Tag Archives: Claudio Monteverdi

Episode 232. Janet Williams and Paul Padillo Introduce Maria Ewing (Listeners’ Favorites III)

January 7, 2024African American Singers, Bel canto, Black History Month, Crossover, Giacomo Puccini, Gustav Mahler, In Memoriam, Listeners' Favorites, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Operetta, Orchestral Songs, Richard Strauss, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Opera, Verismo, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAndrew Davis, Antonio de Almeida, Bernard Haitink, Bob Merrill, Carl Orff, Carmen, Carol Neblett, Christiane Eda-Pierre, Claude Debussy, Claudio Abbado, Claudio Monteverdi, Dale Duesing, Dennis Bailey, Dido and Aeneas, Dmitri Shostakovich, Don Giovanni, Elizabeth Collier, Eric Tappy, Francis Poulenc, François Le Roux, Funny Girl, George Bizet, Giacomo Puccini, Gioacchino Rossini, Gustav Mahler, Harold Arlen, Henri Meilhac, Henry Purcell, Horst Stein, Iain Sutherland, Idomeneo, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Jacques Offenbach, James Levine, Janet Williams, Jean Cocteau, Jean Rigby, Jerome Kern, John Pritchard, John Wilson, Jule Styne, Jules Massenet, Kurt Masur, L’incoronazione di Poppea, La Périchole, La voix humaine, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Le nozze di Figaro, Leonard Slatkin, Lorenzo da Ponte, Ludovic Halévy, Marc Soustrot, Maria Ewing, Maurice Maeterlinck, Maurice Ravel, Myung-Whun Chung, Nahum Tate, Oscar Hammerstein II, Oscar Wilde, Patrick Devin, Paul Padillo, Pelleas et Melisande, Raymond Leppard, Richard Hickox, Richard Rodgers, Richard Rodney Bennett, Richard Strauss, Romano Gandolfi, Ruggero Raimondi, Salome, Shane Hill, Shéhérazade, Siegmund Nimsgern, Simon James, Simon Rattle, South Pacific, Sylvain Cambreling, Ted Koehler, Tosca, Tristan Klingsor, Werther, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozartcountermelody

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January 9 is already the second anniversary of the death of the iconoclastic (and iconic) Maria Ewing, who died of cancer in her home outside of her native Detroit on January 9, 2022. She was an artist both admired and derided during her lifetime, whose importance since her death has only become more apparent. It so happens that two of my most faithful listeners, Janet Williams and Paul Padillo, chose the episode that I published in her honor as their favorite episode. Paul is a passionate opera advocate who maintains a blog as well as a Facebook page in which he writes with extraordinary eloquence about the musical genre we all adore. Janet is celebrated throughout the world as one of the finest singers of her generation who has gone on to become one of the most important voice teachers in the world today, teaching, with compassion and common sense, a technique grounded in the essentials of bel canto. Their spoken introductions to the episode highlight different aspects of what made Ewing so special. For Paul, he became a lifelong fan after hearing her performance of Blanche de la Force in Poulenc’s operatic masterpiece, The Dialogues of the Carmelites. For Janet, it was a shared provenance (both were natives of Detroit) as well as a common mentor, the late David Di Chiera, who founded and ran Michigan Opera Theatre, the company featured both Maria and Janet in some of their first operatic appearances. Maria’s passing hit me particularly hard because at the time of her death, I was in the midst of creating a special episode in her honor and had been immersing myself in her fascinating performances, finding myself more and more in awe of her one-of-a-kind artistry. This tribute episode is simply not to be missed.

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 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.

Episode 211. Janet Baker @ 90

August 25, 2023UncategorizedAchim von Arnim, Anthony Lewis, Beverly Sills, Caterino Mazzolà, Christian Friedrich Henrici, Christopher Hassall, Claudio Monteverdi, Clemens Brentano, Des Knaben Wunderhorn, Dido and Aeneas, Ernest Lush, Felice Romani, Geoffrey Chaucer, Gioacchino Rossini, Giovanni Francesco Busanello, Giuseppe Patanè, Giuseppe Verdi, Gustav Mahler, Heinrich Heine, Henry Purcell, Hippolyte et Aricie, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Janet Baker, Jean Baptiste Racine, Jean-Philippe Rameau, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, John Pritchard, Klaus Growth, L’incoronazione di Poppea, La Cenerentola, La Clemenza di Tito, Martin Isepp, Maurice Delage, Melos Ensemble, Nahum Tate, Neville Marriner, Norman Del Mar, Norman Foster, Ottorino Respighi, Picander, Pietro Metastasio, Raymond Leppard, Renata Scotto, Richard Strauss, Robert Ferguson, Roberto Ascoli, Simon-Joseph Pellegrin, Thomas Dunhill, Troilus and Cressida, Vasil Stefanov, Vincenzo Bellini, William Shakespeare, William Walton, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozartcountermelody

