Tag Archives: Georges Auric

Episode 271. Muriel Smith (Listeners’ Favorites)

July 11, 2024African American Singers, Art Song, Black History Month, Black History Month 2024, Broadway, Crossover, Forgotten Divas, In Memoriam, Listeners' Favorites, Mezzo Madness, Muriel Smith, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, NYCO Divas, Operetta, Pop Icons, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century MusicAlan Thornhill, Angela Morley, Carmen Jones, Daniel Kelly, Dorothy Fields, Géo Koger, George Fraser, Georges Auric, Georges Bizet, Harry Noble, Jacques Larue, Jimmy McHugh, Lambert Williamson, Loulou Gasté, Marc Blitzstein, Muriel Smith, Oscar Hammerstein II, Paul Dehn, Paul Dunlap, Reginald Burston, Richard Rodgers, Sonny Miller, South Pacific, Spirituals, The King and I, William Shakespearecountermelody

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As I embark on several weeks of vacation, I bring you the first of several episodes from the early years of the podcast in between the new episodes that I will produce with somewhat less frequency between now and September. This week I am honored to bring to you the first of two episodes from the Season One of Countermelody which introduced my listeners to the great African American mezzo-soprano Muriel Smith (1923-1985) who, among other important contributions, premiered the title role of Carmen Jones on Broadway in 1943. We examine her work in musicals and films as well as pop music and opera. Her eclecticism, her ability to color her voice in a way uniquely suited to the wide range of roles she undertook, as well as her deep connection to text and expression, mark her as an artist of the highest caliber. Featured is a rare 1955 Philips recording of spirituals represents Muriel Smith at her artistic and interpretive peak.

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 267. A Cavalcade of Pop Contraltos

June 21, 2024African American Singers, Art Song, Black History Month 2024, Broadway, Crossover, Forgotten Divas, Full-Figured Baroque, Great Tenors, In Memoriam, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Pop Icons, Protest Songs, Queer Pride, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, Voiceless WondersAdolph Green, Alain Oulman, Alexandre O’Neill, Alice Faye, Amália Rodrigues, Angela Bofill, Annie Lennox, Astor Piazzolla, Barbara, Bertice Reading, Bessie Smith, Betty Carter, Betty Comden, Bob Cranshaw, Bonnie Bramlett, Bronislaw Kaper, Burt Bacharach, Castreo Mota, Cher, Chico Feltosa, Clarence Williams, Claudio Monteverdi, Connee Boswell, Cyrus St. Clair, Damia, Domingos Carmarinha, Donald Pippin, Dorothy Fields, Ed Allen, Edward Heyman, Eric Tappy, F. Suarez Paz, Felicia Sanders, Floyd Cramer, Fran Landeman, Françoise Hardy, Frank Eyton, Freddie Mercury, Frédéric Chopin, George Martine, Georges Auric, Gian Francesco Busenello, Guy Bontempelli, Gwen Avery, Hank Cochran, Harlan Howard, Harold Marbern, Harry Carroll, Hector Console, Helen Deutsch, Hélène Cambier, Henri Lapointe, Herbig Mann, Irma Valecillo, Irving Berlin, Irving Joseph, J.C. Johnson, James Purdy, Jeri Southern, Jimmie Grier, Jimmy Cox, Jimmy Jones, Jimmy McHugh, Jodie Devos, John Lennon, Johnny Green, Joseph McCarthy, Joss Baselli, Jule Styne, Karen Carpenter, Kate Smith, Kurt Weill, L’incoronazione di Poppea, Leon Russell, Libby Holman, Lisa Kirk, Louis Poterat, Luiz Carlos Vinhas, Luther Henderson, Maria Bethânia, Marlene Dietrich, Martinho d’Assuncao, Mary Watkins, Max Colpet, Max Greger, Maxwell Anderson, Melanie Safka, Michele Trejo, Milva, Pablo Ziegler, Patsy Cline, Paul Sperry, Pete Seeger, Peter Knight, Peter Schekeryk, Pierre Nicolas, Polly Bergen, Prince, Raymond Leppard, Richard Carpenter, Richard Hundley, Robert Sour, Roy McCurdy, Sarah Vaughan, Sotiria Bellou, Tatiana Troyanos, Ted Grouya, Tina Turner, Tommy Wolf, Vassilis Tsitsanis, Wal-Berg, William Engvickcountermelody

