Tag Archives: Manuel de Falla

Episode 307. Francisco Araiza in Song

November 16, 2024Art Song, Crossover, Great Tenors, Gustav Mahler, Happy Birthday, Lieder, Listeners' Favorites, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Orchestral Songs, Richard Strauss, Schubert, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century MusicAdolf Friedrich von Schalk, Agustín Lara, Alfonso del Rio, Blas Galindo, Carlo Maria Giulini, Consuelo Velazquez, Daniel García Blanco, Das Lied von der Erde, Dichterliebe, Die schöne Müllerin, Don Quichotte à Dulcinée, Francisco Araiza, Franz Schubert, Franz von Schober, Gabriel Faure, Gustav Mahler, Heinrich Heine, Irwin Gage, Jean Lemaire, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Karl Gottfried von Leitner, Luis Gonzaga Urbina, Manuel de Falla, Manuel Ponce, Maurice Ravel, Otto Julius Bierbaum, Paul Morand, Richard Strauss, Robert Schumann, Roberto Abbado, Romain Bussine, Ruben M. Campos, Siete canciones populares españolas, Wilhelm Müller, Winterreisecountermelody

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:40:22 — 123.0MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

In the first year of Countermelody I posted a tribute to to the Mexican tenor Francisco Araiza on the occasion of his 70th birthday. Four years later, that great artist is still with us, and, today, in continuation of my miniseries on Great Mexican Singers, I present a refurbished and expanded bonus episode that I first published three years ago featuring Araiza in art song. A number of live performances are interspersed amongst excerpts from two rare LPs from the mid-1980s: one, accompanied by Irwin Gage, of some rare Schubert Lieder; and the other, accompanied by Jean Lemaire, of French, Spanish, and Mexican art songs. These performances reveal a voice of great beauty supported by a solid technique which provides for seamless legato singing. Add to this near-perfect German diction and an often-probing textual acuity as well as profound musicality and one has all the ingredients that make up an exceptional intepreter of art song. Highlights include a live recording with Carlo Maria Giulini of an excerpt from Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde; the extended Schubert Lied “Viola;” and three Mexican art songs by Blas Galindo and Manuel Ponce; as well as two bracing excerpts from Araiza’s 1986 album of popular Mexican song.

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 295. Requiescat

October 6, 2024Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Bel canto, Broadway, Forgotten Divas, Full-Figured Baroque, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, In Memoriam, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Opera in Translation, Pop Icons, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Singers in Old Age, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century Opera, Verismo, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAntonio García Gutiérrez, Antonio Votto, April Cantelo, Benjamin Britten, Bob Wilson, Bruce Blunt, Carlo Pepoli, Celestina Casapietra, Christine Weidinger, Corneliu Murgu, Daphne, David Belasco, David Hemmings, David Willcocks, Deborah Roberts, Edo de Waart, Edward Heyman, Elena Mauti-Nunziata, Eric Crozier, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Fernández Shaw, Frank Eyton, Gaetano Donizetti, George Frideric Handel, Georges Bizet, Georges Rodenbach, Giacomo Puccini, Giuseppe Verdi, Gregorio Allegro, Grigoire Iosub, Herbert Kegel, I Puritani, Il Trovatore, Ivor Gurney, Janis Paige, Jodie Devos, John Dryden, John Fletcher, John Luther Long, Johnny Green, Josef Gregor, Julius Korngold, Karan Armstrong, La jolie fille de Perth, La vida breve, Laurence Equilbey, Le nozze di Figaro, Lohengrin, Lorenzo da Ponte, Lucine Amara, Madama Butterfly, Manuel de Falla, Margaret Cable, Maria di Rohan, Max Rudolf, Miguel Gómez-Martínez, Nicolas Krüger, Paul Schott, Peter Phillips, Peter Warlock, Philip Heseltine, Pierre Beaumarchais, Reinhard Peters, Richard Bonynge, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Robert Sour, Rosemary Barnes, Roy Campbell, Ruth Hesse, Salvadore Cammarano, Sanda Şandru, Sesto Bruscantini, St John of the Cross, The Little Sweep, The Tallis Scholars, Vincenzo Bellini, Walter Scott, William Mathias, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozartcountermelody

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:33:32 — 107.3MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

