Kahn, Felice Romani, Felix Schumann, Ferdinand Lemaire, Gaetano Donizetti, Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti, Giovanni Verga, Giuseppe Verdi, Guido Menasci, Hana Janků, Heinrich von Kleist, Hermann Lingg, Jacques-François Ancelot, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Jussi Bjorling, Kari Nurmela, Martti Talvela, Messa da Requiem, Nello Santi, Orfeo ed Euridice, Othmar Schoeck, Penthesilea, Pietro Mascagni, Raili Kostia, Rainieri de’ Calzabigi, Renato Cellini, Robert Bloom, Roberto Devereux, Roland Hermann, Salvadore Cammarano, Samson et Dalila, Willem van Otterloo, William H. Scheide, Zdeněk Mácal, Zinka Milanovcountermelody

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If the exceptional Illinois-born contralto Carol Smith (20 February 1926 – 06 June 2021) has previously escaped your notice, now is the perfect opportunity to get to know her better. She began her career singing the music of Bach with the legendary Bach Aria Group, founded in 1946 by philanthropist, scholar, and collector William H. Scheide. Smith then went on for further vocal training in Italy, making her operatic stage debut in 1961 in Napoli. There followed a glorious operatic career as one of the world’s leading dramatic mezzo-sopranos, with performances throughout Italy and Germany as well as with her home company in Zürich. She went on to become an esteemed and highly respected voice teacher on two continents. This episode digs deep into her recorded legacy, featuring cantata arias of Bach, Lieder of Brahms, arias by Gluck, Verdi, and Saint-Saëns, and scenes from Cavalleria rusticana, Roberto Devereux, and Penthesilea, a hidden early 20th-century masterpiece by Swiss composer Othmar Schoeck. No matter what repertoire Smith was singing, she was, by virtue of her chocolate-timbred voice, dramatic flair, and vocal glamour, power, and flexibility, a true Queen of Song.

Countermelody is a podcast devoted to the glory and the power of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great singers of the past and present focusing in particular on those who are less well-remembered today than they should be. Daniel’s lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and journalist yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” At Countermelody’s core is the celebration of great singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. By clicking on the following link (https://linktr.ee/CountermelodyPodcast) you can find the dedicated Countermelody website which contains additional content including artist photos and episode setlists. The link will also take you to Countermelody’s Patreon page, where you can pledge your monthly or yearly support at whatever level you can afford.

Episode 382. Eine Janowitzische Geburtstagfeier

August 4, 2025Art Song, Full-Figured Baroque, Happy Birthday, Interview, Johann Sebastian Bach, Lieder, Listeners' Favorites, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Operetta, Orchestral Songs, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Schubert, Singers in Old Age, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century OperaBruno Hardt-Warden, Charles Spencer, Das Marienleben, Die Rosen der Madonna, Die Schöpfung, Emil Kuh, Franz Liszt, Georg Christian Lehms, Gottfried van Swieten, Gundula Janowitz, Herbert von Karajan, Hermann Hesse, Hermann Prey, Irwin Gage, Johann Sebastian Bach, John Henry Mackay, Joseph Haydn, Karl Friedrich Henckell, Karl Gottfried von Leitner, Mathieu Lange, Mathilde Wesendonck, Otto Tumlirz, Paul Hindemith, Peter Waters, Rainer Maria Rilke, Richard Dehmel, Richard Stamp, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Robert Stolz, Rudolf Barshai, Vier letzte Lieder, Waldemar Kmentt, Wesendonck-Liedercountermelody

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If you “get” Gundula Janowitz, then you really get her, and this birthday tribute will be a delectable treat. If, however, you don’t get her, or don’t think that you get her, you might want to give this episode a try, anyway, for it focuses on her work as a Lieder singer. It is my contention that she was one of the very finest song recitatlists of the late 20th century. Like Grace Bumbry, Margaret Price, Helen Donath, and a number of others, she balanced her work in opera with superlative work on the recital stage. To support my informed opinion, I have found a number of rare live recordings from Amsterdam, Tokyo, and Athens, in which the beloved soprano performs (with her pianists Irwin Gage, Charles Spencer, and Peter Waters and conductor Rudolf Barshai), songs of Strauss, Schubert, Liszt, Wagner, and Hindemith. The episode is supplemented by music by Haydn, Bach, and Robert Stolz, the last an early-career Janowitz performance of his obscure opera Die Rosen der Madonna. In these works, she is heard in duet with Waldemar Kmentt and last week’s featured singer, Hermann Prey. Herzliche (aber nachträgliche) Geburtstagsgrüße an unsere geliebte Frau Kammersängerin!