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This past week the opera world was plunged into mourning over the sudden death of Renata Scotto. Originally I had intended this week’s episode to be devoted to her memory. But I can’t even speak her name without bursting into tears. In other words, I need more time as I try to come to terms with her demise. I have decided to feature the matchless singing actor in the first episode of Season Five. In the meantime, we have another momentous occasion (and artist) to acknowledge: the 90th birthday of the English Rose: the phenomenal Janet Baker. Given that I could probably devote an entire podcast to Dame Janet, and given the wealth of material in my personal collection featuring this artist, much of it rare and unusual, I have chosen to feature this beloved artist in her third full Countermelody episode. There are few vocal artists in the history of classical music who have exhibited greater versatility than Janet Baker; this episode features many rare performances across the entirety of her long career of repertoire in which she had virtually no equal, as well as music in which she also excels but which might prove surprising. Thus we hear the expected mélodie, Lied, British song and Bach aria alongside Purcell’s Dido and pants roles by both Mozart and Richard Strauss. But we also hear such surprises as Monteverdi’s Poppea (sinuously and surprisingly sexy), Bellini’s Romeo (opposite Beverly Sills), William Walton’s Cressida (in the 1976 version of his opera Troilus and Cressida refashioned expressly for Baker), and a sublime extended orchestral song by Respighi, as well as the ultimate jaw-dropper, Rossini’s Cenerentola! We wish long life and continued health and vitality to one of the greatest mezzo-sopranos of the twentieth century!

Episode 175. The Young Fritz Wunderlich

December 15, 2022Art Song, Crossover, Full-Figured Baroque, Giacomo Puccini, Great Baritones, Holiday Music, In Memoriam, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Opera in Translation, Operetta, Richard Strauss, SchubertAlcina, Alessandro Striggio, Alois Melichar, Anneliese Rothenberger, Artur Rother, August Wenzinger, Berislav Klobučar, Carl Zeller, Claudio Monteverdi, Der Vogelhändler, Die schöne Müllerin, Die schweigsame Frau, Die Zauberflöte, Emanuel Schickaneder, Ferdinand Leitner, Franz Lehár, Franz Schubert, Friederike Sailer, Fritz Wunderlich, George Frideric Handel, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Giacosa, Hans May, Hans Swarowsky, Helmut Krebs, Herbert Frauer, Hilde Güden, Johannes Brahms, John Aler, John Nelson, Justinus Kerner, Karl Böhm, Karl-Heinz Stolze, L’Orfeo, La Boheme, Ludwig Hölty, Luigi Illica, Madama Butterfly, Richard Kraus, Richard Strauss, Robert Schumann, Rolf Reinhardt, Semele, Stefan Zweig, Theo Zilliken, Trude Eipperle, Werner Schmidt-Boelcke, Wilhelm Müller, Willi Stech, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozartcountermelody

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I’ve heard and enjoyed many a German lyric tenor, but if there was ever a greater one than Fritz Wunderlich (26 September 1930 – 17 September 1966), I’ve never heard him! What is it about this singer, who first of all, possessed a voice of such matchless visceral beauty, and who conveyed such joy and enthusiasm in the sheer act of singing, that cannot fail to engage us. My beloved “not-boyfriend” refers to Wunderlich’s voice and artistry as possessing more “face” than nearly any other singer in history, and I do think he’s on to something. The very simplicity of his utterance conveys a sort of “Everyman” quality to everything he sang. This, alongside the precision of his delivery of text pulls the listener in and almost compels them to listen. In today’s episode, I offer recordings from the 1950s, when Wunderlich was just beginning his career. His early musical experience centered around popular music of the time, and we hear him in this repertoire, as well as operetta, Lieder, so-called “early music,” as well as the more standard operatic repertoire (Mozart, Puccini, Strauss), the majority of which were recorded before 1960. His partners in song in this episode include names both familiar (Anneliese Rothenberger, Pilar Lorengar, Hilde Güden) as well as those who are less well-remembered (Trude Eipperle, Helmut Krebs, Herbert Brauer, Friederike Sailer) who nevertheless are equally memorable. As a tribute to the season, there are a number of excerpts from Puccini’s La Bohème, the first act of which which is set, of course, on Christmas Eve. If these selections alone do not bring a smile to your face and a tear to your eye, you’d do well to check your pulse! The episode begins with a tribute to the late tenor John Aler (04 October 1949 – 10 December 2022).

