Tag Archives: Albert de Klerk

Episode 316. Christmas with Elly Ameling

December 16, 2024Art Song, Comic Relief, Full-Figured Baroque, Great Baritones, Happy Birthday, Holiday Music, Lieder, Listeners' Favorites, Needle Drop, Richard Strauss, Twentieth Century MusicAlbert de Klerk, Alessandro Scarlatti, Barry McDaniel, Bernard Kruysen, Bernhard Michaelis, Charles van Lerberghe, Christmas music, Dalton Baldwin, Eduard Mörike, Elly Ameling, Hans-Martin Linde, Hans-Ulrich Mielsch, Hugo de Groot, Hugo Wolf, Ilse Brix-Meinert, Joaquín Nin, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Johannes Eccard, Johannes Koch, Joseph Haydn, Katja Phillabaum, Ludwig Helmbold, Martin Boelitz, Martin Greif, Maurice Ravel, Max Reger, Peter Cornelius, Richard Strauss, Rogier van Otterloo, Thijs van Leer, Walter Gerwig, Yolanda Marcoulescoucountermelody

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In February our beloved Elly Ameling turns 92. I cannot think of another classical singer who recorded more Christmas albums over the course of her career. One of the most obscure of these is the 1980 release “Christmas with Elly Ameling,” which was briefly available on LP, but never re-released in any format. I present it to you here complete, albeit reordered. A highlight is her performance of the delightful “Weihnachtslieder” by the German romantic composer Peter Cornelius, accompanied by Dalton Baldwin. Also included are works by Alphons Diepenbrock, Hugo Wolf, Alessandro Scarlatti, Richard Strauss, and Max Reger. That record is supplemented by excerpts from two of her earliest recordings, 1960’s “A Christmas Fantasy,” alongside Countermelody favorite Bernard Kruysen; and 1963’s “Christmas Music of the Renaissance.” Also included are a Haydn Advent cantata and two traditional Spanish carols 1977’s “Christmas Songs from Europe,” arranged by Joaquín Nin; rounded off by two exquisite Bach selections from an even rarer Elly recording, a 1979 festive Christmas concert at the Grote Kerk in Monnickendam. All of these represent Elly Ameling at her charming and exquisite best and are sure to put even the Scroogiest of my listeners in the Christmas spirit.

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 187. Elly Ameling Sings Bach

March 10, 2023Art Song, Full-Figured Baroque, Happy Birthday, Holiday Music, Lieder, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle DropAlbert de Klerk, Cees van der Krann, Coenraad Bloemendaal, Dalton Baldwin, Edward H. Tarr, Elly Ameling, Elyakim Taussig, Eugen Jochum, Franzjosef Maier, Gerhard Schmidt-Gaden, Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel, Han de Vries, Hans-Martin Linde, Hanspeter Weber, Helmut Winschermann, Helmuth Hucke, Hermann Prey, Ingo Goritzki, Janet Baker, Johann Sebastian Bach, Karl Münchinger, Kurt Thomas, Matthäus-Passion, Maurice André, Moshe Hammer, Neville Marriner, Paul Steinitz, Raymond Leppard, Reinhard Peters, Richte van der Meer, Roger Birnstingl, St. Matthew Passion, Weichet nur (Wedding Cantata), William Bennettcountermelody

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An artist whose singing has been with me throughout my entire life journey is Dutch soprano Elly Ameling, who on February 8 celebrated her 90th birthday. Ameling was most celebrated as a singer of art song, and justly so, but another repertoire she performed with particular grace and aplomb was the music of the baroque, specifically the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. This, the first of a pair of Ameling episodes planned for this season, presents her exclusively in that repertoire, in live performances and recordings over the course of her career’s prime, from the mid-sixties through the mid-eighties. I have chosen to focus on three works which she performed frequently and for which we have more than one recorded example extant: Cantata 51, “Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen”; Cantata 202, “Weichet nur,” the so-called Wedding Cantata; and the St. Matthew Passion. I feature extended excerpts from each of these works as well as a smattering of Ameling performances of other Bach works, as well a song once wrongly attributed to Bach, “Bist du bei mir.” Throughout this episode, Ameling’s key artistic virtues are on full display: a crystalline voice of ineffable purity; an impeccable vocal technique that encompassed long-limbed cantilena as well as rapid-fire coloratura; and a verbal acuity that, even in such technically challenging music, always put the words first and foremost. She is the ideal Bach singer, and, dare I say it, maybe the finest Bach soprano that ever lived.