Countermelody is a podcast devoted to the glory and the power of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great singers of the past and present focusing in particular on those who are less well-remembered today than they should be. Daniel’s lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and journalist yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” At Countermelody’s core is the celebration of great singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. By clicking on the following link (https://linktr.ee/CountermelodyPodcast) you can find the dedicated Countermelody website which contains additional content including artist photos and episode setlists. The link will also take you to Countermelody’s Patreon page, where you can pledge your monthly or yearly support at whatever level you can afford.

Episode 380. Hermann Prey Sings Bach

July 28, 2025Full-Figured Baroque, Great Baritones, In Memoriam, Johann Sebastian Bach, Listeners' Favorites, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Singers in Old AgeChristmas Oratorio, Elly Ameling, Eugen Jochum, Friedrich-Wilhelm Tebbe, Helmut Winschermann, Hermann Prey, Ich habe genug, Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes-Passion, Karl Münchinger, Karl Richter, Konrad Ragossnig, Kurt Kalmus, Kurt Thomas, Liviu Varcol, Matthäus-Passion, Maurice André, Saschko Gawriloff, St. John Passion, St. Matthew Passion, Weihnachtsoratorium, Willy Gerlach, Wolfgang Gönnenwein, Yehudi Menuhincountermelody

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The esteemed, indeed beloved, German baritone Hermann Prey died seventeen years ago already on July 22, 1998. I want to remember him today by celebrating a cornerstone of his repertoire: the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. I’ve been playing a lot of Bach recently on the podcast, as his music is one of the few lifelines that I can rely upon in the chaos of today’s world. But I’ve been focusing in large part on contraltos performing his music which leaves an entire repertoire insufficiently explored. I’m not sure why (although I could hazard a guess) why Prey’s significance has been downplayed as certain other historical German baritones (IYKYK!) are overvalued and over-represented. Prey had a voice of profound beauty and power, a technical security that is sometimes mind-boggling, a mellifluous legato combined with a refined connection to the supremacy of the word (even – and especially – in Bach), but above all, a humanity and humility that make his performances and recordings of this repertoire unmatched (and possibly unmatchable). Represented are individual arias from the cantatas and Passions as well as a complete late-career performance of Ich habe genug, my favorite among Bach’s supreme masterpieces.

Countermelody is a podcast devoted to the glory and the power of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great singers of the past and present focusing in particular on those who are less well-remembered today than they should be. Daniel’s lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and journalist yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” At Countermelody’s core is the celebration of great singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. By clicking on the following link (https://linktr.ee/CountermelodyPodcast) you can find the dedicated Countermelody website which contains additional content including artist photos and episode setlists. The link will also take you to Countermelody’s Patreon page, where you can pledge your monthly or yearly support at whatever level you can afford.

Episode 378. Rescue Mission III (Friends Edition)