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 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.

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 139. Swiss Misses and Misters

April 8, 2022African American Singers, Art Song, Canadian Singers, Great Baritones, Happy Birthday, Lieder, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Singers of Color, Voiceless WondersAbbé Prevost, Albert Wolff, Alessandro Striggio, Arthur Honegger, Charles Gounod, Charles Munch, Charles Panzéra, Claudio Monteverdi, Edith Mathis, Émile Jaques-Dalcroze, Eric Tappy, Erika Burkhart, Ernest Ansermet, Ernest Bloch, Ernst Haefliger, Fernando Corena, Francis Poulenc, Frank Martin, Gabriel Faure, Giorgio Favaretto, Gloria Davy, Guillaume Apollinaire, Hans Münch, Heinz Rehfuss, Henri Meilhac, Hermann Hesse, Hermann Lingg, Hermann Suter, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Hugues Cuenod, Jakob Stämpfli, James Walker, Janine Micheau, Jean Binet, Jean Cuttat, Jean de La Ville de Mirmont, Jean Fournet, Jean Lemaire, Johannes Brahms, Jörg Wyttenbach, Jules Barbier, Jules Massenet, Karl Böhm, Kurt Widmer, Libero de Luca, Lisa Della Casa, Louis Quilico, Ludwig Hölty, Magdeleine Panzéra-Baillot, Manon (Massenet), Marko Rothmüller, Michel Carré, Michel Corboz, Michio Kobayashi, Norma Procter, Paul Claudel, Philippe Gille, Pierre Aegerter, Pierre Mollet, Richard Strauss, Rudolf Kelterborn, Theo Altmeyer, Ursula Buckel, Wolfgang Schneiderhancountermelody

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A few months ago, David and I paid a visit to Zurich. The weather was glorious, we ate well, saw interesting theater, and I found a great used record store that was probably the one inexpensive place in the entire city. I had been thinking of doing an episode on Swiss singers ever since I started the podcast nearly three years ago and this experience provided the needed impetus to put this together. It helps that, to paraphrase the bigot, “Some of my favorite singers are Swiss.” Because of the unique polyglot nature of the country, there are many different stylistic trends to be found in Swiss music and Swiss singers. As with my recent episode on Ukraine, I decided to foreground not just the singers, but also the composers, of the featured country. So not only do we get to experience the singing of such favorites as Lisa Della Casa, Charles Panzéra, Ernst Haefliger, Heinz Rehfuss, Hugues Cuénod, and Eric Tappy (with a special nod to Gloria Davy, Ira Malaniuk, and Maria Stader, all naturalized Swiss citizens), but we hear the music of Ernest Bloch, Othmar Schoeck, Arthur Honegger, Frank Martin, Hermann Suter, and others. This is just a dip of the toe into the pure waters of Swiss music and singers: episodes on individual favorites will no doubt follow in due time!

Episode 127. Maria Ewing in Memoriam (Black History Month 2022)

