Tag Archives: Benjamin Britten

Episode 212. Ian Partridge

August 31, 2023Art Song, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Great Tenors, Happy Birthday, Lieder, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Schubert, Singers in Old Age, Twentieth Century MusicArnold Bax, Arnold Schoenberg, Benjamin Britten, Brian Etheridge, Bruno Turner, Charles Spinks, Christopher Bishop, Christopher Wilson, Claudio Monteverdi, Colin Davis, Colin Tilney, David Willcocks, Detlev von Liliencron, Edward Shanks, Eric Crozier, Ernest Ansermet, Franz Schubert, Fredegond Shove, Frederick Delius, George Frideric Handel, Georges Bizet, Grayston Burgess, Hector Berlioz, Heinrich Schütz, Henry Purcell, Hermannus Contractus, Hugh Bean, Ian Partridge, Ivor Gurney, Jakob Lindberg, James Griffett, Janet Craxton, Jennifer Partridge, Jill Gomez, Johann Mayrhofer, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Jürgen Jürgens, Kevin Smith, Les Troyens, Louis Halsey, Michael Dussek, Moritz Horn, Nigel Rogers, Norman Walker, Ottavio Rinuccini, Paul Beier, Peter Warlock, Philip Heseltine, Philip Sidnely, Pierre Boulez, Pro Cantione Antiqua, Prunella Scales, Queen Victoria, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Richard Burnett, Roger Norrington, Russell Burges, Saint Nicolas, The Fairy Queen, Thomas Beecham, Thomas Betterton, Thomas Campion, Thomas Ford, Walter Scott, William Byrd, William Hunt, William Shakespearecountermelody

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Ian Partridge, the quintessential English lyric tenor, celebrated his 85th birthday in June. I may be a few weeks late in celebrating that event, but my enthusiasm and admiration for this singer has remained at a consistent level ever since I first discovered his voice on a recording of songs by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Partridge, in fact, has left a vast recorded legacy, including work as both a solo concert artist and recitalist and as a member of such distinguished choral groups as Pro Cantione Antiqua, the Wilbye Consort, and the Louis Halsey Singers. His solo repertoire ranged from 11th century plainsong to the thornier musical 20th century idioms of Schoenberg and Britten. This episode samples the vast array of that recorded legacy, including examples from the Baroque period by Bach, Schütz, Handel, and Monteverdi; through art songs by Schubert, Brahms, Fauré, Bax, Gurney, and Warlock. We also hear him live from Covent Garden in his sole operatic role, the Carthaginian poet Iopas in Berlioz’s Les Troyens, and in lute songs and consort music by Campion and Byrd. In all these performances the voice is produced with such ease, the tone so pure and ethereally beautiful, yet never faked or “finessed,” while the interpretations themselves, no matter the musical style, are full of depth, integrity, and subtlety. Here is an enormously satisfying artist who embodies integrity and dedication to his craft. Guest stars include Jill Gomez, Nigel Rogers, Pierre Boulez, Benjamin Britten, Colin Davis, Ernest Ansermet, Norman Walker, Prunella Scales, and the tenor’s sister, pianist Jennifer Partridge, with whom he gave over 400 song recitals.

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 206. Jerry Hadley

July 18, 2023Art Song, Bel canto, Broadway, Crossover, French Opera, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Tenors, In Memoriam, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Operetta, Orchestral Songs, Pop Icons, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century Opera, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAlexander Borodin, Anthony Halstead, Arthur Rimbaud, Benjamin Britten, Candide, Carlo Rizzi, Charles Gounod, Charles Mackerras, Cosi fan tutte, Dawn Upshaw, Die tote Stadt, Die Zauberflöte, Edna Ferber, Elmer Rice, Emanuel Schikaneder, Eric Dalheim, Erich Korngold, Franz Lehár, Frederick Weatherly, Fritz Löhner-Beda, Gaetano Donizetti, George Forrest, Georges Bizet, Giuseppe Verdi, Gualtiero Negrini, Henry Lewis, James Levine, Jay Gorney, Jerome Kern, Jerry Hadley, John Mauceri, John McGlinn, Kismet, Kurt Weill, Langston Hughes, Leonard Bernstein, Les Illuminations, Lorenzo da Ponte, Oscar Hammerstein II, Paul Gemignani, Paul Knepler, Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky, Richard Bonynge, Richard Wilbur, Robert Shaw, Robert Wright, Ruth Ann Swenson, Scott Bergeson, Seiji Ozawa, Sherman Edwards, Show Boat, Street Scene, William Boughton, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Yevgeny Onegin, Yip Harburgcountermelody

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Jerry Hadley (16 June 1952 – 18 July 2007) is regarded by many as the most gifted American lyric tenor of the late 20th century. Last month he would have celebrated his 71st birthday. And today is the sixteenth anniversary of his untimely death. I knew Jerry well in the early 2000s when he was dating one of my best friends. Our friendship developed separately from that: in those years in which he was working at rebuilding his voice and career we worked together on a cross-section of his old and new repertoire. At the time of his death, he was no longer romantically involved with my friend, so he and I had drifted apart. Nevertheless, it hit me very, very hard, and I mourn his loss to this day. On that front, I have quite a few things to say about singers and mental illness, and the ruthlessness, implacability, and heartlessness of a profession which so often chews up the most vulnerable of us and spits them back out. When Jerry was at his best, his art sustained him, but the challenges ultimately became too much for him to face. But this episode is primarily a celebration: my primary objective is to present my friend at his exceptional best, in performances, both live and studio, which celebrate his voice, artistry, and spirit, performances which provided his public with some of the finest tenor singing they would ever hear, in that, or any other, era.

WARNING: THIS EPISODE CONTAINS A DISCUSSION OF SUICIDE AND SUICIDAL IDEATION.

Episode 201. Britten – Pears (Pride 2023)

June 16, 2023Art Song, Comic Relief, Drag Performance, Great Tenors, Lieder, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Orchestral Songs, Queer Pride, Schubert, Singers in Old Age, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century OperaA Midsummer Night’s Dream, A Shropshire Lad, A.E. Housman, Aaron Copland, Adrian Mitchell, Alexander Pushkin, Anton Friedrich Reil, Benjamin Britten, Billy Budd, Charles Dibdin, Claudio Arrau, Colin McPhee, Curlew River, Death in Venice, Dichterliebe, E.M. Forster, Eric Crozier, Francis Quarles, Frank Bridge, Franz Schubert, Gabriel Faure, Georg Friedrich Daumer, George Crabbe, Glenda Jackson, Gustav Holst, Heather Harper, Heinrich Heine, Herman Melville, Humbert Wolfe, Johannes Brahms, Kanze Jūrō, La bonne chanson, Leslie Woodgate, Liebeslieder-Walzer, Meredith Davies, Michelangelo Buonarotti, Montagu Slater, Myfanwy Piper, On this Island, Paul Verlaine, Peter Grimes, Peter Pears, Peter Warlock, Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Reginald Goodall, Richard Peaslee, Robert Schumann, Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo, Stevie Smith, Sumidagawa, Thomas Hardy, Thomas Mann, W.H. Auden, War Requiem, Wilfred Owen, William Butler Yeats, William Plomer, William Shakespeare, Winter Words, Yevgeny Onegin, Zorian String Quartetcountermelody