July 21, 2025African American Singers, Art Song, Bel canto, Black History Month, Black History Month 2025, Broadway, Canadian Singers, Crossover, Forgotten Divas, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Giacomo Puccini, Great Baritones, Great Contraltos, Great Tenors, Happy Birthday, Honor Your Mentors, In Memoriam, Johann Sebastian Bach, Lieder, Listeners' Favorites, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, NYCO Divas, Opera in Translation, Pop Icons, Queer Pride, Rescue Mission, Schubert, Singers of Color, Spirituals, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century Opera, VerismoAlessandro Cerè, Annabelle Bernard, Anne Wiggins Brown, April Cantelo, Barbara Wimunc, Béatrice Uria-Monzon, Carlo Gozzi, Carlo Zangarini, Carol Neblett, Cesar Franck, Charles Wadsworth, Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, Colin Davis, David Belasco, Denise Duval, Die schöne Müllerin, Du Bose Heyward, Ed Spanjaard, Édouard Blau, Eleanor Steber, Émile Belcourt, Émile Deschamps, Emmanuel Bondeville, Ernest Ragogini, Eugen Jochum, Eugène Scribe, Franco Corelli, Franz Schubert, Frederick Marshall, George Gershwin, George Shirley, Gérard de Nerval, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Giacomo Puccini, Gioachino Rossini, Giuseppe Adami, Gloria Davy, Guelfo Civinini, Hector Berlioz, Heinrich Hollreiser, Helen Watts, Humbert Ferrand, Ira Gershwin, James Demster, Jan Behr, Jerry Hadley, Johan Hye-Knudsen, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, John Fletcher, John Williams, Jorma Hynninen, La Fanciulla del West, Leonard Bernstein, Les francs-juges (Berlioz), Lois Marshall, Mario Rossi, Mass in b minor, Massimo de Bernart, Maureen Lehane, Maurice Jacquemot, Michel Plasson, Ottorino Respighi, Paul Collin, Peter Pears, Porgy and Bess, Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky, Rébecca (Franck), Rédemption (Franck), Renato Simoni, Robert Merfeld, Sandra Warfield, Sarah Caldwell, Sarah Reese, Semirâma, Stephen Sondheim, Tancredi, Turandot, Valerie Masterson, Veronica Tyler, Voltaire, West Side Story, Wilhelm Müller, William Parker, Yevdokya Rostopchinacountermelody

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Even after I publish a Countermelody episode on a favorite singer, I continue to collect material on them, which I then occasionally fold into a potpourri episode of vocal and musical delights. I have dubbed such episodes part of my “Rescue Mission” series and I’m tempted to call today’s episode I’m tempted to call “Friend Edition” (even though there are several good friends I’ve made in recent years who are not represented today). Be that as it may, I do love putting out such episodes, especially as it gives new listeners some idea of the range and depth of the podcast, and the joys of dipping into Countermelody’s back catalogue. For today’s episode I spread the net particularly wide, and in some cases went way back into my archives so present you with some rarities which I have programmed in such a way to take us from the despair and confusion that many of us are feeling right now into a place of both resolution and resolve to keep holding on and fighting for what is right. Today’s setlist includes many Countermelody favorites: tenors George Shirley, Peter Pears, and Jerry Hadley; baritones William Parker and Jorma Hynninen, mezzo-soprano Maureen Lehane; and sopranos Eleanor Steber, Carol Neblett, Sarah Reese, Anne Wiggins Brown, Veronica Tyler, Annabelle Bernard, Denise Duval, Lois Marshall, Gloria Davy, and April Cantelo; with appearances by other great singers who have not yet been featured in full episodes, including Franco Corelli, Sandra Warfield, Helen Watts, Émile Belcourt, Valerie Masterson, and, in memoriam, Béatrice Uria-Monzon. We hear music from César Franck, Ottorino Respighi, Johann Sebastian Bach, Giacomo Puccini, Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky, Franz Schubert, George Gershwin, Gioachino Rossini, Leonard Bernstein, Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, Emmanuel Bondeville, and Giacomo Meyerbeer. As always, queer artists and artists of color are prominently featured, as one of my objectives in producing this podcast is to foreground such historical artists as essential to our growth and self-awareness. If you’re just getting to know the podcast, this is as good a place to start as anywhere!

Countermelody is a podcast devoted to the glory and the power of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great singers of the past and present focusing in particular on those who are less well-remembered today than they should be. Daniel’s lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and journalist yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” At Countermelody’s core is the celebration of great singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. By clicking on the following link (https://linktr.ee/CountermelodyPodcast) you can find the dedicated Countermelody website which contains additional content including artist photos and episode setlists. The link will also take you to Countermelody’s Patreon page, where you can pledge your monthly or yearly support at whatever level you can afford.