February 4, 2022African American Singers, Bel canto, Black History Month, Broadway, Crossover, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Giacomo Puccini, Gustav Mahler, In Memoriam, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Operetta, Richard Strauss, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, VerismoAndrew Davis, Antonio de Almeida, Bernard Haitink, Bob Merrill, Carl Orff, Carmen, Carol Neblett, Christiane Eda-Pierre, Claude Debussy, Claudio Abbado, Claudio Monteverdi, Dale Duesing, Dennis Bailey, Dido and Aeneas, Dmitri Shostakovich, Don Giovanni, Elizabeth Collier, Eric Tappy, Francis Poulenc, François Le Roux, Funny Girl, George Bizet, Giacomo Puccini, Gioacchino Rossini, Gustav Mahler, Harold Arlen, Henri Meilhac, Henry Purcell, Horst Stein, Iain Sutherland, Idomeneo, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Jacques Offenbach, James Levine, Jean Cocteau, Jean Rigby, Jerome Kern, John Pritchard, John Wilson, Jule Styne, Jules Massenet, Kurt Masur, L’incoronazione di Poppea, La Périchole, La voix humaine, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Le nozze di Figaro, Leonard Slatkin, Lorenzo da Ponte, Ludovic Halévy, Marc Soustrot, Maria Ewing, Maurice Maeterlinck, Maurice Ravel, Myung-Whun Chung, Nahum Tate, Oscar Hammerstein II, Oscar Wilde, Patrick Devin, Pelleas et Melisande, Raymond Leppard, Richard Hickox, Richard Rodgers, Richard Rodney Bennett, Richard Strauss, Romano Gandolfi, Ruggero Raimondi, Salome, Shane Hill, Shéhérazade, Siegmund Nimsgern, Simon James, Simon Rattle, South Pacific, Sylvain Cambreling, Ted Koehler, Tosca, Tristan Klingsor, Werther, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozartcountermelody

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The exceptional, distinctive Maria Ewing died of cancer on January 9 at her home outside of her native Detroit at the age of 71. Even before her death, I had been planning an episode on Maria Ewing, who last fall received an enormous amount of press as the mother of actor and director Rebecca Hall, whose latest film, Passing, was hitting the screens in a big way. The film is about two light-skinned Black friends in the 1920s, one of whom makes the conscious decision to present as white. The implication in much of the press was that Maria Ewing had done the same and was being taken to task for having done so. In actuality, Maria Ewing spoke frequently about her father’s apparent African American roots, and never actively tried to hide her (at times murky) family history. But, I submit to you, this is not the real story. In this episode, the first of my Black History Month 2022 series, I attempt to present as full a musical portrait of the artist as possible, allowing listeners to experience the unique musical and dramatic genius (and I use the term advisedly) of this fascinating artist. Few singers can survive comparison with Maria Callas. Maria Ewing, for all her demonstrable flaws, was one of the few artists that merit such a comparison. In this episode we hear Ewing in a wide range of material, from Purcell’s Dido to Puccini’s Tosca, with a nod to her two most famous roles, Carmen and Salome; an emphasis on both her Mozart portrayals and a focus on her aplomb with French music; and a sampling of her flair for pop music and jazz. I also discuss her sometimes controversial vocalism and role assumptions which in turn led to her blanket dismissal by her detractors. But in the end, it is her fascinating combination of carnality and innocence which made her unique. I remain, as I always have been, a devoted member of Club Ewing. This is a long-overdue Countermelody tribute to a unique and irreplaceable singer.

Episode 126. Canadian Singers of Art Song (Great Canadian Singers)

January 28, 2022African American Singers, Art Song, Black History Month, Canadian Singers, Great Baritones, Lieder, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Richard Strauss, Schubert, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, Voiceless WondersAllen Rogers, Antonin Kubalek, Arthur Honegger, Bernard Diamant, Bruno Reibold, Carl Loewe, Carmen, Catherine Robbin, Claude Debussy, Claude Savard, Claudio Monteverdi, Colette Boky, Darius Milhaud, Das Marienleben, David Garvey, Die schöne Müllerin, Donald Bell, Erich Kästner, Frances James, Frank Valentin Van der Stucken, Franz Schubert, Franz von Bruchmann, Franz von Schober, Gaston Germain, George Brough, George London, George Shirley, Georges Bizet, Giacomo Puccini, Gianni Maffeo, Gino Quilico, Glenn Gould, Godfrey Ridout, Guy Bourassa, Henri Duparc, Henri Sauguet, Irene Jessner, James Milligan, Jaroslav Vogel, Jean-Paul Jeannotte, Jeanne Landry, John Newmark, John Wustman, Joseph Rouleau, Judith Forst, Jules Massenet, Jürgen Jürgens, Karl Weigl, Kurt Weill, L’Orfeo (Monteverdi), La Fanciulla del West, Leo Taubman, Leopold Simoneau, Lotte Lehmann, Louise de Vilmorin, Maria Ewing, Mario Bernardi, Maureen Forrester, Max Jacob, Michael McMahon, Mouvements de Coeur (song cycle), Nigel Rogers, Oskar Morawetz, Owen Dodson, Paul Hindemith, Pierre Bédat de Monlaur, Pierrette Alarie, Portia White, Rainer Maria Rilke, Raoul Jobin, Reynaldo Hahn, Richard Strauss, Richard Verreau, Richard Woitach, Robert Fleming, Roxolana Roslak, Stéphane Mallarmé, Teresa Stratas, Théophile Gautier, Victor Braun, Visions infernales, Wilhelm Müller, William Blake, Winterreise, Zubin Mehtacountermelody