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Today’s episode explores the lives and loves of two of the most significant figures in twentieth century music: Benjamin Britten, the dean of British composers and the tenor Peter Pears, his partner, lover, inspiration and muse for nearly forty years. When as a lost young gay boy I first encountered their music-making I intuited that these two men were lovers, that they represented a way forward for me out of a lonely and forlorn childhood. Whether in the many songs and cycles that Britten fashioned for him or the operatic roles, beginning with the title role of Peter Grimes, that were tailor-made for him, Pears remains the ideal interpreter of his partner’s music, possessed as he was of a distinctive (some would say peculiar) voice, supple, reedy yet surprisingly powerful, along with pinpoint musical precision, plangent expressivity and dramatic aptitude. The episode features excerpts from many of Britten’s most explicitly gay compositions, surprising for a man living in Britain while sex between men was still illegal, including the operas Peter Grimes, Curlew River, Billy Budd, and Death in Venice and his settings of poetry by Michelangelo, Shakespeare, Auden, and Francis Quarles. We also hear Pears and Britten in live and recorded performance of songs and arias by other composers, including composers Britten revered (Schumann, Schubert, Tchaikovsky, and Frank Bridge), and those of whose music he was much less fond (including Vaughan Williams and Brahms). The episode contains more biographical information than your typical Countermelody episode, and does not shy away from some of the thorniest questions that one must confront when discussing these two controversial figures. But in the end it is first and foremost a celebration of the music Britten and Pears made together and the love they shared for 40 years. The episode begins with a heartfelt (and heartbroken) tribute to the great Glenda Jackson, who died this week at the age of 87.

Episode 197. Theatre Dreams

May 19, 2023African American Singers, Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Broadway, Comic Relief, French Opera, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, Great Tenors, Happy Birthday, In Memoriam, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Opera in Translation, Operetta, Renata Scotto, Richard Wagner, Singers in Old Age, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century Opera, Verismo, Voiceless Wonders, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAbbé Prevost, Alain Boublil, Alice Ripley, Arnold Schoenberg, Arrigo Boito, Arthur Endrèze, Benjamin Britten, Birgit Nilsson, Biserka Cvejić, Bohuslav Martinů, Brigitte Fassbaender, Carl Maria von Weber, Cesare Valletti, Charles Gounod, Charles Kullman, Claude Devos, Claude-Michel Schönberg, Cy Coleman, Daniel Gundlach, Der Freischütz, Der Zigeunerbaron, Deva Dassy, Dorothy Fields, Edith Mathis, Eduard Künneke, Eleanor Steber, Elektra, Emily Skinner, Ettore Panizza, Eugen Jochum, Fiddler on the Roof, Frank Porretta, Franz Allers, Frieder Weissmann, Gabriel Faure, Georg Solti, Georges Neveux, Geraint Evans, Giovanni Martinelli, Giuseppe Verdi, Grace Bumbry, Hanna Binyamini, Harold Barlow, Henri Defosse, Henri Meilhac, Hildegard Behrens, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Ira Gershwin, Iris (Mascagni), Ivo Žídek, Izhak Graziani, Jacques Brel, Jacques Offenbach, James Levine, Janet Baker, Jaroslav Krombholc, Jean Laforge, Jerry Bock, Joe Darion, Johann Strauss II, José Van Dam, Jules Barbier, Jules Gressier, Jules Massenet, Kurt Weill, La Belle Helene, Lady in the Dark, Lawrence Tibbett, Lea Dulitzkaya, Lee Venora, Leopold Ludwig, Léopold Marchand, Les Misérables, Lloyd Arriola, Lohengrin, Louis Beydts, Ludovic Halévy, Luigi Illica, Man of La Mancha, Manon, Mária Tauberová, Marie Pappenheim, Martin Isepp, Mattiwilda Dobbs, Melitta Muszely, Michel Carré, Mitch Leigh, Nello Santi, Nicolai Gedda, Oklahoma!, Oscar Hammerstein II, Otello, Patrick Baton, Philippe Gille, Pierre Monteux, Pietro Mascagni, Renata Scotto, René Leibowitz, Richard Rodgers, Richard Strauss, Richard Tauber, Richard Wagner, Robert Massard, Robert Stolz, Roland Gilbert, Romand Bussine, Roméo et Juliette, Sheldon Harnick, Shmuel Rudenski, Shraga Friedman, Spiros Argiris, Sweet Charity, The King and I, Todd Ellison, Victoria de los Angeles, William Shakespeare, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Zafrira Yaronicountermelody

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I’ve been plotting an episode on the subject of Dreams for a while. Given the profusion of music that references that altered state of consciousness, my challenge was narrowing down the topic. I chose to focus today on theater music (opera, operetta, and musicals) that references actual rather than figurative dreams. Even within these parameters, there was a plethora of material and as usual my repertoire choices are strangely and uniquely my own. So on this episode you’ll hear everything from a 1965 recording of Tevye’s Dream from Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish, from the first Israeli production of the musical; Renata Scotto in late career essaying the haunted dreamscapes of Arnold Schoenberg’s monodrama Erwartung; Mattiwilda Dobbs in a rare 1952 recording of “Ruhe sanft, mein holdes Leben” from Mozart’s Zaide; excerpts from unusual French and German operettas featuring Robert Massard and Charles Kullman, respectively; birthday tributes to Birgit Nilsson and Richard Tauber; and the great Welsh bass Geraint Evans in a live performance of Bottom’s Dream from Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. And much, much more, including a teaser of next week’s subject the Italian lyric tenor Cesare Valletti; and Janet Baker live in recital in 1966, a preview of the first in a series of bonus episodes that will feature rare LPs from my personal collection. As always, thanks for your support; enjoy!