Episode 372. Pears Sings Not-Britten (Pride 2025)

June 30, 2025Full-Figured Baroque, Great Tenors, Happy Birthday, In Memoriam, Johann Sebastian Bach, Lieder, Listeners' Favorites, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Orchestral Songs, Queer Pride, Schubert, Singers in Old Age, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century Opera, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAaron Copland, Acis and Galatea, Adrian Boult, Alan Bush, Alfreda Hodgson, Anon In Love, Arda Mandikian, Arne Nordheim, Arthur C. Clarke, Auferstehungs-Historie, August von Schlegel, Benjamin Britten, Bernard Van Dieren, Charles Mackerras, Charles Spinks, Christopher Hassall, Claude Debussy, David Bedford, Dennis Brain, Eric Crozier, Ezra Pound, François Couperin, Franz Schubert, George Malcolm, Gré Brouwenstijn, Gustav Holst, Harry Blech, Heinrich Schütz, Ian Partridge, Igor Stravinsky, Jean Cocteau, Jean-François Chabrun, Jephtha, Joan Sutherland, Johann Andreas Schachtner, Johann Sebastian Bach, John Dowland, John Shirley-Quirk, Juliam Bream, Karl Richter, Lennox Berkeley, Ludwig Rellstab, Ludwig Tieck, Mahābhārata, Malcolm Sargent, Martha Mödl, Mátyás Seiber, Michael Tippett, Murray Perahia, Noel Mewton-Wood, Nona Liddell, Old American Songs, Paroles tissées, Paul Verlaine, Peter Pears, Richard Lewis, Robert Schumann, Roger Norrington, Sāvitri, Steuart Bedford, Sviatoslav Richter, Sydney Keyes, Tentacles of the Dark Nebula, Terence Weil, The Heart’s Assurance, Thomas Campion, Thomas Morell, Troilus and Cressida, Viola Tunnard, Voices of the Prophets, William Blake, William Busch, William Walton, Witold Lutosławski, Zaidecountermelody

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Today may be my final episode for Pride Month 2025, but it is most certainly not my final episode celebrating and affirming Pride and all our glorious forebears who preceded us! Today’s episode is a belated birthday tribute to British tenor Peter Pears (22 June 1910 – 03 April 1986), most celebrated for his long-standing romantic and musical partnership with Benjamin Britten. However, as with my recent episode celebrating the artistry of Pierre Bernac apart from his performances of the music of Francis Poulenc, in today’s episode, there is not a note of Britten’s music to be heard. There is no question that Britten was a formative figure in Pears’ artistic development, but throughout their lives together, he performed a wide range of music, from Pérotin to Lutosławski as an independent and enormously versatile artist. In this episode, I offer selections by Webern, Handel, Copland, Couperin, Stravinsky, Dowland, Tippett, Mozart, Holst, Bach, Copland, Berkeley, Schubert, Walton, Schütz, Debussy, Handel, Nordheim, Schumann, and David Bedford, among others, to offer a surprising portrait of this fascinating singer. Even if you have not (yet) acquired a taste for this (sometimes) controversial singer, I urge you to give it a listen, for not only does it present Pears in all his varieties, it also highlights his musical partnerships with Joan Sutherland, Sviatoslav Richter, Murray Perahia, Dennis Brain, Viola Tunnard, George Malcolm, Martha Mödl, Gré Brouwenstijn, Imogen Holst, and Noel Mewton-Wood (as well as a few clips with with his life-partner Britten at the piano).

Countermelody is a podcast devoted to the glory and the power of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great singers of the past and present focusing in particular on those who are less well-remembered today than they should be. Daniel’s lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and journalist yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” At Countermelody’s core is the celebration of great singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. By clicking on the following link (https://linktr.ee/CountermelodyPodcast) you can find the dedicated Countermelody website which contains additional content including artist photos and episode setlists. The link will also take you to Countermelody’s Patreon page, where you can pledge your monthly or yearly support at whatever level you can afford.