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After two weeks of so-called “deep dives” into the careers and recordings of Lois Marshall and Jon Vickers – two of the greatest Canadian singers – this week I offer a potpourri episode of great Canadian singers singing art song. Contemporary Canadian art song, mélodie, and Lieder: it’s all here, and sung by a bevy of Canadian beauties of all vocal categories: among others, sopranos Irene Jessner, Pierrette Alarie, and Teresa Stratas; mezzo-sopranos Maureen Forrester, Portia White, and Catherine Robbin; tenors Léopold Simoneau, Raoul Jobin, and Richard Verreau; baritones Victor Braun, Gino Quilico, and James Milligan; and bass-baritones George London, Joseph Rouleau, and Donald Bell. They perform work of Schubert, Loewe, Strauss, Weill, and Hindemith, Duparc, Debussy, Milhaud, Honegger, and Sauguet, as well as Canadian composers Oskar Morawetz, Godfrey Ridout, and Robert Fleming, accompanied by John Newmark, John Wustman, Allen Rogers, Glenn Gould, and others. The episode begins with tributes to two recently deceased singers: the early music tenor Nigel Rogers and the Verdi baritone Gianni Maffeo, as well as a teaser on next week’s episode on the extraordinary Maria Ewing. “O Canada, we stand on guard for thee!”

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 107. Norman Bailey and Friends

September 19, 2021African American Singers, Art Song, Broadway, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, In Memoriam, Lieder, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Opera in Translation, Pop Icons, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Twentieth Century MusicAlan Curtis, Alan Jay Lerner, Alban Berg, Alexander Gibson, Allegro (Rodgers & Hammerstein), Buddy Bregman, Burton Lane, Carlo Gaifa, Carmen Balthrop, Claudio Monteverdi, Cora Johnson, David Atherton, Die Liebe der Danae, Eduard Mörike, Friedrich Rückert, Geoffrey Parsons, Georges Pretre, Giuseppe Verdi, Jane Powell, Jeanette MacDonald, Johannes Brahms, John Constable, John DeMain, José Cáceres, Joseph Gregor, King Priam (Tippett), Kristine Ciesinski, L’incoronazione di Poppea, La sonnambula, La Traviata, Lulu (Berg), Maria Callas, Michael Tippett, Norman Bailey, Olivier Messiaen, Oscar Hammerstein II, Peter Warlock, Philip Langridge, Pink Martini, Reginald Goodall, Richard Rodgers, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Robert Schumann, Royal Wedding, Scott Joplin, Thomas Lauderdale, Treemonisha, Vier ernste Gesänge, Vincenzo Bellinicountermelody

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Death has had a busy month in the music world, especially this past week, when we lost the great British Heldenbariton Norman Bailey and the delectable Hollywood star Jane Powell. This past week was also the memorial service for the soprano Carmen Balthrop, who died of pancreatic cancer on September 5. My original intent was to devote the episode to Norman Bailey, but when Jane (with whom I had a personal relationship, having been her late husband Dick Moore’s personal assistant from 2009-2012) also died, I realized I had to do an omnibus episode of sorts. I begin with several selections each from both of the recently departed divas and then plunge headlong into an appreciation of the voice, technique and artistry of the great Norman Bailey, featuring him in opera excerpts not just by Wagner, in whose music he excelled, but also by Verdi, Richard Strauss, and Michael Tippett. He is also featured in recordings from the 1970s of songs by Schumann, Brahms, Hugo Wolf, and Peter Warlock. The episode concludes with a tribute to Maria Callas on the 44th anniversary of her death on September 16, 1977.

