Tag Archives: David Garvey

Episode 216. The Lieder of Joseph Marx

September 28, 2023African American Singers, Art Song, Comic Relief, Great Baritones, Great Tenors, In Memoriam, Lieder, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Orchestral Songs, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century MusicAlbert Giraud, Angelika Kirchschlager, Anthony Spiri, Anton Dermota, Anton Wildgans, Arleen Augér, Carl Hauptmann, Carroll Hollister, David Garvey, Dorothy Irving, Erik Werba, Ernő Balogh, Florence Easton, Gerald Moore, Gustav Falke, Hartmut Höll, Heinrich Goebel, Irmgard Seefried, John Charles Thomas, Joseph Marx, Joseph von Eichendorff, Kendra Colton, Knut Hamsun, Laura Ward, Leontyne Price, Ljuba Welitsch, Lotte Lehmann, Miltiades Caridis, Mitsuko Shirai, Novalis, Otto Eric Hartleben, Paul Heyse, Paul Ulanowsky, Rainer Maria Rilke, Richard Dehmel, Stella Doufexis, Steven Sloane, Tabea Zimmermann, Waldemar Kmentt, Wilma Lippcountermelody

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This week (inspired by an 10-inch LP in my collection of his songs performed by Anton Dermota and Wilma Lipp, both stalwarts of the Wiener Staatsoper in the 1950s) I present an introduction to the Lieder of Austrian composer Joseph Marx (1882 – 1964). His songs are most frequently compared to Richard Strauss and Hugo Wolf and are distinctly post-Romantic in style and harmony, but they also exhibit traits unique to their composer. As with so many figures from this period in European history, his legacy is shadowed in controversy, which I discuss at length. In the end, I believe it is his contribution as an inspired composer, particularly of song, for which he should be most remembered. Alongside Lipp and Dermota, some of the other singers heard in the episode include Ljuba Welitsch, Irmgard Seefried, Angelika Kirchschlager, Leontyne Price, Lotte Lehmann, Waldemar Kmentt, John Charles Thomas, Florence Easton, and Arleen Augér. Pianists include Marx himself, as well as Erik Werba and Paul Ulanowsky, both of whom studied with him. If you only know one or two of Marx’s songs (or if you don’t know his work at all), you are in for a glorious surprise!

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 141. Chansons d’avril

April 21, 2022African American Singers, Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Broadway, Canadian Singers, Comic Relief, Full-Figured Baroque, Great Baritones, Holiday Music, Lieder, Margaret Price, Mezzo Madness, Needle Drop, Pop Icons, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century MusicAlan Jay Lerner, Alec Wilder, Arnold Black, Arthur Loosli, Beniamino Gigli, Billy Taylor, Bruno Seidler-Winkler, Buddy Clark, Carmen McRae, Charles Gounod, Dalton Baldwin, David Garvey, Dietrich Buxtehude, Donald Gramm, Eartha Kitt, Edith Piaf, Eduard Mörike, Eileen Farrell, Elaine Stritch, Elisabeth Soderstrom, Emma Calvé, Fran Landesman, Francis Poulenc, Frédéric Chopin, Frederick Loewe, Friedel Beckmann, George Butterworth, Georges Auric, Georges Bizet, Gerard Souzay, Gleb Yellin, Hans Pfitzner, Helen Morgan, Henri René, Hugo Wolf, Ivor Novello, James Hurst, Jerry Herman, Johannes Brahms, John Shirley-Quirk, Judy Collins, Kaye Ballard, Leontyne Price, Leslie “Hutch” Hutchinson, Lorenz Hart, Margaret Price, Marguerite Monnot, Martin Isepp, Muriel Smith, Ned Rorem, Nikolaus Lenau, Ninon Vallin, Noël Coward, Olga Pavlova, Othmar Schoeck, Paolo Tosti, Patricia Neway, Percy Faith, Peter Matz, Renée Doria, Reynaldo Hahn, Richard Rodgers, Robert Schumann, Stuart Foster, Sylvia Gähwiller, Theo Hug, Tommy Dorsey, Tommy Wolf, Vladimir Ashkenazy, William Engvickcountermelody

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This week’s episode is a musical celebration of all things spring. As in all episodes of this sort, it features a wide range of singers in performances recorded over the course of many decades, all singing about the delights (and sometimes the heartbreak) of spring. Artists include Carmen McRae, Beniamino Gigli, Elisabeth Söderström, Helen Morgan, Leontyne Price, Judy Collins, Eartha Kitt, Emma Calvé, Eileen Farrell, Kaye Ballard, Gérard Souzay, Patricia Neway, and Edith Piaf, among many others, singing songs of Tommy Wolf, Fran Landesman, Georges Auric, Hugo Wolf, Lerner and Loewe, Dietrich Buxtehude, Alec Wilder, and Paolo Tosti. A vernal feast for the ears!