Episode 361. Russell Oberlin Revisited

May 23, 2025Art Song, Full-Figured Baroque, Honor Your Mentors, In Memoriam, Johann Sebastian Bach, Lieder, Listeners' Favorites, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Opera in Translation, Queer Pride, Richard Strauss, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century OperaA Midsummer Night’s Dream, Ariadne auf Naxos, Benjamin Britten, Bertha Melnick, Denis Stevens, Douglas Williams, Drew Minter, Georg Solti, George Frideric Handel, George Ricci, Glenn Gould, Heinrich Heine, Henry Purcell, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Jan Rubes, Joan Carlyle, Johann Sebastian Bach, John Dowland, John Dryden, Leonard Bernstein, Loren Driscoll, Ludovico Ariosto, Ludus Danielis, Martha Blackman, Mattiwilda Dobbs, Max Leavitt, New York Pro Musica, Noah Greenberg, Paul Maynard, Paul O’Dette, Richard Strauss, Robert Goss, Robert Louis Stevenson, Robert Schumann, Rodelinda, Russell Oberlin, Seymour Barab, Stoddard Lincoln, The Play of Daniel, Thomas Sherman, William Byrd, William Shakespearecountermelody

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I’ve been so lucky this week to cross paths with several beloved friends and colleagues, in some cases for the first time in ages. One of those friends of many years’ standing is the legendary countertenor Drew Minter, with whom I made my very first appearances on the New York concert stage… well, a few years back now! Seeing Drew made me think not only to his influence on me in my early years of singing, but also of the influence of the earliest (and still to my mind the greatest) of all American countertenors, Russell Oberlin. A few years ago, I dedicated a pair of episodes to him, and today I present to you the second of those episodes, originally fashioned exclusively for my Patreon subscribers, yet another “refurbished” Countermelody episode that now sees the light of day. I explore Oberlin’s performances of medieval and renaissance music, both with the New York Pro Musica (The Play of Daniel, Dufay, and Dowland) and with the Experiences Anonymes record label (Byrd and 13th Century French Polyphony). I also offer examples of Oberlin’s expertise in performance of baroque music, offering two Bach arias (one performed with Leonard Bernstein, the other with Glenn Gould), and several Handel selections, including a complete cantata from one of his rarer LP releases. In addition, we hear a live excerpt of his Oberon in Midsummer Night’s Dream opposite the late British soprano Joan Carlyle, as well as a surprising outing as one of the commedia dell’arte players in Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos, opposite the Zerbinetta of the great African American coloratura soprano Mattiwilda Dobbs. There are additional surprises along the way. The episode opens with a heartfelt tribute to Drew, my reunion with whom prompted this episode in the first place.

Countermelody is a podcast devoted to the glory and the power of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great singers of the past and present focusing in particular on those who are less well-remembered today than they should be. Daniel’s lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and journalist yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” At Countermelody’s core is the celebration of great singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. By clicking on the following link (https://linktr.ee/CountermelodyPodcast) you can find the dedicated Countermelody website which contains additional content including artist photos and episode setlists. The link will also take you to Countermelody’s Patreon page, where you can pledge your monthly or yearly support at whatever level you can afford.

Episode 349. Lenten Melody

April 10, 2025Art Song, Canadian Singers, Forgotten Divas, Full-Figured Baroque, Great Baritones, Great Tenors, Holiday Music, Johann Sebastian Bach, Lieder, Listeners' Favorites, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Orchestral Songs, Richard Wagner, Singers in Old Age, Voiceless WondersAlbert de Klerk, Alfred Zighera, Alfreda Hodgson, Ambrose Gauntlett, Antonín Dvořák, Benjamin Britten, Camille Maurane, Cesar Franck, Charles Gounod, Daniel Pinkham, Das Marienleben, Elly Ameling, Erich Itor Kahn, Felix Mendelssohn, François Couperin, Françoise Pollet, Gundula Janowitz, Hans Knappertsbusch, Heinz Hoppe, Hendrik Andriessen, Henri Büsser, Henri Ghéon: Miroir de Peine, Henry Purcell, Hugues Cuenod, Ilse Wolf, Jacques Mercier, Jean Luce, Jennie Tourel, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes-Passion, John Donne, John Shirley-Quirk, Jon Vickers, Joseph Haydn, Kurt Masur, Laszlo Heltay, Lotte Lehmann, Marcel Journet, Marie-Claire Alain, Martin Isepp, Michael Tippett, Pablo Casals, Parsifal, Paul Hindemith, Paulus (Mendelssohn), Pelham Humfrey, Peter Pears, Picander, Rafael Kubelik, Rainer Maria Rilke, Richard Verreau, Richard Wagner, Sena Jurinac, Stabat Mater, Walter Bergmann, William Fullercountermelody

