Tag Archives: Helmuth Rilling

Episode 345. A Lenten Litany of Bach Contraltos

March 28, 2025African American Singers, Black History Month, Black History Month 2025, Forgotten Divas, Full-Figured Baroque, Great Contraltos, Great Tenors, Holiday Music, Johann Sebastian Bach, Listeners' Favorites, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Singers in Old Age, Singers of ColorAdolf Bruck, Aldo Baldin, Alfreda Hodgson, Anna Reynolds, Arleen Augér, Birgit Finnilä, Brigitte Fassbaender, Carol Brice, Carolyn Watkinson, Charles O’Connell, Christian Friedrich Henrici, Craig Smith, Daniel Saidenberg, Diethard Hellmann, Easter Oratorio, Elena Obraztsova, Else Brems, Friedel Beckmann, Günther Ramin, György Lehel, Helmut Winschermann, Helmuth Rilling, Jennie Tourel, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes-Passion, John Newmark, Julia Hamari, Karl Richter, Kathleen Ferrier, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Marian Anderson, Matthäus-Passion, Mogens Wöldike, Norma Lerer, Osteroratorium, Peter Schreier, Philip Ledger, Picander, Ria Bollen, Samuel Mayes, St. John Passion, St. Matthew Passioncountermelody

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Over the course of the past year, I have done a number of episodes on contraltos singing a wide range of material. Toward the end of last year, I did a program on Bach contraltos, which featured just a few of the best (and my favorite) contraltos in this genre. At the time, I had an overflowing cornucopia of material and today I have reorganized and expanded that material to bring you a set of Bach arias particularly appropriate for the Lenten Season. And thus I present to you today, arias from the Passions sung by Julia Hamari, Marian Anderson (pictured), and Friedel Beckmann, but also cantata arias by such eminent contraltos as Kathleen Ferrier, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Carol Brice, Jennie Tourel, Carolyn Watkinson, Ria Bollen, Brigitte Fassbaender, Norma Lerer, Alfreda Hodgson, Birgit Finnilä, Elena Obraztsova (yes, you read correctly!), Anna Reynolds, and Else Brems. Non-contralto guest appearances include Arleen Augér, Peter Schreier, and Aldo Baldin. If you are not a Christian, fear not, for behold, there is much in Bach’s music that draws the listener in on any number of levels, not just (or even primarily) a theological one.

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 or yearly support at whatever level you can afford.

Episode 297. In Pace

October 13, 2024African American Singers, Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Bel canto, Broadway, Crossover, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Giacomo Puccini, Great Baritones, Great Tenors, In Memoriam, Lieder, Operetta, Orchestral Songs, Pop Icons, Queer Pride, Schubert, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century MusicAin’t Misbehavin’, André de Shields, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Andy Razaf, Carlo Zangarini, Christopher Keyte, Clairières dans le ciel, Claude Debussy, Claudio Monteverdi, David Belasco, David Cullen, Dick Scanlan, Dominic Cossa, Edward Thomas, Eric Tappy, Erna Spoorenberg, Fats Waller, Francis Jammes, Franz Lehár, Franz Schubert, Franz Welser-Möst, Gaetano Donizetti, Gavin Creel, Gene Page, Geoffrey Pratley, Giacomo Puccini, Giovanni Francesco Busenello, Guelfo Civinini, Hello Dolly!, Helmuth Rilling, Henri Meilhac, Howard Crook, Ivor Gurney, James Darren, Jean Françaix, Jean-Marie Auberson, Jeanine Tesori, Jerry Herman, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Ken Page, Kris Kristofferson, L’incoronazione di Poppea, La Fanciulla del West, Lando Bartolini, Leo Stein, Lili Boulanger, Lucia di Lammermoor, Luther Henderson, Mary-Mitchell Campbell, Maurice Maeterlinck, Meredith Willson, Michael Rafter, Michel-Richard Delalande, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Pelleas et Melisande, Petula Clark, Philippe Herreweghe, Rachel Yakar, Robbie Roth, Robert Hale, Robert Wilson, Roger Sessions, Salvadore Cammarano, Seiji Ozawa, Seth Rudetsky, Siegfried Lorenz, Sinéad O’Connor, Steve Davislim, T.S. Eliot, Tamás Pál, The Music Man, Tony Hatch, Ute Gfrerer, Vespro della beata vergine, Viktor Léon, Walt Whitman, Walter Scott, When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’dcountermelody