Episode 192. Virginia Zeani: The Soul of the Voice

April 14, 2023Behind the Iron Curtain, Bel canto, Full-Figured Baroque, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, In Memoriam, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century Opera, VerismoAida, Alberto Zedda, Alexander Pushkin, Alexandre Dumas, Alfredo Simonetto, Antonio Ghislanzoni, Arrigo Boito, Aureliano Pertile, Benjamin Britten, Boris Godunov, Carlo Sabajno, Cornel Trailescu, David Belasco, Death in Venice, Don Carlo, Edward Downes, Francesco Cavalli, Francesco Maria Piave, Franz Bauer Theussl, Friedrich Schiller, Gaetano Donizetti, George Frideric Handel, Giacomo Puccini, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, Gioacchino Rossini, Giulio Cesare, Giuseppe Giacosa, Giuseppe Verdi, Gloria Foglizzo, Henry Purcell, Ildebrando Pizzetti, Ion Buzea, James Bowman, Jean Bobescu, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Wolfgang Goethe, La Calisto, La Traviata, Leopold Stokowski, Lohengrin, Luigi Illica, Lute Songs, Lydia Lipowska, Madama Butterfly, Matthäus-Passion, Mefistofele, Melitta Muszely, Mihai Bradiceanu, Modest Mussorgsky, Myfanwy Piper, Nicola Rossi-Lemeni, Nicolae Herlea, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Otello, Philip Ledger, Raymond Leppard, Richard Wagner, Robert Stolz, Robert Tear, Salvadore Cammarano, Snegurochka, T.S. Eliot, The Fairy Queen, Thomas Mann, Tosca, Vincenzo Bellezza, Virginia Zeani, Walter Scott, Walther von der Vogelweide, William Shakespearecountermelody

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A number of significant classical and opera singers have died in this calendar year, and this episode pays tribute to three of them. First, James Bowman, the most significant British countertenor since Alfred Deller, who died on March 27th in his 82nd year. Second, Melitta Muszely, the Austrian jugendlich dramatisch soprano of Hungarian origin who died in her native Vienna at the age of 95 on January 18. And finally, a loss which reverberated around the operatic world with particularly poignancy and finality, the great Romanian soprano Virginia Zeani, who died on March 20 at the age of 97. While the focus of the episode is on Zeani, I also discuss the significance and contributions of Bowman and Muszely in detail, as well as offering examples of some of their best recordings. In the case of Zeani, I offer a thorough career and biographical overview, including excerpts from her rare studio recordings as well as live material from both the early and late years of her performing career. Also included are recordings by her teachers Lydia Lipowska and Aureliano Pertile, and her husband, the Italian-Russian bass Nicola Rossi Lemeni. And leave it to me to find a way of bringing three such disparate artists as Bowman, Muszely, and Zeani together at the conclusion of the episode!

Episode 181. Nicolai Gedda in Song

January 27, 2023Art Song, In Memoriam, Lieder, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Orchestral Songs, Richard Strauss, Schubert, Singers in Old Age, Twentieth Century MusicAldo Ciccolini, Alexander Pushkin, Alexander Tcherepnin, Alexander Varlamov, Alexis Weissenberg, Anthony Miranda, Ben Jonson, Benjamin Britten, Charles Gounod, Dalton Baldwin, Dichterliebe, Die schöne Müllerin, Edda Moser, Edvard Grieg, Erik Werba, Francis Poulenc, Franz Schubert, Frederic Waldman, Gabriel Faure, Geoffrey Parsons, Gerald Moore, Gerhard Singer, Hector Berlioz, Heinrich Heine, Henri Duparc, Hermann Reutter, Jan Eyron, Jean Sibelius, Johann Mayrhofer, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Leconte de Lisle, Leos Janacek, Nicolai Gedda, Nikolai Tcherepnin, Ottorino Respighi, Paul Éluard, Richard Strauss, Sergei Rachmaninov, Silvio Varviso, Spanisches Liederspiel, Théophile Gautier, Wilhelm Müller, William Faulkner, Wolfgang Sawallischcountermelody

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Today’s episode is a special request from one of my most dedicated listeners, and one with which I am happy to comply. It is already seven years this month since the death of the great Swedish tenor Nicolai Gedda (11 July 1925 – 8 January 2017). One of the most cultivated singers of the twentieth century, Gedda not only had a rock-solid technique and an instantly recognizable timbre, but he was a brilliant musician and a polyglot of the first order, singing a wide range of repertoire and styles in a host of languages. He was also a prolific recording artist. Though he sang an enormous range of operatic roles, in this episode, I have decided to focus entirely on a slightly lesser-known aspect of his career: his work in art song. Gedda was a master of French style, but also celebrated for his performances of Russian music. And one of the three languages he spoke while he was growing up was German, which lends his work in that language a real authenticity as well. In listening to recordings of song repertoire, I was struck by the frequent added spontaneity and commitment of his live versus his studio performances, so the episode features a large number of selections culled from Gedda’s live recitals. Gedda is accompanied by some of the most exceptional pianists of his time: Alexis Weissenberg, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Gerald Moore, Geoffrey Parsons, Dalton Baldwin, Erik Werba, Hermann Reutter, and his compatriot and most frequent collaborator Jan Eyron. Another extraordinary aspect of Gedda’s singing was his longevity. We hear him in songs by Strauss, Berlioz, Schubert, Janáček, Duparc, Grieg, Schumann, Fauré, Respighi, and Gounod, recorded over a period of nearly 40 years. Here is another singer who was active into the twilight of his life and sang into his seventies with both the intimacy and clarion power that were his musical trademarks.

Episode 177. Great Singers at Twilight

December 30, 2022African American Singers, Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Bel canto, Black History Month, Broadway, Crossover, French Opera, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, Happy Birthday, Holiday Music, In Memoriam, Lieder, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Pop Icons, Queer Pride, Schubert, Singers in Old Age, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, Verismo, Voiceless WondersA Little Night Music, Adelaide Hall, Adelina Patti, Alan Jay Lerner, Alban Berg, Alberta Hunter, Alexander Pushkin, Armand Silvestre, Benjamin Britten, Billy Budd, Brandi Carlile, Burt Bacharach, Cesar Franck, Cole Porter, David Atherton, Duke Ellington, Eileen Farrell, Elisabeth Welch, Frank Wedekind, Franz Schubert, Freda Payne, Gabriel Faure, George Gershwin, Giuseppe Verdi, Grace Bumbry, Günter Neuhold, Hans Altmann, Hans Hotter, Harold Arlen, Harry Plunket Greene, Helen Donath, Herman Melville, Hugues Cuenod, Ira Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Jeffrey Tate, Johnny Mathis, Johnny Mercer, Joni Mitchell, Jules Massenet, Karl Erb, Klaus Donath, Kurt Weill, La sonnambula, Leonard Bernstein, Leontyne Price, Lotte Lenya, Love Life (Weill), Lulu (Berg), Magda Olivero, Marco Montanari, Mark Reizen, Marlene Dietrich, Patricia Wise, Paul Gemignani, Pique-Dame, Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky, Regina Resnik, Richard Lewis, Rita Gorr, Robert McFerrin, Rose Dobos, Stephen Sondheim, Sylvia Olden Lee, Ted Koehler, Un ballo in maschera, Vincenzo Bellini, Wilhelm Müller, Winterreise, Yevgeny Onegin, Yip Harburg, Yuri Simonovcountermelody