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 105. Teresa Żylis-Gara In Memoriam

September 5, 2021Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Bel canto, Full-Figured Baroque, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, In Memoriam, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Richard Strauss, Twentieth Century MusicAntonín Dvořák, Charles Gounod, Claudio Monteverdi, Don Giovanni, Erik Werba, Faust, Frédéric Chopin, Fritz Lehan, George Frideric Handel, Giacomo Puccini, Gianluigi Gelmetti, Giuseppe Verdi, Guglielmo Tell, Günther Wich, Halina Czerny-Stefańska, I vespri siciliani, Jacek Kaspszyk, Jacques Delacôte, Jerzy Marchwiński, Johann Sebastian Bach, Karol Szymanowski, Kazimierz Kord, L’incoronazione di Poppea, La Boheme, Lorin Maazel, Otello, Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky, Richard Strauss, Rusalka, Teresa Żylis-Gara, Turandot, Ulrich Weder, Un ballo in maschera, Waldemar Malicki, Wilhelm Ernst, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Wolfgang Gönnenwein, Yevgeny Onegin, Zubin Mehtacountermelody

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One of my very favorite singers, the Polish soprano Teresa Żylis-Gara, died on Saturday 28 August at the age of 91. I had been planning a birthday episode dedicated to her next January, but instead I present a heartfelt tribute in memoriam. Over a long career and as her voice developed, Żylis-Gara moved deftly and skillfully from performances of Baroque music through French, Russian, Verdi, and Puccini and even verismo heroines, always with her trademark vocal glamour, technical acuity and musical refinement. I offer live and studio examples of this under-recorded artist, a favorite at the Metropolitan Opera between 1968 and 1984, including early Monteverdi, Bach, and Handel, moving through her career-making assumption of Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni and touching also on her recital work, and concluding with her definitive performances of Desdemona in Otello and Richard Strauss’s Vier letzte Lieder.

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. Twenty-five exclusive bonus episodes are currently available to Patreon supporters.

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 86. Cathy Berberian’s Second Hand Songs

April 25, 2021Art Song, Comic Relief, Crossover, Mezzo Madness, Needle Drop, Twentieth Century MusicArnold Schoenberg, Bruno Canino, Cathy Berberian, César Cui, Claude Debussy, Claudio Monteverdi, Folk Songs, Frédéric Chopin, Georges Bizet, Giancarlo Menotti, Gioacchino Rossini, Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel, Harold Arlen, Harold Lester, Johann Sebastian Bach, John Lennon, John Newmark, Kathleen Ferrier, Liza Lehmann, Luciano Berio, Ludwig van Beethoven, Manuel de Falla, Marcel Proust, Massimiliano Damenini, Maurice Ravel, Modest Mussorgsky, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Paolo Tosti, Paul McCartney, Pauline Viardot, Pierrot lunaire, Reynaldo Hahn, The Beatlescountermelody

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I return to Cathy Berberian, Prima Donna of the Avant Garde (or “The Divine Miss B” as she was sometimes called in the mid-seventies) for a further exploration of her career and influence on vocalism in the twentieth century and beyond. This time around I consider her explorations outside of the avant garde, specifically the recital. Based on her 1967 recording of Beatles Arias, the conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt invited Cathy Berberian to take part in his groundbreaking 1969 period instrument recording of Monteverdi’s Orfeo. In 1969 Cathy Berberian began to perform recitals that exploited her entire stylistic and vocal range, a program which eventually became known as “From Monteverdi to The Beatles.” In 1971 her ex-husband Luciano Berio wrote a theater piece for her called Recital I (For Cathy), in which she portrayed an increasingly deranged performer who eventually descends into madness. Her interest in Reynaldo Hahn and Marcel Proust eventually led her to create a program entitled À la recherche de la musique perdue. Additional late-career recitals were called Cathy Berberian’s Second Hand Songs and Cathy Sings America. This episode features excerpts from all of those works, as well as a smattering of folk music and a recorded excerpt of her singing the title role of Carmen, a tantalizing prospect which never came to be. The episode also includes a tribute to Kathleen Ferrier, whose 109th birthday was observed this past week.

