Tag Archives: John DeMain

Episode 283. Betty Allen

August 25, 2024African American Singers, Art Song, Bel canto, Black History Month 2024, Forgotten Divas, Full-Figured Baroque, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Contraltos, Lieder, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, NYCO Divas, Opera in Translation, Singers of Color, Spirituals, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century OperaAdele Addison, Adolf Holst, Aida, Alexander Nevsky, Allen Ohmes, Antonio Ghislanzoni, Auguste Bey, Benjamin Matthews, Betty Allen, Carlo Pepoli, Carmen Balthrop, Charles Jennens, Charles Wendt, Christian Friedrich Henrici, David Garvey, Didier Gold, Ella Eure-Eaton, Eugene Ormandy, Four Saints in Three Acts, George Frideric Handel, Gertrude Stein, Giacomo Puccini, Gioachino Rossini, Giuseppe Adami, Giuseppe Verdi, Gunther Schuller, Gwendolyn Bradley, Hildegard Hillebrecht, Horst Stein, I Puritani, Il tabarro, Israel in Egypt, Joel Thome, Johann Sebastian Bach, John Corigliano, John DeMain, John Ferrell, John Troutbeck, Joseph de Vaughn, Karl Forster, Karl Wagenfeld, Karl Weigl, Leonard Bernstein, Leontyne Price, Matthäus-Passion, Nicolai Gedda, Nino Sanzogno, Paul Boepple, Picander, Praises and Prayers (Thomson), Richard Bonynge, Robert Mandell, Scott Joplin, Serge Prokofiev, St. Augustine, St. Matthew Passion, Treemonisha, Vincenzo Bellini, Virgil Thomson, Vladimir Lugovsky, William Penn, William Preucilcountermelody

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Betty Allen has been featured on countless omnibus Countermelody episodes, but it’s time for her to get her own episode! Born in Ohio on 17 March, 1927, she died at the age of 82 on 22 June 2009. Not only did Betty Allen possess a voice of significant power and amplitude, she was a superb musician who channeled her soul into her singing, using her superb technique to convey depth of meaning in all the music she sang. She also had a wide repertoire, excelling in opera, concert, and recital. Though her recorded legacy is relatively small, it is superb and significant. Today’s episode samples a cross-section of her recordings, both live and studio, and includes collaborations with Leonard Bernstein, Nicolai Gedda, Eugene Ormandy, Carmen Balthrop, Horst Stein, Leontyne Price, Virgil Thomson, John DeMain, Hildegard Hillebrecht, Richard Bonynge, and Adele Addison. She was a powerful force for good in the musical world, as an educator and advocate as well, succeeding Dorothy Maynor in leading the Harlem School of the Arts, where she served as both executive director and president. Many currently active singers have been touched by the stringent generosity of this fine artist, and it is my honor to pay tribute to her today.

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 234. David Savran Introduces Carol Brice (Listeners’ Favorites V)

January 14, 2024African American Singers, Art Song, Black History Month, Broadway, Comic Relief, Crossover, Full-Figured Baroque, Gustav Mahler, Lieder, Listeners' Favorites, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Operetta, Orchestral Songs, Pop Icons, Protest Songs, Schubert, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century OperaAlto Rhapsody (Brahms), Black History Month 2021, Burton Lane, Carol Brice, Claibe Richardson, David Savran, DuBose Heyward, Edward H. Boatner, El amor brujo, Finian’s Rainbow, Franz Schubert, Frederick John Easthope Martin, Fritz Reiner, George Gershwin, Giuseppe Sarti, Gustav Mahler, Hall Johnson, Harold Arlen, Jean Berger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, John Alden Carpenter, John DeMain, Johnny Mercer, Jonathan Brice, Kenward Elmslie, Larry Marshall, Leo Taubmann, Lucretia West, Magnificat (Bach), Manuel de Falla, Marc Blitzstein, Mercer), Odette Myrtil, Porgy and Bess, Regina (Blitzstein), Robert Franz, Robert MacGimsey, Robert Shaw, Roland Hayes, Samuel Krachmalnick, Saratoga (Arlen, Serge Koussevitzky, Spirituals, Stephen Foster, Sweet Little Jesus Boy, The Grass Harp, Thomas Carey, We Shall Overcome, Yip Harburgcountermelody

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This Listeners’ Favorites episode serves a dual purpose: first it is a celebration the publication this week of my partner David Savran’s new book, Tell It to the World: The Broadway Musical Abroad, by Oxford University Press. (I’ll be doing two episodes with David on this book in March in conjunction with the book launch.) Second, David introduces us to one of his favorite Countermelody episodes, a 2021 Black History Month celebration of the life, voice, and career of the great African American contralto Carol Brice (1916-1985), whose career encompassed both Broadway and opera. It’s that very versatility that most attracted David to Brice’s work. He describes to us his first exposure to a variety of her recordings, from Falla to Finian’s Rainbow. I myself first heard Carol Brice in her recording of “Sweet Little Jesus Boy,” which exemplifies all her musical virtues: simplicity and directness of utterance, lack of sentimentality, and deep identification with both text and music. Add to this a voice of such depth and refinement and a technique so secure that she is almost without equal. From her early career outings as the first African American to win the coveted Naumburg Award, through her appearances on the Broadway stage and in Porgy and Bess, Carol Brice brought an emotional honesty to her performances such as is rarely encountered in any field of genre. On this episode I feature her in a wide range of live and commercial recordings from Marc Blitzstein’s Regina to concert pieces by Brahms and Mahler, focusing in particular on a matchless 1947 song recital with her brother Jonathan Brice as her collaborator. Brice’s second husband, the baritone Thomas Carey is also featured in a pair of recordings. Thank you, David, for re-introducing my listeners to this great artist, and congratulations on your monumental new book!