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For the last episode of 2022, I begin a series of episodes which was one of the reasons I began Countermelody in the fall of 2019: a celebration of great singing from great singers in the late years of their lives and careers. In the early years of the recording industry, a long-retired artist such as Adelina Patti would consent to leave recorded documents of their voices for future generations to experience. Oftentimes a cherished artist will make a guest cameo appearance at an important event (think of Leontyne Price coming out of retirement at age 74 and singing “God Bless America” at the September 30, 2001 memorial concert at Carnegie Hall). Other times, artists like Johnny Mathis, Regina Resnik, or Helen Donath, simply never retire, but continue to bestow their artistry upon us decade after decade. Sometimes, as is the case of Lotte Lenya, a performer finds herself later in her life on a mission which demands that she resume performing, in Lenya’s case, as a means of securing the musical legacy of her late husband Kurt Weill. There is also, in the case of someone like Alberta Hunter or Elisabeth Welch, the thrill of a jazz or pop artist at the end of her life experiencing a career resurgence at the end of a long life. In the classical world, artists late in their lives can still give extraordinary performances of art song, which makes fewer demands on their voices than taxing operatic roles, while allowing full display of their deepened artistry and experience. There are also operatic roles specifically designed for the more mature artist: roles like Schigolch in Lulu, or the Countess in Pique-Dame, among many others, which are sampled here in performances by Hans Hotter and Rita Gorr, respectively. There are also those rare and exceptional artists who are able to perform movingly even into their nineties, like the Ukrainian bass Mark Reizen, or the verismo soprano Magda Olivero; or after having suffered catastrophic physical setbacks, like the German tenor Karl Erb, the African American baritone Robert McFerrin, or the pop icon Joni Mitchell. These artists (along with many others) and this topic seems deeply appropriate as 2022 draws to a close and we look forward to the inevitable challenges, the blank slate, the looming horizon, of the year to come.

Episode 174. Song of Songs

December 8, 2022African American Singers, Art Song, Canadian Singers, In Memoriam, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Orchestral Songs, Pop Icons, Queer Pride, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century MusicAntoine Brumel, Benjamin Britten, Bernard Haitink, Bertus van Lier, Chanticleer, Claudio Monteverdi, Daniel Lesur, David Willcocks, Edmund Spenser, Edward Bairstow, Eleanor Steber, Elly Ameling, Emmanuel Chabrier, Eric Ericson, Ernest Ansermet, Ernest MacMillan, Francis Quarles, Gary Schneider, Giovanni Luigi da Palestrina, Herbert Elwell, Howard Mitchell, India Adams, Irene Papas, Jack Gould, Jean-Yves Daniel-Lesur, Jennie Tourel, Jerzy Katlewicz, John Eliot Gardiner, John LaMontaine, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Kate Bush, Krzysztof Penderecki, Leonard Bernstein, Leontyne Price, Lois Marshall, Lukas Foss, Martina Arroyo, New York Polyphony, Nicholas Harsanyi, Peter Pears, Philip Langridge, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Ray Martin, Stephen Cleobury, Stephen Roberts, Susan May Schneider, Suzanne Danco, Sviatoslav Richter, Vangelis, Vic Mazzy, William Waltoncountermelody

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This week is a continuation of my memorial tribute to my dear friend and colleague Susan May Schneider, who died last week after a long struggle with cancer. Susan’s husband Gary, a composer and conductor, wrote a stunning song cycle for Susan using texts from the biblical Song of Songs, and this episode is bookended with their live 2000 performance of two of those songs. I supplement this with further material which all use texts based on the Song of Songs. This includes choral works by composers from Brumel and Palestrina, Walton and Bairstow to Penderecki and Daniel-Lesur; pop songs by India Adams and Kate Bush; orchestral song cycles, cantatas, and oratorios performed by Lois Marshall, Elly Ameling, Jennie Tourel, Leontyne Price, Eleanor Steber, and Suzanne Danco; and works from such surprising compositional sources as Stockhausen and Vangelis.

Episode 161. Janet Baker: Subject of the Queen

September 9, 2022Art Song, Bel canto, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Happy Birthday, In Memoriam, Lieder, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Opera in Translation, Schubert, Twentieth Century MusicAlceste, Alexander Gibson, Benjamin Britten, Charles Mackerras, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Franz Schubert, Gaetano Donizetti, Gloriana (Britten), Hector Berlioz, Henry Purcell, Ivor Gurney, Janet Baker, Joan Cross, Johann Sebastian Bach, John Pritchard, La Mort de Cléopâtre, Maria Stuarda, Martin Isepp, Matthäus von Collin, Neville Marriner, Paul Hamburger, Pauline Tinsley, Raymond Leppard, William Plomercountermelody

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The world changed yesterday with the death of Queen Elizabeth II, whose subjects in the United Kingdom just this summer celebrated the 70th year of her reign. How do I, as a progressive (and non-British) person, neither a royalist nor an imperialist, commemorate her passing with the respect that she deserves? I found my answer, as I so often do in other of life’s conundrums, in the artistry of Janet Baker, who celebrated her 89th birthday on 17 August, and who, in her day was often known as “the English Rose.” There is something about Baker’s artistic personality: her nobility of utterance, her gravitas, her humanity, that made her a particularly striking interpreter of various queens in the operatic literature, from Alceste and Dido to Mary Stuart. And because, from the time of her Carnegie Hall debut in 1966 until her final appearance there in 1989, seven years after her official retirement from the operatic scene, she was a fixture of the New York concert scene, she also fits quite comfortably into the framework of this summer’s celebration of musical life in New York between the years 1950 and 1975. Her towering operatic performances of roles by Gluck, Donizetti, Berlioz, and Purcell, are balanced with her profoundly moving performances of music by Bach, Gurney, and Schubert. Queen Elizabeth II is further memorialized by an excerpt from the world premiere performance of Benjamin Britten’s Gloriana, composed for, and premiered six days after, her coronation in 1953.

Episode 158. Russell Oberlin

August 19, 2022Art Song, Full-Figured Baroque, Lieder, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Queer Pride, Twentieth Century MusicA Midsummer Night’s Dream, Alexander Schneider, Alfonso el Sabio, Alfred Deller, Alice Parker, Anthony Lewis, Benjamin Britten, Bernard Krainis, Cantigas de Santa Maria, Charles Bressler, Claudio Monteverdi, countertenor, Daniel Arnault, Denis Stevens, Douglas Williams, François Couperin, Georg Solti, George Frideric Handel, Godric of Finchale, Henry Purcell, Hugo Wolf, Italienisches Liederbuch, Johann Sebastian Bach, John Blow, John Dowland, John Dunstable, John Ferrante, Joseph Iadone, Leonard Bernstein, Ludus Danielis, Martha Blackman, New York Pro Musica, Noah Greenberg, Paul Maynard, PDQ Bach, Peter Schickele, Robert Shaw, Russell Oberlin, Seymour Barab, St. Godric, Stoddard Lincoln, The Play of Daniel, Thomas Dunn, Troubador songs, William Byrdcountermelody