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 80. Sad Songs (with a twist)

March 14, 2021Art Song, Comic Relief, Full-Figured Baroque, Great Baritones, Gustav Mahler, In Memoriam, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Schubert, Twentieth Century Music, Voiceless WondersAlexander Young, Alfredo Simonetto, Andréa Guiot, Ariettes oubliées, Banalités (Poulenc), Bernard Kruysen, Bethany Beardslee, Brigitte Fassbaender, Castor et Pollux (Rameau), Cathy Berberian, Charles Griffes, Charles Panzéra, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Claude Debussy, Claudio Monteverdi, Das Lied von der Erde, Dido and Aeneas, Die schöne Müllerin, Dylan Thomas, Eduard Mörike: Mörike-Lieder (Wolf). Irmgard Seefried, Felix de Nobel, Fiona MacLeod, Francis Poulenc, Franz Schubert, Gabriel Faure, George Szell, Georges Pretre, Gérard Souzay; Dalton Baldwin, Giacomo Puccini, Giovanni Francesco Busenello, Guillaume Apollinaire, Gustav Mahler, Heinrich Heine, Henry Purcell, Hugo Wolf, Igor Stravinsky, Irwin Gage, Jacques Leguerney, James Joyce, Janet Baker, Jayme Ovalle, Jean Fournet, Jean-Baptiste Rameau, Jean-Paul-Égide Martini, Jeanette Scovotti, Johannes Brahms, John Dowland, Jorma Hynninen, Julian Bream, Kurt Ollmann, L’incoronazione di Poppea, Les dialogues des Carmélites, Lois Marshall, Madeleine Panzéra-Baillot, Magda Olivero, Manuel Bandeira, Maria Callas, Mary Dibbern, Nan Merriman, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Noël Lee, Orphée et Eurydice, Paul Verlaine, Peter Pears, Phyllis Bryn-Julson, Pierre Bernac, Ralf Gothoni, Renée Doria, Reynaldo Hahn, Robert Helps, Robert Schumann, Seiji Ozawa, Suor Angelica, Victor Graef, Vier ernste Gesänge, Wilhelm Müller, William Sharp (Fiona MacLeod)countermelody

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It’s been a year since the pandemic sent us all into various degrees of lockdown, panic, and depression. In certain parts of the world there is no end in sight, while in other parts, medical expertise is being blatantly defied as lockdown measures are carelessly lifted. I did a survey of my friends and listeners this week regarding their favorite sad songs, and I got hit with an avalanche of a wide range of not-happy music. In this episode I am limiting myself to so-called “classical” music. Because the music itself is so heavy, I impersonate (at the top of the episode) a radio announcer for WOKE-FM, a fictional Milwaukee “Top 40 Classical Radio Station,” who is taking calls from all over the world from listeners requesting their favorite sad music. These spurious callers have invariably good taste, and request some glorious music, albeit very sad indeed, by some transcendent performers, including Irmgard Seefried, Maria Callas, Janet Baker, Pierre Bernac, Nan Merriman, Lois Marshall, Peter Pears, and two beautiful French sopranos, Renée Doria and Andréa Guiot, who, at extremely advanced ages, each recently departed this earth. Composers from Dowland, Rameau, and Monteverdi are represented, alongside Poulenc, Schubert, Mahler, Debussy, and Stravinsky. The episode also includes guest vocal appearances by singers, including Cathy Berberian, Magda Olivero, Charles Panzéra, Jorma Hynninen, and Bethany Beardslee, who will receive full-episode treatment in the near future. Ultimately, we return to the atmosphere of a normal Countermelody episode, and are deeply moved by the singers, composers, and music represented.

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 74. Lucretia West (Black History Month 2021 II)

February 11, 2021African American Singers, Art Song, BHM2023WK3, Black History Month, Full-Figured Baroque, Gustav Mahler, Lieder, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Opera in Translation, SchubertAlto Rhapsody (Brahms), Carl Orff, Carl Schuricht, Claudio Monteverdi, Des Knaben Wunderhorn, Dimitri Mitropoulos, Ferdinand Leitner, Franz Schubert, Gustav Mahler, Hans Knappertsbusch, Hermann Scherchen, Johannes Brahms, Jonathan Brice, Kindertotenlieder (Mahler), Kurt Rapf, Leo Taubmann, Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Mahler), Lucretia West, Raymond Wolansky, Sam Morgenstern, Spiritualscountermelody

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The great African American contralto Lucretia West, born on 13 November 1922, is one of the great singers of German Lieder in general and of the music of Gustav Mahler in particular. Though she occasionally appeared in her native country, the majority of her life and career was spent in Germany. She was a favorite of some of the greatest conductors of the 1950s and 1960s, including Hans Knappertsbusch, Dimitri Mitropoulos, Carl Schuricht, and Hermann Scherchen. Her collaborations with them are all featured in this episode. Her recorded legacy is not large, but it is impressive, and includes releases of Schubert Lieder and two albums of spirituals which are among the most significant contributions to that genre. Though she did not sing much opera, I did uncover a 1958 recording with Ferdinand Leitner of Carl Orff’s realization of Claudio Monteverdi’s Orpheus, in which she sings the role of La Messaggera (Die Botin in Orff’s German-language version). All of her work reveals a singer of enormous expressivity and makes an interesting contrast with that of her near-contemporary, Carol Brice.