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My intention this week to produce a joyous new episode further celebrating contraltos, was undermined by multiple deaths this past week in the musical world, including French pop icon Françoise Hardy, Swiss tenor Eric Tappy, American art song icon Paul Sperry, and R&B diva Angela Bofill, capped by the tragic demise of young Belgian coloratura soprano Jodie Devos of breast cancer at the age of only 35. The episode, thus, begins with brief musical excerpts from all of these recently departed artists. In the main episode, I spread the contralto net even wider than last time, focusing on low-voiced doyennes of popular song. We hear jazz singers (Betty Carter, Sarah Vaughan, Carmen McRae); stars of stage, screen, and radio (Marlene Dietrich, Polly Bergen, Connee Boswell, Alice Faye, Lisa Kirk, Kate Smith); purveyors of the Blues (Bessie Smith, Bertice Reading); French cabaret singers (Damia, Barbara); fado, rebetika, and tango artists (Amália Rodrigues, Milva, Maria Bethânia, Sotiria Bellou); and late-20th century pop icons (Cher, Tina Turner, Karen Carpenter, Annie Lennox); with a few delightful surprises along the way. I should also note, in honor of Pride Month, that more than a few of these artists flaunted societal norms regarding their affectional preferences, living either furtively or openly at a time when such expressions could have serious consequences. I love putting this kind of episode together and I hope that you enjoy the kaleidoscopic sounds that emerge from the throats of these deep-voiced pop divas.

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 130. Hutch (Black History Month 2022)

February 16, 2022African American Singers, BHM2023WK3, Black History Month, Broadway, Great Baritones, Pop Icons, Queer Pride, Singers of ColorAndy Razaf, Arthur Schwartz, Bart Howard, Billy Rose, Bob Sharples, Cole Porter, Consuelo Velazquez, Dave Dreyer, Edmund Anderson, Eric Maschwitz, Fats Waller, George Gershwin, George Posford, Georges Auric, Harry Revel, Helen Morgan, Howard Dietz, Hutch, Hutch (Leslie Hutchinson), Ira Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Jack Strachey, Jackie Trent, Jerome Kern, Leslie Hutchinson, Lorenz Hart, Mack Gordon, Manning Sherwin, Richard Rodgers, Ruth Coleman, Sunny Skylar, Ted Grouya, Thomas Morris, Tony Hatchcountermelody

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Leslie Hutchinson (1900-1969), known universally as Hutch, rose from his beginnings in Grenada, to become the biggest music star in London in the 1930s. Though he is but little remembered today, he personified class and élan with his smooth, supple baritone and his relaxed yet buoyant pianistic stylings. His career spanned the years from 1923 to his death, and this episode samples recordings ranging over that entire period. His musical importance is overridden today by the many sexual exploits with both women and men that remain even today, legendary. This episode highlights not just the music of Cole Porter, Hutch’s mentor and lover, but covers the entire gamut of the Great American Songbook and beyond, including many near-definitive performances of works by Rodgers and Hart, Irving Berlin, Schwartz and Dietz, and Jerome Kern, as well as some classic British standards.