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Hearing the voice of countertenor Russell Oberlin (1928 – 2016) as a soloist with the Robert Shaw Chorale was one of the formative experiences of my early life. I doubt that I would ever have become a countertenor myself had it not been for that beacon of a voice as my shining ideal and example. Many years after his early retirement from singing he extended kindness and generosity to me in a way that has always remained with me. Since I have begun the podcast and with rare exceptions, I generally shy away from discussing other countertenors. Today I break my silence on the topic to present to you the greatest countertenor of them all in all his uniqueness. From his early days as a founding member of the New York Pro Musica and his series of medieval and renaissance music, through his electrifying stage appearances as Oberon in Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, through his standard-setting appearances in Handel and his unexpected but charming expertise as a singer of art song and reciter of poetry: all these aspects of Oberlin’s versatility and artistry are herein represented. A special vocal guest is the tenor Charles Bressler (1926 – 1996), like Oberon a founding member of the New York Pro Musica, who is heard in four duets with Oberlin. Perhaps Oberlin’s greatest achievement lies in the simplicity and nobility of his performances of the music of Henry Purcell, who is also well-represented here. This episode is a must for all lovers of great singing in general and specifically for all who want to hear what well-equalized, technically balanced and secure countertenor singing sounds like.

Episode 125. Jon Vickers (Great Canadian Singers)

January 21, 2022Art Song, Canadian Singers, Eileen Farrell, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Gustav Mahler, Lieder, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Renata Scotto, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Schubert, Twentieth Century Music, VerismoAn die ferne Geliebte, Andrea Chénier, Benjamin Britten, Brigitte Fassbaender, Bruno Bartoletti, Carmen, Colin Davis, Das Lied von der Erde, Dido and Aeneas, Die Walküre, Eileen Farrell, Ernest MacMillan, Fidelio, Franz Schubert, George Frideric Handel, Georges Bizet, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Gustav Mahler, Hans Knappertsbusch, Henry Purcell, Herbert von Karajan, Joan Caplan, Joan Carlyle, Jon Vickers, Kenneth Patchen, Leo Barkin, Leonie Rysanek, Ludwig van Beethoven, Luigi Cherubini, Maria Callas, Medea (Cherubini), Messiah (Handel), Nicola Rescigno, Otello, Otto Klemperer, Pagliacci, Renata Scotto, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Richard Woitach, Rudolf Kempe. Salome, Ruggero Leoncavallo, Srul Irving Glick, Tosca, Tristan und Isolde, Tullio Serafin, Umberto Giordano, Wilhelm Müller, William Steinberg, Winterreisecountermelody

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Our series saluting great Canadian singers continues with a tribute to one of the greatest singers I have ever seen in performance, the Saskatchewan-born tenor Jon Vickers. Not only was he a profoundly imaginative and creative singing actor, he was also one of the most problematic personalities to appear on the operatic stage in the second half of the twentieth century. I discuss many of the controversies surrounding Vickers the man, in particular his virulent homophobia and sexism, while still giving full attention to his unmatched artistry. I feature both live and studio recordings over the course of his entire career, encompassing both opera and art song, focusing on what are probably his four greatest operatic roles: Florestan, Otello, Peter Grimes, and Tristan. Vocal guest stars include Maria Callas, Eileen Farrell, Joan Carlyle, Leonie Rysanek, and Renata Scotto; conductors include Colin Davis, Otto Klemperer, Tullio Serafin, Rudolf Kempe, Nicola Rescigno, William Steinberg, and Herbert von Karajan.

Episode 123. Lois Marshall (Great Canadian Singers)

January 7, 2022Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Full-Figured Baroque, Giacomo Puccini, Gustav Mahler, Lieder, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Schubert, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, VerismoAchim von Arnim, Acis and Galatea, Adalbert von Chamisso, Ah Perfido!, Anne Frank, Anthony Bernard, Anton Kuerti, Benjamin Britten, Brian Priestman, Chansons de Bilitis, Claude Debussy, Clemens Brentano, Des Knaben Wunderhorn, Eduard Grikurov, Eduardo Pedrazolli, Ernest MacMillan, Folk Songs, Franz Schubert, Frauenliebe und -leben, George Frideric Handel, George van Renesse, Giacomo Puccini, Glenn Gould, Grace Bumbry, Gustav Mahler, Healey Willan, Heinrich Heine, Henry Purcell, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, John Dryden, John Weldon, Joseph Haydn, Judy Loman, La Clemenza di Tito, Lois Marshall, Ludwig van Beethoven, Manuel de Falla, Maureen Forrester, Orford String Quartet, Oskar Morawetz, Ottorino Respighi, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Pierre Louÿs, Pietro Metastasio, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Robert Bloom, Robert Burns, Robert Schumann, Tannhäuser, The Creation (Haydn), The Fairy Queen, Thomas Moore, Turandot, Weldon Kilburn, Welford Russell, Wilhelm Müller, Winterreise, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Yehudi Wynercountermelody

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Today is my first episode of the New Year, and the first in my three-part series this month on Great Canadian Singers. It is my contention that my first subject, Lois Marshall (1925-1997), is one of the greatest artists of the twentieth century. If you haven’t heard of her (which is entirely possible, given the vagaries of posthumous fame and reputation), you are in for an enormous treat. Possessed of a rare musical scrupulousness, an interpretive honestly, directness, and integrity, as well as a finely-honed dramatic sensibility, Lois Marshall, in a better world, would have graced the world’s operatic stages. Alas, she was stricken with polio as a child, and though she managed to gain the ability to walk, staged opera was a genre which she only rarely attempted. Yet she worked with the world’s greatest conductors, among them Toscanini, Stokowski, and Beecham, and was a recitalist celebrated the world over. This episode offers an extended yet partial glimpse of the range and variety of her artistry, and includes recordings of arias by both Purcell and Puccini (the title role of Turandot!), Bach and Beethoven, as well as a dazzling array of recital repertoire from Debussy to folk song arrangements. Fellow Canadians Maureen Forrester and Glenn Gould are also featured. In my opinion, this artist is ripe for rediscovery, and I hope that you will join me on this extraordinary journey into the life and career of Lois Marshall.