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Today I present part two of my “In Memoriam” series, honoring treasured singers who have recently died. This week I focus on male singers, covering the gamut from opera singers (Dominic Cossa, Lando Bartolini, Eric Tappy, Steve Davislim, Siegfried Lorenz) to pop stars (James Darren, Kris Kristofferson); early music singers (Howard Crook) to Broadway icons (Ken Page, Gavin Creel). As with last week’s episode, each of these singers left an indelible mark in their respective musical field(s) and each loss is felt profoundly, especially those like Steve Davislim and Gavin Creel, whose time to leave this earth came much too soon. Musically speaking this is a particularly eclectic episode, featuring everything from Monteverdi and Delalande, to country western standards. Other singers heard in the episode include André de Shields and Ute Gfrerer, as well as other artists who died over the course of the last year, including Robert Hale, Norman Shetler, Rachel Yakar, and Sinéad O’Connor.

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 291. A Bevy of Bachian Contraltos

September 22, 2024African American Singers, Forgotten Divas, Full-Figured Baroque, Great Contraltos, Listeners' Favorites, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle DropAafje Heynis, Antonio Janigro, Benjamin Britten, Bernard Greenhouse, Bernardette Greevy, Brigitte Fassbaender, Carol Smith, Christa Ludwig, Claudia Hellmann, Diethard Hellmann, Elly Ameling, Erich Itor Kahn, Franz Holetschek, Fritz Werner, Germaine Cernay, Hans Heintze, Hans Thamm, Helen Watts, Helmut Hucke, Helmuth Kahlhöfer, Helmuth Rilling, Hermann Sauter, Hilde Rössel-Majdan, Janet Baker, Johann Sebastian Bach, John Newmark, John O’Sullivan, Karl Richter, Kathleen Ferrier, Kurt Thomas, Madeleine Berkeley, Marga Höffgen, Margarethe Bence, Marian Anderson, Martha Angelici, Maureen Forrester, Maureen Lehane, Maurice Wilk, Millicent Silver, Noélie Pierront, Norma Procter, Richard Harand, Robert Bloomcountermelody

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This week I pull out all the Baroque stops (appropriately enough), to present you with an episode chock full of contraltos, all singing the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. I have chosen 28 different contraltos, active between the late 1930s and the early 2000s, who excelled in the singing and interpretation of this most spiritual, and most genius, of composers. I am dividing this episode into two separate segments, the first of which I present here, a group of singers which includes such legendary historical figures as Kathleen Ferrier and Marian Anderson, and Christa Ludwig, as well as such exceptional voices from the Americas as Maureen Forrester and Carol Smith; and, from the continent, Aafje Heynis, Germaine Cernay, Brigitte Fassbaender, Hilde Rössel-Majdan, Claudia Hellmann, Marga Höffgen, and Margarethe Bence. These women are joined by a further a group of British contraltos and mezzo-sopranos, each with distinctive and exceptional approaches to the music of Bach, including Helen Watts, Norma Procter, Maureen Lehane (for me, the big discovery of the week), and of course Janet Baker, beloved to all of us. I also pay tribute to a select group of exceptional Kapellmeister including Karl Richter, Helmuth Kahlhöfer, Fritz Werner, Kurt Thomas, and Hans Thamm, who thrived in recordings and live performances from the 1950s and beyond. If certain favorite names of yours are missing from this week’s setlist, no worries: they may well appear on next week’s episode, which continues to combine Bachian expressive profundity with plummy contralto depths.