Tag Archives: Hermann Scherchen

Episode 173. Orchesterlieder I

December 2, 2022Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Great Baritones, Happy Birthday, Holiday Music, In Memoriam, Lieder, Mirella Freni, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, NYCO Divas, Orchestral Songs, Richard Strauss, Twentieth Century MusicAlain Lombard, Alberto Ginastera, Alexander von Zemlinsky, Alphons Diepenbrock, André Caplet, André Jolivet, Andrzej Hiolski, Antal Dorati, Antoine Golea, Antonín Dvořák, Arthur Loosli, Bernard Kruysen, Bohumil Gregor, Brian Priestman, Charles Baudelaire, Charles Panzéra, Christoph von Dohnányi, Colette Herzog, Ernst Hermann Meyer, Francisco Araiza, Frank Martin, Franz Kafka, Franz Schreker, Giuseppe Martucci, Gundula Janowitz, Gwyneth Jones, Hans Effenberger, Hans Reisinger, Helen Donath, Herbert Kegel, Hermann Scherchen, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Irene Gubrud, Jan Krenz, Jean Sibelius, Kalevala, Karan Armstrong, Karl Friedrich Henckell, Kurt Sanderling, Lorin Maazel, Louis Fürnberg, Luonnotor, Mirella Freni, Ned Rorem, Nikolaus Lenau, Othmar Schoeck, Peter Schreier, Phyllis Curtin, Piero Coppola, Rabindranath Tagore, Rémy de Gourmont, Riccardo Muti, Richard Stamp, Richard Strauss, Roberto Abbado, Rocco Emanuele Pagliara, Tadeusz Baird, Theo Adam, Theo Loosli, Walt Whitman, Willem van Otterloo, William Shakespeare, Yi-Kwei Szecountermelody

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This week is the first of a series of episodes focusing on songs with orchestral accompaniment. The genre is almost a contradiction in terms: the intimacy and textual focus of art song with the sometimes strenuous vocal demands of singing over an orchestra. The most celebrated and successful of such songs (by Berlioz, Mahler, Ravel, Barber, Strauss, and others) are heard over and over on symphonic concerts when vocal soloists are the featured guests. And rightly so, for they are among the most glorious classical music written for the human voice. Typically for Countermelody, however, today’s episode, however, will focus on repertoire and composers that are less celebrated to the point of being virtually unknown. Composers heard include Frank Martin, Alexander Zemlinsky, Jean Sibelius, Giuseppe Martucci, Franz Schreker, Othmar Schoeck, Antonín Dvořák, Alberto Ginastera, Alphons Diepenbrock and the two Andrés, Jolivet and Caplet, alongside many others, performed by such favorites as Gwyneth Jones, Phyllis Curtin, Peter Schreier, Gundula Janowitz, Yi-Kwei Sze, Mirella Freni, Francisco Araiza, Elisabeth Söderström, and Bernard Kruysen. Also heard are Helen Donath and Andrzej Hiolski, singers soon to be featured on their own episodes, alongside lesser-remembered names such as Arthur Loosli, Irene Gubrud, and Colette Herzog. Conductors include Kurt Sanderling, Antal Doráti, Herbert Kegel, Bohumil Gregor, Hermann Scherchen, and Lorin Maazel. I “guarantee” that your ears will be enchanted and your musical horizons will be expanded by this episode.

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 163. Season Four Preview

September 23, 2022African American Singers, Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Broadway, Crossover, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Giacomo Puccini, Great Baritones, Gustav Mahler, Happy Birthday, Lieder, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, NYCO Divas, Opera in Translation, Operetta, Pop Icons, Queer Pride, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, Verismo, Voiceless WondersAbe Polakoff, Albert Willemetz, Alec Wilder, Alfred Heller, André Girard, André Jolivet, André Mauprey, André Messager, Andrée Esposito, Andrzej Hiolski, Anna Moffo, Arnold Sundgaard, Carl Tillius, Carol Litvin, Carol Neblett, Das Land des Lächelns, Denise Duval, Don Costa, Donal Nold, Doru Popovici, Eduard Mörike, Eleanor Steber, Enrico DiGiuseppe, Ernst Kozub, Federico García Lorca, Franz Lehár, Franz Schreker, Frasquita (Lehár), Fritz Jahoda, Gabriel Bacquier, Gerald Moore, Gerard Souzay, Gertrude Grob-Prandl, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Giacomo Puccini, Gilda Cruz-Romo, Gustav Mahler, Hans Willi Häusslein, Heinrich Isaac, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Helen Donath, Helena Christenko, Henry Wright, Hermann Scherchen, Hugo Wolf, Hugues Cuenod, Igor Kipnis, Jacques Leguerney, Jean Laforge, Jean Marietti, Jean-Yves Daniel-Lesur, Joaquín Nin, Joel Cohen, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Judith Raskin, Julius Rudel, Kurt Ollmann, La Boheme, La Fanciulla del West, Louis Emié, Manuel Rosenthal, Marina Krilovici, Martina Arroyo, Mary Dibbern, Max Lichtegg, Meinhard von Zallinger, Michael Devlin, Milton Kaye, Nicolai Gedda, Oskar Merikanto, Pierre de Ronsard, Raymond Chevreux, Richard Volkmann, Robert Massard, Robert Schumann, Roberta Alexander, Sammy Davis Jr., Shannon Bolin, Sonny Curtis, Viktor Sund, Walt Whitman, William Ledbettercountermelody

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Today Countermelody is in limbo: balanced between Seasons Three and Four. Over the past few months I’ve been planning the course of the upcoming season and this episode consists of musical tidbits (bocconcini, if you will) of some of the singers and themed series that I am planning for Season Four. Included are retrospectives of singers Judith Raskin, Roberta Alexander, Sammy Davis, Jr., Helen Donath, Hugues Cuénod, Anna Moffo, Denise Duval, and Nicolai Gedda, all of whom are “sampled” today. I’m also planning programs on; “Great Singers We’ve Never Heard Of;” the music of Alec Wilder; the Black male singer as European émigré; “Behind the Iron Curtain;” explorations of both Orchestral Songs and Rare Twentieth-Century Operas; and “Great Singers in Old Age;” as well as, naturally, a closer examination of many of those New York City Opera divas to whom I provided an introduction last week. The new season will also be more interactive, with livestream interviews planned with various fascinating (and legendary!) figures in the world of opera and classical music. Thanks to all for your continued support, friendship, and listenership; see you next week for the debut of Season Four of Countermelody!

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.