Episode 122. Auld Acquaintance II

December 30, 2021African American Singers, Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Bel canto, Full-Figured Baroque, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, Gustav Mahler, Holiday Music, Ileana Cotrubas, Lieder, Margaret Price, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Opera in Translation, Pop Icons, Queer Pride, Richard Wagner, Singers of Color, Sylvia Sass, Twentieth Century MusicAlberta Hunter, Antal Dorati, Anton de Ridder, Armand Silvestre, Barry McDaniel, Benjamin Britten, Bethany Beardslee, Bruno Reibold, Carl Loewe, Carol Brice, Christa Ludwig, Christine Andreas, Christmas music, Daniel Saidenberg, David Garvey, Des Knaben Wunderhorn, Die tote Stadt, Die Walküre, Edda Moser, Edvard Grieg, Eide Norena, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Erik Werba, Ernesto de Curtis, Folk Songs, Francis Lopez, Francisco Araiza, Franz Lehár, Gabriel Faure, Garrick Ohlsson, Gilbert Price, Giuseppe Verdi, Grace Williams, Gustav Mahler, Gwendolyn Killebrew, Hans Schmidt, Henry Lemarchand, Hermann Reutter, Igor Gorin, Ileana Cotrubas, Ivan Törzs, James King, James Lockhart, Jean Lemaire, Johann Gabriel Seidl, Johann Sebastian Bach, Joseph Haydn, Joséphine Baker, Judith Raskin, Karl Dankwart Zwerger, Karl Weigl, Konrad Ragossnig, Lamberto Gardelli, Lawrence Brown, Magda Olivero, Margaret Price, Mel Powell, Muriel Smith, Norman Johnson, Otto Julius Bierbaum, Owen Williams, Paul Robeson, Peter Knight, Peter Schreier, Richard Müller-Lampertz, Richard Wagner, Rigoletto, Robert Hanell, Robert Helps, Ruggero Leoncavallo, Spirituals, Sylvia Sass, Thomas Carey, Tony Taño, Vincenzo Bellini, W.H. Auden, William Warfieldcountermelody

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Part Two of my “Auld Acquaintance” mini-series on Countermelody continues the exploitation of even more artists who have already been featured on the podcast, but in rare recordings that have only recently come into my collection. Today’s episode begins with a tribute to the German-based African American mezzo-soprano Gwendolyn Killebrew, who died on Christmas Eve at the age of 80. Featured artists in the main episode include Paul Robeson, Magda Olivero, Edda Moser, Ileana Cotrubas, Carol Brice, Margaret Price, Igor Gorin, Josephine Baker, Eidé Noréna, Alberta Hunter, Thomas Carey, Christa Ludwig, Sylvia Sass, Francisco Araiza, William Warfield, and many, many more singing everything from reggae to Rigoletto. 2021 gets a better send-off than it deserves, what with these singers and this music that will certainly help us all to approach the upcoming New Year “keeping the song in our hearts!”

Episode 121. Auld Acquaintance I

December 23, 2021African American Singers, Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Eileen Farrell, Full-Figured Baroque, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, Holiday Music, Lieder, Mezzo Madness, Mirella Freni, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Operetta, Pop Icons, Protest Songs, Renata Scotto, Richard Wagner, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, VerismoAlban Berg, Alexander Pushkin, Allen Rogers, Antoinette Vischer, Antonio Rubino, Barry McDaniel, Benjamin Britten, Bernard Kruysen, Bo Bergman, Borislav Bezala, Camilla Williams, Carlo Alberto Rossi, Cathy Berberian, César Cui, Christmas songs, Claudio Arrau, Claudio Monteverdi, David Garvey, Dusty Springfield, e.e. cummings, Eileen Farrell, Elisabeth Soderstrom, Elza van der Ven, Ernesto Lecuona, Eugene Ormandy, Gabriel Faure, Gabriele d’Annunzio, Georg Friedrich Daumer, Georg Philipp Telemann, George Shirley, Gianfranco Rivoli, Gilbert Bécaud, Gioacchino Rossini, Giuseppe Verdi, Gloria Davy, Heather Harper, Huguette Dreyfus, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Janet Baker, Jean Lamy, Jennie Tourel, Johann Christian Bach, John Raitt, Jonas Kulka, Jorma Hynninen, Josef Ulsamer, Julia Migenes, Karl Weigl, L’amico Fritz, Lawrence Winters, Leone Magiera, Leslie Scott, Lionel Hampton, Loonis McGlohon, Luciano Berio, Luciano Pavarotti, Manny Curtis, Margaret Marshall, Mirella Freni, Nicola Daspuro, Nicolae Herlea, Odetta, Ottorino Respighi, Pagliacci, Paolo Tosti, Peter Altenberg, Pierre Boulez, Pierre Delanoë, Pietro Mascagni, Pino Calvi, Renata Scotto, Richard Wagner, Robert McFerrin, Robert Stolz, Rosanna Carteri, Rudolf Ewerhart, Ruggero Leoncavallo, Scott Walter, Shirley Verrett, Spirituals, Stig Westerberg, Sully Prudhomme, Tannhäuser, Teresa Żylis-Gara, Ture Rangström, Walter Calé, Werner Eisbrenner, Xavier Cugat, Yi-Kwei Szecountermelody

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This special episode, the first of two year-end celebrations, presents artists who have already been featured on Countermelody in rare recordings that have recently become available to me. A few of the artists heard include George Shirley, Heather Harper, Lawrence Winters, Elisabeth Söderström, Camilla Williams, Julia Migenes, John Raitt, Gloria Davy, Rosanna Carteri, Mirella Freni, Robert McFerrin, Margaret Marshall, Yi-Kwei Sze, Eileen Farrell, Shirley Verrett, Cathy Berberian, and many, many others in recordings, most from my personal collection, which you may not have heard before. This is a gift of love and gratitude from me to my listeners and supporters, a backward glance at all of the great singers who have been heard on the podcast over the past two and a half years, a theme which will continue next week. I look forward to continuing with new topics and new singers as we move into 2022.

Episode 108. Christiane Eda-Pierre

September 26, 2021Bel canto, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, In Memoriam, Needle Drop, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century MusicAimé Césaire, Alfredo Kraus, Antonio de Almeida, Benjamin Britten, Charles Chaynes, Charles Gounod, Christiane Eda-Pierre, Édouard Lalo, Elgar Howarth, George Frideric Handel, Georges Bizet, Gérard Lemaire; Gilbert Amy, Gianfranco Rivoli, Gioacchino Rossini, Jane Rhodes, Jean Dupouy, Jean Fournet, Jean-Claude Chazal, Jean-Philippe Rameau, Jean-Pierre Marty, John Pritchard, John Sandor, Léo Delibes, Leone Magiera, Maria Ewing, Maurice Thiriet, Olivier Messiaen, Pierre Thau, Raymond Leppard, Robert Massard, Seiji Ozawa, Vincenzo Bellini, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozartcountermelody

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Today’s episode is a memorial tribute to the great Martinique-born French soprano Christiane Eda-Pierre on the first anniversary of her death. When this artist died on 6 September 2020 at the age of 88, I posted this episode as a bonus exclusively for my Patreon subscribers. Because a number of my listeners have inquired if I have ever devoted an episode to this artist, I have decided to release this episode to the general public. Researching Christiane Eda-Pierre was a journey of discovery for me, as I only knew the soprano’s commercial recordings and live performances from the Met. But believe me, there is so much more to this singer than this. From the French baroque repertoire through contemporary works dedicated specifically to her, Christiane Eda-Pierre brought extraordinary gifts: a voice of beauty and clarity, well-modulated from top to bottom, a near-perfect technique capped by a flawless trill, a profound musical sensibility, and a searing dramatic intensity that surprised me. I present excerpts from the full range of her repertoire, from Rameau and Handel in the Baroque period through the bel canto of Rossini and Bellini, to the glories of 19th century French opera, a genre that, in my opinion, represents her at her absolute best, to contemporary masterpieces written expressly for her by Charles Chaynes and Olivier Messiaen. It is my fervent wish that you find as much delight in this great artist as I have.