Episode 45. Muriel Smith (Crossover Classics I)

July 26, 2020African American Singers, Art Song, Bel canto, BHM2023WK4, Black History Month, Crossover, Lieder, Mezzo Madness, Muriel Smith, Needle Drop, Pop Icons, Queer Pride, SmithBHMWK4Angela Morley, April Olrich, Auyar Hosseini, Body and Soul, Carmen Jones, Charles Zwar, Franz Waxman, Georges Auric, Georges Bizet, Hoagy Carmichael, Hugh Martin, Hugo Wolf, Johannes Brahms, Julian Bream, Kenneth Leslie-Smith, Luther Saxon, Marc Blitzstein, Mörike-Lieder, Moulin Rouge, Muriel Smith, Ned Washington, Nimmersatte Liebe, Norman Gimbel, Oscar Hammerstein II, Ralph Blane, Reginald Burston, Richard Rodgers, Robert MacGimsey, Rodgers & Hammerstein South Pacific, Rodgers & Hammerstein The King and I, South Pacific, Sweet Little Jesus Boy, The King and I, The Nearness of You, Wallace Stott, Wally Stottcountermelody

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For the first of my Black History Month episodes back in February, I did a program featuring the extraordinary artist Muriel Smith, who in 1943, while still a student at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, created the title role in Oscar Hammerstein II’s Carmen Jones, which used George Bizet’s opera as the springboard for a hybrid musical featuring an all-Black cast. After several other Broadway appearances (including in a revival of Marc Blitzstein’s The Cradle Will Rock, Muriel Smith moved to London, where she was featured in the “exotic” roles in the London premieres Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific and The King and I. For several years she was the toast of London, appearing on records, on radio, on television, and in concert, as well as singing Bizet’s gypsy in performances of Carmen at Covent Garden in 1957. Most of the currently extant examples of Smith’s singing are of popular music, which she performed with her unique blend of bel canto precision and pinpoint interpretive accuracy. I have recently gotten my hands on numerous rare 78s of Smith’s mid-1950’s pop records, as well as her 1953 EP, I’m in the Mood for Love, all of which are featured on this episode. I also share examples of her famous turns in musicals, capped with a rare recording of her singing Hugo Wolf’s “Nimmersatte Liebe.” Two excerpts from her 1955 Songs of Christmas 45 render this episode a veritable Christmas in July celebration! Musical guest stars include, among others, Marc Blitzstein, Georges Auric, Harvey Fuqua, Auyar Hosseini, Franz Waxman, Luther Saxon, Martin and Blane, Julian Bream, and the extraordinary Angela Morley.

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 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 20. Muriel Smith (Black History Month I)

February 2, 2020African American Singers, BHM2023WK4, Black History Month, Broadway, Mezzo Madness, Muriel Smith, Needle Drop, Pop Icons, Singers of Color, SmithBHMWK4, Twentieth Century MusicBali Hai, Black History Month, Bloody Mary, Carmen Jones, Displaced (The DP), Dorothy Fields, Drury Lane Theatre, Geo Kroger, Georges Auric, Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me, Honor Honor, Howard Pollack, Jimmy McHugh, John Huston, Juanita Hall, Lady Thiang, Loulou Gasté, Marc Blitzstein, Moulin Rouge, Muriel Smith, Muriel Smith Sings Negro Spirituals, Orpheus with his Lute, Oscar Hammerstein II, Philips Records, Richard Rodgers, Sojourner Truth, Something Wonderful, South Pacific, Spirituals, The Cradle Will Rock, The King and I, Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?, Zsa Zsa Gaborcountermelody

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This week kicks off my series of Black History Month episodes, in which I pay homage to some less well-remembered African American singers who nonetheless made an enormous impact in the world of music. This week I am honored to bring to you the great mezzo-soprano Muriel Smith (1923-1985) who, among other important contributions, premiered the title role of Carmen Jones on Broadway in 1943. We examine her work in musicals and films as well as pop music and opera. Her eclecticism, her ability to color her voice in a way uniquely suited to the wide range of roles she undertook, as well as her deep connection to text and expression, mark her as an artist of the highest caliber. Featured is a rare 1955 Philips recording of spirituals represents Muriel Smith at her artistic and interpretive peak.

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