Tag Archives: Gilbert Kalish

Episode 140. Universal Passion

April 14, 2022African American Singers, Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Canadian Singers, Full-Figured Baroque, Great Baritones, Holiday Music, In Memoriam, Lieder, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Schubert, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, Voiceless WondersAdele Addison, Alexander Young, Andrzej Hiolski, Arvo Pärt, August Wenzinger, Barthold Heinrich Brockes, Benjamin Luxon, Brockes-Passion (Handel), Christus am Ölberge (Beethoven), Daniel Pinkham, Das Marienleben, David Willison, Edda Moser, Eduard Mörike, Elzbieta Szmytka, Eric Tappy, Erich Itor Kahn, Ernst Haefliger, Eugen Jochum, Eugene Ormandy, Florence Quivar, Francis Poulenc, Franco Caracciolo, François Couperin, Frank Martin, Franz Crass, Franz Schubert, Friedrich Schlegel, George Frideric Handel, Georges Pretre, Gilbert Kalish, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Golgotha (Martin), Gundula Janowitz, Hannu Holma, Hans-Joachim Rotzsch, Heinrich Schütz, Henryk Czyz, Herbert von Karajan, Hugo Wolf, Hugues Cuenod, Irmgard Seefried, Irwin Gage, Jan DeGaetani, Jennie Tourel, Johann Sebastian Bach, John Shirley-Quirk, Jorma Hynninen, Judith Raskin, Jukka Vaari, Julius Baker, Karol Szymanowski, Kristina Boerger, Krzysztof Penderecki, Leçons de Ténèbres, Lotte Lehmann, Ludwig van Beethoven, Lukas-Passion (Penderecki), Maria Stader, Maria Triptychon (Martin), Marie-Lise de Montmollin, Matthäus-Passion, Maureen Lehane, Meriel Dickinson, Muriel Smith, Passio (Pärt), Paul Hindemith, Peter Pears, Peter Schreier, Philippe Huttenlocher, Pierre Mollet, Rainer Maria Rilke, Regine Crespin, Richard Lewis, Robert Bloom, Robert Faller, Robert Shaw, Roger Norrington, Rolf Apreck, Rudolf Jürgen Bartsch, Rudolf Mauersberger, Simon Rattle, Spanisches Liederbuch (Wolf), Spirituals, St. John Passion, Stabat Mater (Pergolesi), Stabat Mater (Poulenc), Stabat Mater (Szymanowski), Tauno Satomaa, Teppo Lampela, Theo Adam, Topi Tuuli Lindeberg, Wally Stämpfli, Walter Berry, Wolfgang Schneiderhancountermelody

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For Christians, this week is probably the most central to the theology of their faith, focusing as it does on the story of the Passion of the Christ. My dear friend, the choral conductor and singer Kristina Boerger posted a fascinating meditation this week about her “complicated” relationship with this theology, and how the performance of music for Holy Week over the years has given her insight into some universal tenets about human nature and behavior. She very kindly agreed to read her essay for me to use as the basis of this week’s podcast, which features music written for, and associated with, the Passion. Composers featured include, from the Baroque era, Couperin, Schütz, Handel, and Bach (with Pergolesi right on the cusp); from the 19th century, Beethoven, Schubert, and Wolf; and from the 20th century, Hindemith, Szymanowski, Poulenc, Penderecki, Frank Martin, and Arvo Pärt. Featured singers include Régine Crespin, Irmgard Seefried, Peter Schreier, Gundula Janowitz, Richard Lewis, Florence Quivar, Andrzej Hiolski, Judith Raskin, Jorma Hynninen, Margaret Marshall, Benjamin Luxon, Muriel Smith, Walter Berry, Edda Moser, and Adele Addison, plus further encounters with several of the Swiss singers we explored last week (Hugues Cuénod, Maria Stader, Eric Tappy, Pierre Mollet, and Ernst Haefliger). Whether you are Christian, agnostic, atheist, Muslim, Jew, or fall into a different category altogether, there will be something here for you of value in this episode.

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 83: Frühlingslieder [Spring Songs]

April 4, 2021African American Singers, Art Song, Broadway, Comic Relief, Crossover, Great Baritones, Holiday Music, Lieder, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Pop Icons, Twentieth Century Music, Voiceless WondersAksel Schiotz, Alan Jay Lerner, Alec Wilder, Benjamin Luxon, Bernard Kruysen, Brigitte Fassbaender, Bryn Terfel, Buddy Clark, Burt Bacharach, Charles Gounod, Claude Debussy, Comedian Harmonists, David Triestram, Dionne Warwick, Dorothy Fields, Edith Mathis, Edvard Grieg, Elly Ameling, Emilio de Gogorza, Emily Skinner, Erik Werba, Felix Mendelssohn, Fran Landesman, Frank Loesser, Franz Schubert, Georgia Brown, Gerald Moore, Gilbert Kalish, Gordon MacRae, Hans Hotter, Hugo Wolf, Jan DeGaetani, Jean Fournet, Jean-Paul Jeannotte, Jerome Kern, John Ireland, Judith Raskin, Kirsten Flagstad, Kurt Weill, Liane Augustin, Luther Henderson, Mabel Mercer, Martina Arroyo, Mattiwilda Dobbs, Milton Babbitt, Ned Rorem, Noël Lee, Oscar Hammerstein II, Paul Weston, Peter Schreier, Polly Bergen, Rebecca Luker, Richard Rodgers, Roberta Alexander, Sergei Rachmaninov, Tamara Milashkina, Tom Lehrer, Tommy Wolf, Vernon Duke, Walter Jurmann, Wilhelm Müller, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Yip Harburgcountermelody