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.” Occasional guests from the “business” (singers, conductors, composers, coaches, and teachers) lend their distinctive insights. At Countermelody’s core is the interaction between singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. At Countermelody’s core is the interaction between singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. Please visit the Countermelody website (www.countermelodypodcast.com) for additional content including artist photos and episode setlists. And please head to my Patreon page at www.patreon.com/countermelody to pledge your monthly support at whatever level you can afford. Bonus episodes available exclusively to Patreon supporters are currently available.

Episode 89. The Radiant Heather Harper

May 16, 2021Art Song, Full-Figured Baroque, Giuseppe Verdi, Gustav Mahler, Happy Birthday, In Memoriam, Lieder, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Schubert, Twentieth Century MusicAlban Berg, Anthony Lewis, Anton Webern, Benjamin Britten, Bernard Haitink, Carlos Païta, Claudio Monteverdi, Colin Davis, David Atherton, Francesco Cavalli, Francis Poulenc, Franz Schubert, Frederick Delius, Frederik Prausnitz, Gary Bertini, George Frideric Handel, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, Giuseppe Verdi, Gustav Mahler, Heather Harper, Helen Donath, Henry Purcell, Horst Stein, Jessye Norman, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Somary, John Shirley-Quirk, Kieth Engen, Leif Segerstam, Luigi Dallapiccola, Maurice Ravel, Meredith Davies, Michael Tippett, Nicolai Gedda, Nicolai Ghiaurov, Norman Mittelmann, Otakar Kraus, Paul Hamburger, Peter Grimes, Pierre Boulez, Raymond Leppard, Rudolf Kempe, Sanford Sylvan, Steuart Bedford, Walter Süsskind, War Requiem, William Walton, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozartcountermelody

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I have dreamed of doing an episode on the great Irish soprano Heather Harper (1930 – 2019) since before I began the podcast. As we we find ourselves in close proximity to both the anniversary of her birth on 8 May 1930 and her death on 22 April 2019, I feel compelled to bring that dream to life. A peerless artist, probably most renowned today for her close collaboration with Benjamin Britten, whose War Requiem she learned ten days before the premiere when the scheduled artist, Galina Vishnevskaya, was refused by the Soviet government to participate in the performance. Her crackerjack musicianship is heard to full advantage in 20th century works by Michael Tippett, Leif Segerstam, Anton Webern, Luigi Dallapiccola, Francis Poulenc, William Walton, and Alban Berg. But her focused, flexible instrument also made her an ideal performer of the Baroque repertoire (we hear her in Purcell, Monteverdi, Cavalli, Bach and Handel). And the surprising stores of power she could summon made her a vital and sympathetic heroine in the operas of Wagner, Mozart, Strauss, and Gounod, as well Britten’s Ellen Orford, of which she was the definitive interpreter. She also excelled in the intimate medium of the Lieder recital. Vocal guest stars include Jessye Norman, Helen Donath, Nicolai Gedda, John Shirley-Quirk, Norman Mittelmann, Nicolai Ghiaurov, and others. Conductors heard include Pierre Boulez, Rudolf Kempe, Colin Davis, Raymond Leppard, Gary Bertini, Meredith Davies, Horst Stein, Anthony Lewis, Carlos Païta, Bernard Haitink, Steuart Bedford, Hans Swarowsky, David Atherton, and Gianandrea Gavazzeni. Fasten your seat belts and settle for an overdue tribute to the dazzling versatility and artistry of the great Heather Harper.

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.” Occasional guests from the “business” (singers, conductors, composers, coaches, and teachers) lend their distinctive insights. At Countermelody’s core is the interaction between singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. At Countermelody’s core is the interaction between singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. Please visit the Countermelody website (www.countermelodypodcast.com) for additional content including artist photos and episode setlists. And please head to my Patreon page at www.patreon.com/countermelody to pledge your monthly support at whatever level you can afford. Bonus episodes available only to Patreon supporters are currently available.

Episode 85. George Shirley @ 87

April 18, 2021African American Singers, Art Song, BHM2023WK4, Black History Month, Happy Birthday, Lieder, Mezzo Madness, Needle Drop, Operetta, Renata Scotto, Richard Strauss, Richard WagnerAlessandro Scarlatti, Benjamin Britten, Claude Debussy, Colin Davis, David Garvey, Elisabeth Soderstrom, Erich Leinsdorf, Fernando Previtali, Ferruccio Busoni, Georg Solti, George Shirley, Georges Bizet, Giacomo Puccini, Howard Swanson, Igor Stravinsky, Ilva Ligabue, Jacques Offenbach, Jascha Horenstein, Jess Thomas, Jesus Lopez-Cobos, Joanna Neal, John Pritchard, Josef Krips, Josephine McGill, Judith Raskin, Karl Weigl, Langston Hughes, Leontyne Price, Pierre Boulez, Renata Scotto, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Shirley Verrett, Sylvia Olden Lee, Thomas Schippers, Wayne Sanders, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozartcountermelody

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Today I finally get to pay tribute to one of the singers who was a formative influence on me as a budding opera and vocal aficionado. George Shirley, born on April 18, 1934 in Indianapolis, Indiana, was one of the most versatile tenors of the second half of the twentieth century, and a pathbreaker as the first African American tenor to sing at the Metropolitan Opera. I first encountered him through his matchless portrayal of Pelléas in Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande opposite Elisabeth Söderström. But his Mozart is equally celebrated: the podcast also features live and studio recordings of George Shirley as Tamino (opposite Judith Raskin), Don Ottavio, Ferrando (opposite Leontyne Price), as well as his extraordinary Idomeneo. Extant live performances of George Shirley including assumptions of roles as diverse as Don José (opposite Shirley Verrett), David in Die Meistersinger, Pinkerton (opposite an incandescent young Renata Scotto), Mephistopheles in Busoni’s Doktor Faust, and even Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos. All of these are included in the episode, as are rare song recordings from throughout his career. Raise a glass to the great George Shirley, and join me in thanking him for having shared his extraordinary artistic gift with us for all these years!

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.” Occasional guests from the “business” (singers, conductors, composers, coaches, and teachers) lend their distinctive insights. At Countermelody’s core is the interaction between singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. At Countermelody’s core is the interaction between singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. Please visit the Countermelody website (www.countermelodypodcast.com) for additional content including artist photos and episode setlists. And please head to my Patreon page at www.patreon.com/countermelody to pledge your monthly support at whatever level you can afford. Bonus episodes available only to Patreon supporters are currently available.