I had originally intended to post this extra episode as a bonus for my Patreon supporters, but I decided that all of my Black History Month episodes should be available to all interested listeners, whether they are Patreon subscribers or not. Please enjoy, and please pass on the word to all persons who might enjoy learning more about some of the lesser-known African American singers of past generations. And, if you are so inspired, please do consider becoming a monthly supporter on Patreon. I’m so happy that you are here to join in the celebration of this magnificent artist!

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 32. Fedora Barbieri (Mezzo Madness III)

April 25, 2020Art Song, Mezzo Madness, Needle DropAlessandro Parisotti, Alessandro Scarlatti, Amilcare Ponchielli, Antonio Caldara, Antonio Vivaldi, Argeo Quadri, Arlene Saunders, Benedetto Marcello, Chi vuol la zingarella?, Claudio Monteverdi, Come raggio di sol, Demofoonte (Cherubini), Dick Marzollo, Die Liebe der Danae, Fedora Barbieri, Francesco Cavallo, Francesco Conti, George Frideric Handel, Giacomo Carissimi, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Il mio bel foco, La Gioconda, La Gioconda (Ponchielli), Le violette, Luigi Cherubini, Suor Angelica, Teresa Żylis-Garacountermelody

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The Italian mezzo-soprano Fedora Barbieri (1920-2003) was never a great favorite of mine. That is, until I recently came across her rare 1953 recording entitled Fedora Barbieri Sings Old Italian Songs and Airs, accompanied by Dick Marzollo, an assistant of Toscanini’s and one of the principal coaches at the Met in the 1950s. Though possessed of an extraordinary voice, Barbieri’s vocal problems prevented her from making her full mark in much of the dramatic mezzo-soprano repertoire in which her compatriot and arch-rival Giulietta Simionato excelled. However, in this recording of songs by Vivaldi, Pergolesi, Paisiello, Cherubini, Scarlatti, and others, recorded in New York for the Vox label, Barbieri reveals herself as that true rara avis, a classicist with guts. The episode also includes recordings from either end of Barbieri’s five-decade-long career and begins with a tribute to the great American jugendlich dramatisch Sopran Arlene Saunders, who died last week at the age of 89.

Countermelody is a 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 visit the Countermelody website (www.countermelodypodcast.com) for additional content. And please head to our Patreon page at www.patreon.com/countermelody to pledge your monthly support at whatever level you can afford.

Episode 2. A Countertenor for the 21st Century: An Interview with Nicholas Tamagna (Part 1)

September 29, 2019InterviewAksel Schiotz, Alfredo Kraus, Alissa Grimaldi, Anton Dermota, Claudio Monteverdi, Cosi fan tutte, countertenor, Daniel Beckwith, Daniel Gundlach, Doris Day, Elmer Fudd, Francisco Araiza, Fritz Wunderlich, George Friederic Handel, Georges Thill, Heddle Nash, Jerry Hadley, Leopold Simoneau, Nicholas Tamagna, Parapluies de Cherbourg, Peter Schreier, Russell Oberlin, Sam Cooke, Stuart Burrows, Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozartcountermelody

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Nicholas sat down with me this past June to discuss many different aspects of countertenordom, including in-depth discussions of several recent productions of Handel and Monteverdi operas in which he has recently been involved and the challenges in performing a range of musical styles and dramatic contexts. We also discuss the circuitous path by which Nicholas discovered his countertenor voice, the joys of playing comic roles, villains, and flawed heroes, as well as his childhood fascination with language, and how that has served him in good stead in his performing career. This episode, which also features numerous recent live clips of Nicholas singing, concludes with the discovery of our mutual love for an iconic French film. Please join us next week for the conclusion of this interview.

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