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Dear listeners, it is Easter Sunday. While we are strictly non-sectarian at Countermelody, I did want to offer a program of spring favorites to welcome in the earth’s rebirth. (I also had to scramble to create a “filler” episode due to having lost two days of work this week after receiving my first jab on Wednesday.) Hence today’s offering: a Blumenstrauss of songs celebrating the beloved season of spring. I decided to limit today’s selections exclusively to song, omitting opera, operetta, and oratorio, but somewhat arbitrarily including songs from musicals amidst the classical and pop offerings. Even so, what a lineup of stars today: everyone from Mabel Mercer to Jan DeGaetani, from Hans Hotter to Dionne Warwick, from Georgia Brown to Roberta Alexander, from Kirsten Flagstad to Gordon MacRae. We hear composers ranging from Alec Wilder to Franz Schubert, from Milton Babbitt to Burt Bacharach, and from Hugo Wolf to Tom Lehrer. May these songs and songsters help us to welcome in the long-awaited spring!

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 66. Christmas (Art) Songs

December 20, 2020African American Singers, Art Song, Eileen Farrell, Happy Birthday, Holiday Music, In Memoriam, Lieder, Mezzo Madness, Needle Drop, Richard StraussAlexander Sander, Bernard Kruysen, Bernarda Fink, Bruno Seidler-Winkler, Carl Loewe, Charles Bressler, Charles Ives, Claude Debussy, Claudio Muzio, Dalton Baldwin, Denise Duval, Edvard Grieg, Eileen Farrell, Elizabeth Harwood, Elly Ameling, Engelbert Humperdinck, Erik Werba, Erkki Melartin, Francis Poulenc, Franz Rupp, Gabriel Faure, Genevieve Touraine, George Trovillo, Gerard Souzay, Gilbert Kalish, Hansjörg Albrecht, Helmut Deutsch, Hermann Prey, Hugo Wolf, Ian Partridge, Igor Gorin, Irmgard Seefried, Jan DeGaetani, Jennifer Partridge, Joaquín Nin, Joaquin Rodrigo, Johannes Brahms, John McCabe, John Wustman, Jorma Hynninen, Joseph Canteloube, Joseph Haas, Julius Severin, Karl Erb, Kathleen Ferrier, Leonard Hokanson, Lilli Paasikivi, Lorenzo Molajoli, Marian Anderson, Marianne Hirsti, Marilyn Horne, Marni Nixon, Maurice Emmanuel, Maurice Ravel, Max Gilbert, Noël Lee, Norman Del Mar, Norman Shetler, Olaf Bär, Paul Hindemith, Peter Cornelius, Peter Schreier, Peter Warlock, Phyllis Spurr, Ralf Gothoni, Regine Crespin, Richard Trunk, Roger VIgnoles, Rosario Bourdon, Rudolf Jansen, Ruth-Margret Pütz, Susan Dunn, Ulf Söderblom, Willem Pijper, William Primrose, Wolfgang Anheissercountermelody

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In preparation for the upcoming holiday, this week I offer a cross-section of art songs and arrangements of folk songs, not only from Germany, which is the epicenter of the Christmas Lied, but also France, Norway, the United States, Finland, England, and Spain The performers, recorded between 1927 and 2010, include Ernestine Schumann-Heink, Régine Crespin, Hermann Prey, Claudia Muzio, Elly Ameling, Marian Anderson, Ian Partridge, Karl Erb, Wolfgang Anheisser, Jan DeGaetani, Jorma Hynninen, Bernarda Fink, Olaf Bär, Susan Dunn, Kathleen Ferrier, and Bernard Kruysen, among many others, in songs by composers including, in part, Johannes Brahms, Joaquín Nin, Hugo Wolf, Peter Warlock, Claude Debussy, Charles Ives, and Paul Hindemith. The episode features several performances by my teacher, the esteemed accompanist John Wustman, who on Christmas Day celebrates his 90th birthday.

Links to my 2019 Christmas episodes:

Episode 13: Christmas with the Tenors (including everyone from Fritz Wunderlich to Georges Thill to Roland Hayes): www:countermelodypodcast.com/episode-13-christmas-with-the-tenors

Episode 14: Christmas Potpourri (including my choices for the six most depressing pop Christmas songs ever!): www.countermelodypodcast.com/episode-14-christmas-potpourri-ii-hard-try

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. 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. Bonus episodes available only to Patreon supporters are currently available, including a new extra episode further exploring today’s topic.