Episode 107. Norman Bailey and Friends

September 19, 2021African American Singers, Art Song, Broadway, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, In Memoriam, Lieder, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Opera in Translation, Pop Icons, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Twentieth Century MusicAlan Curtis, Alan Jay Lerner, Alban Berg, Alexander Gibson, Allegro (Rodgers & Hammerstein), Buddy Bregman, Burton Lane, Carlo Gaifa, Carmen Balthrop, Claudio Monteverdi, Cora Johnson, David Atherton, Die Liebe der Danae, Eduard Mörike, Friedrich Rückert, Geoffrey Parsons, Georges Pretre, Giuseppe Verdi, Jane Powell, Jeanette MacDonald, Johannes Brahms, John Constable, John DeMain, José Cáceres, Joseph Gregor, King Priam (Tippett), Kristine Ciesinski, L’incoronazione di Poppea, La sonnambula, La Traviata, Lulu (Berg), Maria Callas, Michael Tippett, Norman Bailey, Olivier Messiaen, Oscar Hammerstein II, Peter Warlock, Philip Langridge, Pink Martini, Reginald Goodall, Richard Rodgers, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Robert Schumann, Royal Wedding, Scott Joplin, Thomas Lauderdale, Treemonisha, Vier ernste Gesänge, Vincenzo Bellinicountermelody

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Death has had a busy month in the music world, especially this past week, when we lost the great British Heldenbariton Norman Bailey and the delectable Hollywood star Jane Powell. This past week was also the memorial service for the soprano Carmen Balthrop, who died of pancreatic cancer on September 5. My original intent was to devote the episode to Norman Bailey, but when Jane (with whom I had a personal relationship, having been her late husband Dick Moore’s personal assistant from 2009-2012) also died, I realized I had to do an omnibus episode of sorts. I begin with several selections each from both of the recently departed divas and then plunge headlong into an appreciation of the voice, technique and artistry of the great Norman Bailey, featuring him in opera excerpts not just by Wagner, in whose music he excelled, but also by Verdi, Richard Strauss, and Michael Tippett. He is also featured in recordings from the 1970s of songs by Schumann, Brahms, Hugo Wolf, and Peter Warlock. The episode concludes with a tribute to Maria Callas on the 44th anniversary of her death on September 16, 1977.

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 73. Carol Brice (Black History Month 2021 I)

February 7, 2021African American Singers, Art Song, BHM2023WK3, Black History Month, Broadway, Crossover, Full-Figured Baroque, Lieder, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Protest SongsAlto Rhapsody (Brahms), Black History Month 2021, Burton Lane, Carol Brice, Claibe Richardson, DuBose Heyward, Edward H. Boatner, El amor brujo, Finian’s Rainbow, Franz Schubert, Frederick John Easthope Martin, Fritz Reiner, George Gershwin, Giuseppe Sarti, Gustav Mahler, Hall Johnson, Harold Arlen, Jean Berger, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, John Alden Carpenter, John DeMain, Johnny Mercer, Jonathan Brice, Kenward Elmslie, Larry Marshall, Leo Taubmann, Lucretia West, Magnificat (Bach), Manuel de Falla, Marc Blitzstein, Mercer), Odette Myrtil, Porgy and Bess, Regina (Blitzstein), Robert Franz, Robert MacGimsey, Robert Shaw, Roland Hayes, Samuel Krachmalnick, Saratoga (Arlen, Serge Koussevitzky, Spirituals, Stephen Foster, Sweet Little Jesus Boy, The Grass Harp, Thomas Carey, We Shall Overcome, Yip Harburgcountermelody

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Countermelody’s Black History Month celebration for 2021 begins with the great African American contralto Carol Brice (1916-1985) who had a distinguished and varied career singing everything from Bach to Harold Arlen. I first heard Carol Brice many years ago in her recording of “Sweet Little Jesus Boy,” which exemplifies all her musical virtues: simplicity and directness of utterance, lack of sentimentality, and deep identification with both text and music. Add to this a voice of such depth and refinement and a technique so secure that she is almost without equal. From her early career outings as the first African American to win the coveted Naumburg Award, through her appearances on the Broadway stage and in Porgy and Bess, Carol Brice brought an emotional honesty to her performances such as is rarely encountered in any field of genre. On this episode I feature her in a wide range of live and commercial recordings from Marc Blitzstein’s Regina to concert pieces by Brahms and Mahler, focusing in particular on a matchless 1947 song recital with her brother Jonathan Brice as her collaborator. I also feature her husband, the baritone Thomas Carey in a pair of recordings. I hope you will be as moved by Carol Brice’s singing as I am every time I hear this radiant artist.

This week’s bonus episode for my Patreon supporters features another great African American contralto, Lucretia West, who spent a significant portion of her life and career in Germany, where she was celebrated for her performances of Mahler and Lieder in particular.

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.