Tag Archives: Armin Jordan

Episode 408. Rachel Yakar, Artiste Lyrique Française

November 3, 2025Art Song, Forgotten Divas, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, In Memoriam, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Orchestral Songs, Twentieth Century OperaAlan Curtis, Albert Samain, Alice Ader, Armand Silvestre, Armin Jordan, Chansons grises, Charles d’Orléans, Charles Medlam, Claude Lavoix, Francis Poulenc, Gabriel Faure, Georges Bernanos, Gertrud von le Fort, Guillaume Lekeu, Harawi, Kent Nagano, Leconte de Lisle, Les dialogues des Carmélites, Louis-Nicolas Clérambault, Maurice Ravel, Olivier Messiaen, Paul Verlaine, Rachel Yakar, Reinhard Goebel, Reynaldo Hahn, Shéhérazade, Sully Prudhomme, Théodore de Banville, Tristan Klingsor, Victor Hugo, Yvonne Loriodcountermelody

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The great French soprano Rachel Yakar died on 24 June 2023 at the age of 87. As she frequently performed opposite our last subject, Swiss tenor Eric Tappy, this episode makes a suitable pendant to that one. Celebrated for her transcendent performances of Baroque music, (Monteverdi and the French Baroque in particular), Yakar was (like previous podcast subjects Eugene Holmes, Oralia Domínguez, Hana Janků, Gwendolyn Killebrew, and Teresa Żylis-Gara) also a member of ensemble of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf and Duisburg, with which company she performed for more than 25 years, singing a dizzying range of repertoire, everything from Mélisande to Arabella, Liù to Rusalka, Euridice to Desdemona. She also performed Donna Elvira and the Marschallin at Glyndebourne; and was an unforgettable Poppea in the Ponnelle-Harnoncourt Monteverdi cycle filmed for Unitel. In her prime she was also a frequent visitor to the recording studio, singing everything from Rameau to Varèse, Mozart to Messiaen, with conductors from Harnoncourt to Boulez, Leonhardt to Nagano. She was also a devoted song recitalist and in the later years of her career, she made two recordings of melodies for Virgin Records with the admirable support of her long-term accompanist Claude Lavoix. For the majority of this episode, I have chosen excerpts from both of those recordings, featuring the songs of Fauré and Hahn, which include settings of poets central to their output, including Paul Verlaine, Armand Silvestre, Léconte de Lisle, and Théodore de Banville, supplementing it with additional material in French by Ravel, Lekeu, Clérambault, Messiaen, and Poulenc. Yakar, who, like Régine Crespin and Nadine Denize, studied under the French dramatic soprano Germaine Lubin, was renowned for her faultless technique, her acting prowess, her peerless French diction, and her communicative artistic sensibility, traits of which are all in evidence in all of her recordings from the 1960s through the end of her career in the mid-1990s. Yakar was especially treasured by her colleagues, friends, and students for the warmth and effervescence of her personality, and her devotion to passing on her knowledge and experience to a younger generation of singers. May you delight in the delicacy, humor, precision, and pathos of one of the most prodigiously gifted and versatile vocal artists of her generation.

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 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.

Episode 254. Holy Week with the Romantics

March 27, 2024African American Singers, Great Baritones, Great Tenors, Holiday Music, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Schubert, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century MusicAlejandro Ramírez, Alfreda Hodgson, Andrew Davis, Antonín Dvořák, Armin Jordan, Christus (Liszt), Christus am Ölberge, David Rendall, Edward Elgar, Ein deutsches Requiem, Elijah (Mendelssohn), Eugene Ormandy, Felix Mendelssohn, Franz Crass, Franz Liszt, George Szell, Herbert von Karajan, István Kertész, James Conlon, Johannes Brahms, Joséphine Colomb, Judith Raskin, Leontyne Price, Les Béatitudes (Franck), Ludwig van Beethoven, Margaret Marshall, Michel Corboz, Pilar Lorengar, Rafael Kubelik, Richard Lewis, Sheila Armstrong, Shirley Verrett, Stabat Mater, The Kingdom (Elgar), Tom Krausecountermelody

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Once again we have reached the climax of the penitential season of Lent, the most theologically significant week in the Christian calendar, namely Holy Week. Even for those who are not observant Christians, this period, standing as it does on the threshold of spring, the season of rebirth, can be a time of meditation and remembrance. To help support this contemplative moment I have compiled selections from some of the larger oratorios and liturgical works composed during the Romantic era performed by some of the greatest classical vocalists of the last century. Composers include Brahms, Dvořák, Rossini, Schubert, Franck, Mendelssohn, Beethoven, and Elgar; singers include sopranos Margaret Marshall, Leontyne Price, Pilar Lorengar, Judith Raskin, and Elizabeth Harwood; mezzo-sopranos Betty Allen, Alfreda Hodgson, and Shirley Verrett; tenors David Rendall, Alejandro Ramírez, and Richard Lewis; and bass-baritones Tom Krause and Franz Crass led by conductors Andrew Davis, Eugene Ormandy, James Conlon, George Szell, Rafael Kubelik, Michel Corboz, and Herbert von Karajan. No matter what your faith or belief system, there is an outpouring of beautiful music and singing contained in this episode that will fully engage your mind and 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 support at whatever level you can afford.

Episode 143. Pelléas Part Deux

May 6, 2022French Opera, Great Baritones, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century MusicAndré Vessières, Armin Jordan, Camille Maurane, Claude Debussy, Claude Dormoy, Désiré-Émile Inghelbrecht, Elisabeth Soderstrom, Erna Spoorenberg, Ernest Ansermet, François Loup, Françoise Ogéas, Gabriel Bacquier, George London, George Shirley, Gerard Souzay, Henri-Bertrand Etcheverry, Huw Montague Rendall, Irene Joachim, Jacques Jansen, Janine Micheau, Jean Fournet, Leïla ben Sedira, Mady Mesple, Maurice Maeterlinck, Michèle Command, Micheline Grancher, Pelleas et Melisande, Pierre Boulez, Roger Désormière, Roger Gosselin, Serge Baudocountermelody

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Today I conclude my examination of my favorite opera, Claude Debussy and Maurice Maeterlinck’s Pelléas et Mélisande, with an expanded roster of singers which includes return visits from some of last week’s interpreters (Camille Maurane, Gabriel Bacquier, Gérard Souzay, Françoise Ogéas, Jacques Jansen, and Michèle Command) alongside other, equally magnificent singers (George Shirley, Janine Micheau, George London, Elisabeth Söderström, Henri-Bertrand Etcheverry, Irène Joachim, André Vessières, and others) under the batons of Jean Fournet, Pierre Boulez, Armin Jordan, as well as last week’s master helmsmen Roger Désormière and Désiré-Émile Inghelbrecht. I also foreground the young lyric baritone Huw Montague Rendall, who just last season sang his first Pelléas and who has already earned a place for himself among these other great artists. My further discussion of the opera includes discussions of Wagner, Mussorgsky, Edgar Allan Poe, and toxic masculinity, as each pertains to this piece. So many listeners wrote to tell me how last week’s episode changed their mind about this opera. Evidently I’ve done my job well. We need fewer Pelléas haters out there, and more, many more, Pelléas lovers!