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I’ve already done a Lententide episode devoted to contraltos singing the music of Bach, but it seemed to me that in the upheaval of today’s vengeful and war-hungry world, we could use another contemplative episode to provide us with meditative (and even tuneful!) music to calm our spirits. The tunefulness comes especially from recordings of favorite religious music by Gounod, Franck, and other 19th-century French composers sung by Camille Maurane, Marcel Journet, Richard Verreau, and Françoise Pollet. Also included are a live excerpt from Parsifal with Jon Vickers and Hans Knappertsbusch; the miraculous yet voiceless Hugues Cuénod performing an excerpt from the first of Couperin’s Leçons de Ténèbres; the unsung German-British soprano Ilse Wolf in a live performance of the Bach Johannes-Passion conducted by Pablo Casals; Gundula Janowitz in a searing but brief aria from Mendelssohn’s Paulus; excerpts from settings of the Stabat Maters of Haydn and Dvorák, sung by Alfreda Hodgson, Sena Jurinac, and Heinz Hoppe; the original version of Hendrik Andriessen’s exquisite Miroir de Peine cycle for voice and organ featuring our beloved Elly Ameling; and Jennie Tourel in an excerpt from her ultra-rare recording of Hindemith’s Das Marienleben preceded by Lotte Lehmanns’s recitation of the same Rilke poem. The episode begins and ends with realizations by Benjamin Britten and Michael Tippett of Baroque masters Henry Purcell and Pelham Humfrey sung, respectively, by Peter Pears and John Shirley-Quirk.

Countermelody is a podcast devoted to the glory and the power of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great singers of the past and present focusing in particular on those who are less well-remembered today than they should be. Daniel’s lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and journalist yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” At Countermelody’s core is the celebration of great singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. By clicking on the following link (https://linktr.ee/CountermelodyPodcast) you can find the dedicated Countermelody website which contains additional content including artist photos and episode setlists. The link will also take you to Countermelody’s Patreon page, where you can pledge your monthly or yearly support at whatever level you can afford.

Episode 348. Rescue Mission II

April 8, 2025African American Singers, Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Bel canto, Black History Month, Black History Month 2025, Comic Relief, Crossover, Forgotten Divas, Full-Figured Baroque, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, Great Contraltos, Great Tenors, In Memoriam, Johann Sebastian Bach, Lieder, Listeners' Favorites, Margaret Price, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Orchestral Songs, Rescue Mission, Richard Wagner, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century Opera, Verismo, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAh Perfido!, Alan Paton, Alexandre Dumas fils, Alfredo Kraus, Anton Guadagno, Arrigo Boito, Benjamin Luxon, Berislav Klobučar, Bruno Walter, Carlo Franci, Carlo Zangarini, Claudio Abbado, Conchita, Cosi fan tutte, David Willison, Dora Wilson, Edith Mathis, El amor brujo, Eleanor Steber, Ellabelle Davis, Eugene Holmes, Ferdinando Bertoni, Francesco Maria Piave, Frederick Weatherly, Fritz Busch, George Frideric Handel, Gilda Cruz-Romo, Giuseppe Verdi, Gloria Davy, Hans Thamm, Helga Görlin, Hermann Lohr, Hugo Cohn, Hugo Conrat, Hugo Hasslo, Janet Baker, Jean Féline, Joaquín Turina, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, John Alexander, Josefina de Attard, Judith Layng, Karl Böhm, Kjell Olsson, Kurt Weill, La Traviata, Le nozze di Figaro, Léo Chauliac, Leopold Stokowski, Lohengrin, Lorenzo da Ponte, Loris Gavarini, Lost in the Stars, Ludwig van Beethoven, Mady Mesple, Manuel de Falla, Mara Coleva, Margaret Marshall, Margaret Price, María de la O Lejárraga García, Martina Arroyo, Maurizio Vaucaire, Maxwell Anderson, Mefistofele, Musas de Andalucía, Nicolai Ghiaurov, Oralia Dominguez, Orfeo ed Euridice, Paul Misraki, Pierre Louÿs, Pietro Metastasio, Ranieri de’ Calzabigi, Raymond Leppard, Ria Bollen, Riccardo Zandonai, Richard Wagner, Roberta Alexander, Walter Herbert, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Zigeunerliedercountermelody