The Countermelody podcast is 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 129. Leontyne Price in Concert (Black History Month 2022)

February 11, 2022African American Singers, Art Song, BHM2023WK2, Black History Month, Happy Birthday, Lieder, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Richard Strauss, Schubert, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century MusicAda Negri, Adolf Friedrich von Schack, Armand Silvestre, Charles Baudelaire, Claude Debussy, Clemens Brentano, David Garvey, Du Bose Heyward, Eduard Mörike, Emily Dickinson, Francis Poulenc, Franz Liszt, Franz Schubert, Friedrich Rückert, Gabriel Faure, George Gershwin, Hector Berlioz, Hermit Songs (Barber), Howard Swanson, Hugo Wolf, Igor Stravinsky, Ira Gershwin, James Agee, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, John La Montaine, Knoxville Summer of 1915, Langston Hughes, Lee Hoiby, Leontyne Price, Les nuits d’été, Lev Mei, Ludwig Rellstab, Margaret Bonds, Matthäus von Collin, Ottorino Respighi, Paul Éluard, Porgy and Bess, Richard Dehmel, Richard Strauss, Robert Schumann, Samuel Barber, Serge Rachmaninov, Spirituals, Théophile Gautier, Victor Hugocountermelody

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The great Leontyne Price, soprano par excellence and beacon to a world that desperately needed (and still needs) her, turned 95 this week. In celebration of her birthday, I chose to offer a less well-known and celebrated aspect of her artistry: Leontyne Price as an interpreter of art song, mélodie, and Lieder. The selections, both live and studio recordings, range over the course of her more than 40-year career, and include selections by Howard Swanson, as well as Samuel Barber and Lee Hoiby, both of whom crafted music with her specific voice in mind. Also included are melodies by Francis Poulenc, Hector Berlioz, Franz Liszt, and Claude Debussy; art songs by Respighi and Rachmaninov; Lieder by Wolf, Schubert, Schumann, and Richard Strauss; followed by a pair of spirituals arranged by Margaret Bonds. And, because this is Leontyne Price singing in concert, we must conclude, as she always did, with a performance of “Summertime” from Porgy and Bess. I also relate several brief stories which relate how I, in my youth, fell under the power of the voice of Leontyne Price. Fond birthday greetings to this extraordinary artist and woman! Long Live the Queen!

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 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 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 78. Twentieth Century Pioneers (Black History Month 2021 VI)

February 28, 2021African American Singers, Art Song, Black History Month, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (Bernstein & Lerner), A Picnic Cantata (Bowles & Schuyler), Adele Addison, Adolph Green, Alan Jay Lerner, Amadou Moustapha Wade, Andre Previn, Arthur Gold, Barbara Hendricks, Betty Comden, Carl Sandburg, Carol Brice, Charles Chaynes, Charles Holland, Chester Kallman, Christiane Eda-Pierre, Colin Davis, David Del Tredici, David Garvey, David Robertson, Dennis Russell Davies, Eberhard Wächter, El Cimarrón (Henze), Elisabeth Höngen, Emma Lazarus, Franz Kafka, Gian Carlo Menotti, Gilbert Amy, Gloria Davy, Hall Johnson, Hans Werner Henze, Helen Thigpen, Howard Swanson, Igor Stravinsky, James Schuyler, Jessye Norman, Jill Gomez, John Nelson, Josephine Barstow, Judith Weir, Julius Rudel, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Kathleen Battle, Langston Hughes, Lawrence Winters, Lee Hoiby, Leonard Bernstein, Leontyne Price, Lewis Carroll, Lukas Foss, Mareda Gaither, Margaret Bonds, Martha Flowers, Martina Arroyo, Maya Angelou, Ned Rorem, Nelly Sachs, Olive Moorefield, R. Nathaniel Dett, Raimund Herincx, Robert Fizdale. Paul Bowles, Robert Tear, Roberta Alexander, Shulamit Ran, The Knot Garden (Tippett), The Old Maid and the Thief (Menotti), The Ordering of Moses (Dett), The Rake’s Progress (Stravinsky), Thomas Carey, Toni Morrison, Troubled Island (Still), W.H. Auden, William Grant Still, William Levi Dawson, William Pearson, Yvonne Mintoncountermelody

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To round off #BlackHistoryMonth2021, I bring you an array of artists singing a wide range of 20th Century repertoire. Included are singers who have previously been featured in full episodes (including Lawrence Winters, Gloria Davy, Charles Holland, and Carol Brice), legendary favorites (including Leontyne Price, Martina Arroyo, Roberta Alexander, and Barbara Hendricks), important concert singers (including Adele Addison and Betty Allen), lesser-known artists (including Helen Thipgen, Martha Flowers, William Pearson, Mareda Gaither, and Olive Moorefield), and iconic singers (including Jessye Norman, Kathleen Battle, and Christiane Eda-Pierre) for whom important new work was created by Judith Weir, André Previn, and Charles Chaynes. The range of composers represented is equally vast and includes Leonard Bernstein, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Virgil Thomson, Michael Tippett, Lee Hoiby, Shulamit Ran, Gian Carlo Menotti, Judith Weir, Paul Bowles, Lukas Foss, and David Del Tredici. with special attention given to African American composers Margaret Bonds, Howard Swanson, William Grant Still, Hall Johnson, and Robert Nathaniel Dett. In other words: something for everyone and just a foretaste of future Countermelody programs that will continue to celebrate the contributions of African American singers.