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 support at whatever level you can afford. Bonus episodes available exclusively to Patreon supporters are currently available and further bonus content including interviews and livestreams is planned for the upcoming season.

Episode 170. Oralia Domínguez

November 11, 2022Art Song, Bel canto, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Giuseppe Verdi, Gustav Mahler, Happy Birthday, In Memoriam, Mezzo Madness, Mirella Freni, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century MusicAida, Albert de Klerk, Alberto Zedda, Alceste, Alcina, Antonio Ghislanzoni, Antonio Vivaldi, Arrigo Boito, Camille Saint-Saens, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Claudio Monteverdi, Das Lied von der Erde, Edmundo Baez, Eugène Scribe, Euripides, Falstaff, Federico García Lorca, Felix de Nobel, Ferdinand Lemaire, Ferenc Fricsay, Gaetano Donizetti, George Frideric Handel, George van Renesse, Georges Bizet, Geraint Evans, Gioacchino Rossini, Giovanni Francesco Busenello, Giuseppe Verdi, Guido Picco, Gustav Mahler, Hans Bethge, Henri Meilhac, Irène Aïtoff, Jean Fournet, Jean Martinon, Joan Sutherland, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, József Simándy, Juditha triumphans, Jules Massenet, L’incoronazione di Poppea, La favorita, La favorite, La Gioconda, Lamberto Gardelli, Li-Tai-Po, Ludovic Halévy, Ludovico Ariosti, Maria Callas, Martina Arroyo, Mirella Freni, Monica Sinclair, Nelly Wagenaar, Nicola Rescigno, Oliviero de Fabritiis, Oralia Dominguez, Paul Kletzki, Petite messe solennelle, Prosper Mérimée, Ranieri de’ Calzabigi, Raymond Leppard, Richard Kraus, Salvador Moreno, Samson et Dalila, Silvestre Revueltas, Victor Hugo, Vittorio Gui, Werther, William Shakespearecountermelody

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Earlier this year, in an episode entitled “Women of Color Sing Mahler,” I provided many of my listeners to their first exposure to the Mexican contralto Oralia Domínguez (25 October 1925 – 25 November 2013). Domínguez is famed for her collaborations with such musical giants as Maria Callas and Herbert von Karajan, but on her own terms, she ranks alongside those monumental true contraltos like Marian Anderson and Kathleen Ferrier. Though there is no question that she was underrecorded, she left a handful of classic commercial recordings, and a plethora of recorded live performances which an artist both technically grounded and fearless in expression, one whose legato singing exuded repose just as her phenomenal coloratura singing generates genuine excitement. I cannot say enough about this artist, who has rapidly become one of my very favorites! The episode features Domínguez in a wide range of material, from Monteverdi, Handel, and Vivaldi to the meat and potatoes roles in the standard operatic repertoire (Verdi, Rossini, Donizetti, Ponchielli, Saint-Saëns, Massenet) as well as less familiar fare by Michael Tippett and Mexican composers Silvestre Revueltas and Salvador Moreno. Along the way our Earth Goddess is joined by fellow singers Joan Sutherland, Martina Arroyo, Mirella Freni, József Simándy, Monica Sinclair, and, of course, Maria Callas. A bonus episode published concurrently on Patreon presents Domínguez in extended operatic scenes and further rare song material.

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 support at whatever level you can afford. Bonus episodes available exclusively to Patreon supporters are currently available and further bonus content including interviews and livestreams is planned for the upcoming season.