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After I post a Countermelody episode on a cherished singer, my relationship with these artists continues: one of those manifestataions is that I never stop seeking out rare and unusual recordings featuring those singers. This results in a grab-bag of fascinating and often obscure material that is simply too good not to share with my listeners. Today I present you with the second episode of such genre, which I have collectively dubbed “Rescue Mission.” On this episode I feature singers you’ve heard on the podcast over the course of the past several weeks and months, including, among many others, Janet Baker, Oralia Domínguez, Eugene Holmes, Ellabelle Davis, Gilda Cruz-Romo, Benjamin Luxon, Mara Coleva, Hugo Hasslo, Margaret Marshall, Gloria Davy, and Mady Mesplé, performing work by Handel, Verdi, Weill, Bach, Brahms, Boito, and Mozart. The episode concludes with Eleanor Steber (because, as I affirmed laast week, you can never have enough of her), in a 1949 performance of “Ah, Perfido!” that will have you picking your dislocated jaw up off the floor. Also expect shout-outs to friends of the podcast, old and new, as well as a certain amount of political snippiness!

Countermelody is a podcast devoted to the glory and the power of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great singers of the past and present focusing in particular on those who are less well-remembered today than they should be. Daniel’s lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and journalist yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” At Countermelody’s core is the celebration of great singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. By clicking on the following link (https://linktr.ee/CountermelodyPodcast) you can find the dedicated Countermelody website which contains additional content including artist photos and episode setlists. The link will also take you to Countermelody’s Patreon page, where you can pledge your monthly or yearly support at whatever level you can afford.

Episode 347. Will the Real Eleanor Steber Please St/And Up?

April 4, 2025Art Song, Bel canto, Broadway, Crossover, Full-Figured Baroque, Giacomo Puccini, Johann Sebastian Bach, Lieder, Listeners' Favorites, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, NYCO Divas, Orchestral Songs, Queer Pride, Singers in Old Age, Twentieth Century Music, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAl Vann, Alban Berg, Alfred Hay Malotte, Allen Rogers, Alois Jeitteles, An die ferne Geliebte, Ariettes oubliées, Barron Smith, Benjamin Britten, Carl Maria von Weber, Carlo Pepoli, Claude Debussy, Der Freischütz, Edward Dearle, Edwin Biltcliffe, Eleanor Steber, Friedrich Kind, Friedrich Laun, George Frideric Handel, Giacomo Puccini, Giulio Cesare, Giuseppe Giacosa, I Puritani, Igor Kipnis, James J. Rome, James Joyce, Johann August Apel, Johann Sebastian Bach, John La Montaine, Joyce Kilmer, Live at the Continental Baths, Ludwig van Beethoven, Luigi Illica, Mary Baker Eddy, Ned Rorem, Nicholas Harsanyi, Nicola Francesco Haym, Oscar Rasbach, Paul Verlaine, Rainer Maria Rilke, Robert K. Evans, Robert Lawrence, Samuel Barber, Sieben frühe Lieder, Song of Songs, Thomas A. Ainsworth, Thomas Hardy, Tosca, Victorien Sardou, Vincenzo Bellini, Winter Words, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozartcountermelody

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Because there is no such thing as too much Eleanor Steber, today’s episode once again features the prodigiously gifted singer, in my opinion the greatest soprano the United States has ever produced, singing a dizzying range of material, most of it recorded live between the years 1958 and 1979. These recordings were nearly all private releases on Steber’s own record labels.. First, ST/AND Records, which she formed with her second husband Gordon Andrews, and which between 1960 and 1962 produced approximately fifteen LPs, all but one of them featuring Steber. Second, recordings released under the aegis of the Eleanor Steber Music Foundation, which she formed in 1973 and which released a few choice live recordings of Steber’s late career recitals. The material ranges from selections from the Christian Science Hymnal, piously presented; sentimental ballads, tackily arranged; Bach and Mozart arias; art songs by Rorem, Barber, Britten, Debussy, Berg, and Beethoven; and opera arias from I Puritani, Der Freischütz, Giulio Cesare, and Tosca, the last performed at her campy Live at the Continental Baths concert in October 1973. Though as Steber grew older, her voice occasionally sounded blowsy, on the vast majority of these recordings she sounds stunningly good. And no matter what repertoire she was singing, her impeccable technique and pristine musicianship remained intact throughout. Much of source material from which these performances stem is exceedingly rare, and for the most part difficult and costly to obtain. So in my role as supreme Steber groupie, I am honored and thrilled to share these recordings, all of them from my own personal collection.

Countermelody is a podcast devoted to the glory and the power of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great singers of the past and present focusing in particular on those who are less well-remembered today than they should be. Daniel’s lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and journalist yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” At Countermelody’s core is the celebration of great singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. By clicking on the following link (https://linktr.ee/CountermelodyPodcast) you can find the dedicated Countermelody website which contains additional content including artist photos and episode setlists. The link will also take you to Countermelody’s Patreon page, where you can pledge your monthly or yearly support at whatever level you can afford.

Episode 345. A Lenten Litany of Bach Contraltos

March 28, 2025African American Singers, Black History Month, Black History Month 2025, Forgotten Divas, Full-Figured Baroque, Great Contraltos, Great Tenors, Holiday Music, Johann Sebastian Bach, Listeners' Favorites, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Singers in Old Age, Singers of ColorAdolf Bruck, Aldo Baldin, Alfreda Hodgson, Anna Reynolds, Arleen Augér, Birgit Finnilä, Brigitte Fassbaender, Carol Brice, Carolyn Watkinson, Charles O’Connell, Christian Friedrich Henrici, Craig Smith, Daniel Saidenberg, Diethard Hellmann, Easter Oratorio, Elena Obraztsova, Else Brems, Friedel Beckmann, Günther Ramin, György Lehel, Helmut Winschermann, Helmuth Rilling, Jennie Tourel, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes-Passion, John Newmark, Julia Hamari, Karl Richter, Kathleen Ferrier, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Marian Anderson, Matthäus-Passion, Mogens Wöldike, Norma Lerer, Osteroratorium, Peter Schreier, Philip Ledger, Picander, Ria Bollen, Samuel Mayes, St. John Passion, St. Matthew Passioncountermelody

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Over the course of the past year, I have done a number of episodes on contraltos singing a wide range of material. Toward the end of last year, I did a program on Bach contraltos, which featured just a few of the best (and my favorite) contraltos in this genre. At the time, I had an overflowing cornucopia of material and today I have reorganized and expanded that material to bring you a set of Bach arias particularly appropriate for the Lenten Season. And thus I present to you today, arias from the Passions sung by Julia Hamari, Marian Anderson (pictured), and Friedel Beckmann, but also cantata arias by such eminent contraltos as Kathleen Ferrier, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Carol Brice, Jennie Tourel, Carolyn Watkinson, Ria Bollen, Brigitte Fassbaender, Norma Lerer, Alfreda Hodgson, Birgit Finnilä, Elena Obraztsova (yes, you read correctly!), Anna Reynolds, and Else Brems. Non-contralto guest appearances include Arleen Augér, Peter Schreier, and Aldo Baldin. If you are not a Christian, fear not, for behold, there is much in Bach’s music that draws the listener in on any number of levels, not just (or even primarily) a theological one.

Countermelody is a podcast devoted to the glory and the power of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great singers of the past and present focusing in particular on those who are less well-remembered today than they should be. Daniel’s lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and journalist yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” At Countermelody’s core is the celebration of great singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. By clicking on the following link (https://linktr.ee/CountermelodyPodcast) you can find the dedicated Countermelody website which contains additional content including artist photos and episode setlists. The link will also take you to Countermelody’s Patreon page, where you can pledge your monthly or yearly support at whatever level you can afford.