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 76. William Warfield (BHM 2021 IV)

February 21, 2021African American Singers, Art Song, Black History Month, Broadway, Crossover, Full-Figured Baroque, Great Baritones, Lieder, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle DropA Lincoln Portrait (Copland), Aaron Copland, Alexander Smallens, Arthur Gold, Bach Aria Group, Carl Loewe, Celius Dougherty, David Garvey, Dorothy Maynor, George Gershwin, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Karl Weigl, Langston Hughes, Leonard Bernstein, Leontyne Price, Leopold Simoneau, Liederkreis Op. 39 (Schumann), Old American Songs (Copland), Otto Herz, Porgy and Bess, Robert Fizdale, Robert Schumann, Spanische Liebeslieder (Schumann), Spirituals, Vier ernste Gesänge (Brahms), Vincent Youmans, Virgil Fox, Voice of Firestone, William Marshall, William Warfieldcountermelody

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This week’s subject is one of the towering figures of 20th century music: the African American bass-baritone William Warfield (1920–2002). Though he sprang to prominence as Joe in the 1951 MGM remake of Show Boat and as Porgy opposite his then-wife Leontyne Price in the US State Department-sponsored 1952 international tour of Porgy and Bess, in my opinion his greatest accomplishments were as a concert singer. This episode focuses on his performances of Aaron Copland’s Old American Songs, his interpretations of German lieder, and, from later in his career, his narration of Copland’s A Lincoln Portrait and the poetry of Langston Hughes. I knew William Warfield, universally known to his students and younger colleagues as “Uncle Bill,” when I was one of the accompanists in his vocal studio at the University of Illinois where I was obtaining my master’s degree. His kindness and his dedication to his craft inspired us all to give of our best. It is my privilege to celebrate the unique and multi-faceted artistry of this unforgettable and treasurable man.

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 36. Glamour

May 24, 2020African American Singers, Crossover, Giuseppe Verdi, Needle Drop, Operetta, Pop IconsAlice Faye, Anna Moffo, Annie Lennox, Bellini I Puritani, Bernard Herrmann, Betty Carter, Canzone di Doretta, Carol Neblett, Cassandra Wilson, Cesare Andrea Bixio, Charles Gerhardt, Citizen Kane, Das Wunder der Heliane, Dave Stewart, David Garvey, Diahann Carroll, Die tote Stadt, Dorothy Kirsten, Eleanor Steber, Eurythmics, Florence Quartararo, Franz Lehár, Fritz Wunderlich, George Gershwin, Gershwin Oh Kay!, Giacomo Puccini, Giuditta (Lehár), Giuseppe Verdi, Hana Janků, Harold Arlen, Harold Simpson, Harry Revel, Helen Traubel, Hercule Gilles de Fontenailles, Hilde Güden, Hildegarde, House of Flowers, I Lombardi, I Put a Spell on You, Il Trovatore, Ira Gershwin, Italian Street Song (Naughty Marietta), James Bland, Jeanne Dortzal, José Carreras, Jules Massenet, Karl Friedrich, Kiri Te Kanawa, Knickerbocker Holiday, Kurt Weill, La rondine, Landon Ronald, Leontyne Price, Liane Augustin, Lisa Kirk, Lorenz Hart, Lotte Lehmann, Mack Gordon, Maria Nemeth, Massenet Thaïs, Miguel Fleta, Montserrat Caballé, Moonlight in Vermont, Muddy Waters, My Funny Valentine, Naughty Marietta, Ned Rorem, Noël Coward, Richard Rodgers, Richard Strauss, Robert Gilbert, Robert Stolz, Rosa Ponselle, Teresa Żylis-Gara, The Incomparable Hildegarde, Truman Capote, Victor Herbert, Vier letzte Lieder, Vincenzo Bellini, Zarah Leandercountermelody

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The Oxford English Dictionary defines “glamour” as “magic; enchantment; spell” and “a magical or fictitious beauty attaching to any person or object; a delusive or alluring charm.” Further down in the entry are “charm; attractiveness; physical allure,” certainly the definition we most closely associate with the term. And yet, it’s fascinating to examine the concept of glamour from its spellbinding origins. In the first of my episodes on Glamour, I examine many singers both from the spell-binding sense of the term and the sense of vocal and personal allure. Among others, I examine such varied singers as Alice Faye, Eleanor Steber, Annie Lennox, Carol Neblett, Betty Carter, Diahann Carroll, Teresa Żylis-Gara, Liane Augustin, Dorothy Kirsten, Florence Quartararo, Hana Janků, Helen Traubel, Hilde Güden, Kiri Te Kanawa, Leontyne Price, Lisa Kirk, Lotte Lehmann, Anna Moffo, Maria Nemeth, Montserrat Caballé, Rosa Ponselle, Zarah Leander, and The Incomparable Hildegarde with an eye to what makes their work glamourous in all senses of the term. And the gentlemen are by no means excluded: I spend particular time on the seductive and dulcet tenor tones of Fritz Wunderlich, José Carreras, Karl Friedrich, and Miguel Fleta.

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.