Episode 22. Gloria Davy (Black History Month III)

February 16, 2020African American Singers, BHM2023WK1, Black History Month, MusicA Picnic Cantata, Aida, Al Howard, Anna Bolena, Arnold Gamson, Arthur Gold, Auf dem Kirchhofe, Benjamin Britten, Cavalleria Rusticana, Cesar Franck, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Erich Leinsdorf, Giorgio Favaretto, Giorgio Tozzi, Giuseppe Verdi, Gloria Davy, Gloria Wynder, Henry Purcell, Il Trovatore, James Schuyler, Jess Thomas, Johannes Brahms, Jonas Kulka, Julia Perry, Karl Böhm, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Leontyne Price, Les Illuminations, Man is for the Woman Made, Mareda Gaither, Martha Flowers, Mary Hartman Mary Hartman, Mirella Freni, Momenten, Nelly Sachs, New York Philomusica Chamber Ensemble, Nicolai Gedda, O the Chimneys, Paul Bowles, Pierre Mollet, Rébecca (Franck), Robert Fizdale, Sándor Kónya, Sergiu Celibidache, Shulamit Ran, Spirituals, The Magic Flute, Town Hall New Yorkcountermelody

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Today we examine the fascinating and somewhat frustrating career of Gloria Davy (1931-2012). Yet another African American singer who found greater opportunity abroad than in the United States, Davy has the distinction of being the first Black singer to perform the title role of Verdi’s Aida at the Metropolitan Opera, which role served as her debut in 1958. Another early career success came when she replaced Leontyne Price as Bess in an international tour of Porgy and Bess. Her earliest recordings, both live and studio, reveal a voice of uncommon beauty with an interpretive sensitivity to match. A superb musician, Davy also sang contemporary music throughout her career, including important premieres by Hans Werner Henze and Karlheinz Stockhausen. One must ask the question, however, if her voice would have been better served had she not turned to sung Bess and Aida so early in her career, but had instead had access to roles such as Anna Bolena, which she sang brilliantly at Town Hall in New York in 1957. The episode includes a rare airing of Davy’s 1956 album of Spirituals, in arrangements by the lesser-known African American composer Julia Perry and excerpts from her recordings of Shulamit Ran’s O the Chimneys, on poems by Nelly Sachs, and the 1972 revision of Stockhausen’s momentous Momente.

Countermelody is a new podcast devoted to the glories of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great classical and opera singers of the past and present with the help of guests from the classical music field: singers, conductors, composers, coaches, agents, and voice teachers. 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 interaction between singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. Please also visit the Countermelody website for updates, additional content, and to pledge your support. www.countermelodypodcast.com

Episode 16. Souvenirs – Elly Ameling and Dalton Baldwin

January 5, 2020Art Song, Broadway, Crossover, Happy Birthday, In Memoriam, Lieder, Needle Drop, Twentieth Century MusicAfrikaans Wiegeliedjie, Arnold Schoenberg, Benjamin Britten, Brettl-Lieder, Brezariola, Britten Folk Song Arrangements, Charles Ives, Cuatro madrigales amatorios, Dalton Baldwin, De los alamos vengo madre, Drey Minnelieder, Elly Ameling, Emiel Hullebroeck, Emile Vuillermoz, Folk Song Arrangements, Frank Martin, Franz Liszt, Gigerlette, Gioacchino Rossini, Henry Purcell, Jean Sibelius, Joaquin Rodrigo, John Weldon, Joseph Canteloube, La Danza, La derniere valse, Memories, Moeke Dutch Folk Song, Music for a while, O lieb solang du lieben kannst, O waly waly, Oyasumi na sai, Reynaldo Hahn, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Souvenirs, Spring Waters, The Wakeful Nightingale, Unter den Linden, Varen flyktar hastigt, whistling, Yoshinao Nakadacountermelody

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We begin 2020 with a new series of episodes. For the next eight weeks, I will present selections dubbed exclusively from LPs, few if any of which have ever been re-released on CD and which remain barely available on any listening platform for today’s audience. Today’s entry in the Needle Drop series is the marvelously engaging and entertaining 1979 Columbia Masterworks release Souvenirs (M 35119), which features the Dutch soprano Elly Ameling, renowned for her peerless work as an art song recitalist, and the late American pianist Dalton Baldwin (19 December 1931 – 12 December 2019), whose life and legacy we particularly celebrate today. This episode also serves as an early birthday tribute to Elly Ameling, who turns 87 on 8 February 2020.

Episode 3: Creating Magic, Interview with Nicholas Tamagna, Part 2

October 6, 2019InterviewAkhnaten, Alpha Classics, Arrigo Boito, Arthur Johnston, As long as he needs me, Atlantic Starr, Au mont Ida, Backlash Blues, Bagdad Cafe, Benjamin Britten, Bidu Sayao, Billie Holiday, Calling You, Carnegie Hall, Cesare Siepi, Charles Gounod, Clori Tirsi e Fileno, Daniel Gundlach, Don Carlo, Edvard Grieg, Elisabeth Rethberg, Elisabeth Soderstrom, Emil Cooper, Faust, Franz Schubert, Frederick Schauwecker, Gabriela Benackova, George Frideric Handel, Georgia Brown, Giuseppe Verdi, Hector Berlioz, Hilde Güden, Hilde Gueden, Ich habe genug, Indianapolis Opera, Jacques Offenbach, Janet Baker, János Ferencsik, Jean Morel, Jean Sibelius, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johnny Burke, Judy Garland, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Jussi Bjorling, La Belle Helene, Le Poeme Harmonique, Leather and Lace, Les Troyens, Lionel Bart, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Ludwig van Beethoven, Maria Vitale, Mefistofele, Nicholas McGegan, Nicholas Tamagna, Nina Simone, Oliver!, Pennies from Heaven, Peter Lieberson, Phaedra, Philharmonia Baroque, Philip Glass, Porter Carroll Jr., Reviewing the Situation, Richard Strauss, Rigoletto, Robert Merrill, Roger VIgnoles, Roméo et Juliette, Samuel Ramey, San Francisco Opera, Teddy Wilson, Thelma Votipka, Theodora, Un ballo in maschera, Vera Zorina, Verve Records, Vincent Dumestre, Who will buycountermelody

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Episode 3. Creating Magic (Interview with Nicholas Tamagna, Part 2)

In the second part of our interview Nicholas discusses his early experiences with music, names three of his favorite singers, and riffs further on the themes of language and communication. Musical excerpts include a performance by Leather and Lace, the rock group that featured Nicholas’s mother and aunts, and Nicholas’s youthful stage performances as Oliver and Fagin in the musical Oliver! Nicholas is also featured in recordings of Henry Purcell and Philip Glass and we also include performances by Maria Vitale, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Jussi Björling, and Nina Simone.