Today on Countermelody is the first of two memorial episodes paying tribute to singers that we’ve lost just in the past few months. Applying the completely arbitrary rubric of gender, today I am focusing on sopranos (with two mezzo-soprano interlopers); my next episode will carry the memorial torch for all the male singers who’ve recently died. Today’s subjects ranged in age from only 35 to nearly 102 at the time of their deaths, and from Broadway star to early music singer: Jodie Devos, April Cantelo, Lucine Amara, Celestina Casapietra, Christine Weidinger, Elena Mauti Nunziata, Deborah Roberts, and Sanda Şandru; lower-voiced interlopers include Janis Paige, Margaret Cable, and Ruth Hesse. If you know some of these names, you know that you will be some mellifluous serenading; if you don’t, prepare yourself for a wide range of music from Renaissance polyphony to American pop standards, with operatic selections ranging from Donizetti to Falla.

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 235. Anna Tonna Introduces Teresa Berganza (Listeners’ Favorites VI)

January 17, 2024Art Song, Bel canto, French Opera, In Memoriam, Lieder, Listeners' Favorites, Mezzo Madness, Mirella Freni, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Opera in Translation, Operetta, Twentieth Century Music, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAlexander Gibson, Alfonso X El Sabio, Ataúlfo Argenta, Benito Lauret, Carlo Maria Giulini, Carmen (Bizet), Cosi fan tutte, El Puñao de Rosas, Elisabeth Soderstrom, Ettore Gracis, Federico Moreno Torroba, Felix Lavilla, Franco Bonisolli, Frauenliebe und -leben, Frederic Mompou, Gabriel Bacquier, Georg Solti, Georges Bizet, Gioacchino Rossini, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Hans Rosbaud, István Kertész, Joaquín Turina, José Serrano, La Cenerentola, La Chulapona, La Clemenza di Tito, Las Hijas del Zebedeo, Le nozze di Figaro, Lola Rodríguez Aragón, Lorenzo da Ponte, Los Claveles, Luis Antonio García Navarro, Manuel de Falla, Maria Callas, Medea (Cherubini), Mirella Freni, Nicola Rescigno, Pilar Lorengar, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Ricardo Requejo, Robert Schumann, Ruperto Chapí, Siete canciones populares españolas, Stabat Mater (Pergolesi), Teresa Berganza, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Zarzuelacountermelody

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:13:56 — 83.6MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

Today’s Listeners’ Favorites episode of Countermelody is introduced by my good friend (and Countermelody fan) the marvelous mezzo-soprano Anna Tonna. In her introduction Anna tells about her first exposure to the podcast and introduces us to one of her favorite episodes: the one I published in May 2022 a week after the beloved singer died at the age of 89. The episode pays tribute to her artistry through the exploration of her operatic roles, from Neris in Medea opposite Maria Callas, through her matchless Mozart and Rossini portrayals, through her fascinating and highly individualized portrait of the title heroine of Bizet’s Carmen. Special emphasis is given to her performance of Spanish music, from the zarzuelas of Ruperto Chapí and Federico Moreno Torroba, to art songs of Manuel de Falla and Fredric Mompou. Vocal guest stars include Mirella Freni, Pilar Lorengar, Lola Rodríguez Aragón, Franco Bonisolli, and the incendiary Callas herself, an early mentor and supporter of Berganza. I began the preparation for this episode with an incomplete appreciation of Berganza’s voice and artistry, but, knowing that she was one of Anna’s most treasured singers and role models, my goal was to see her through Anna’s eyes, and in the end, I was completely won over. This episode perfectly illustrates the podcast as a journey of mutual discovery for both me and my listeners.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:23:54 — 90.4MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

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 145. Teresa Berganza In Memoriam

May 20, 2022Art Song, Bel canto, Full-Figured Baroque, In Memoriam, Lieder, Mezzo Madness, Mirella Freni, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Operetta, Twentieth Century MusicAlexander Gibson, Alfonso X El Sabio, Ataúlfo Argenta, Benito Lauret, Carlo Maria Giulini, Carmen (Bizet), Cosi fan tutte, El Puñao de Rosas, Elisabeth Soderstrom, Ettore Gracis, Federico Moreno Torroba, Felix Lavilla, Franco Bonisolli, Frauenliebe und -leben, Frederic Mompou, Gabriel Bacquier, Georg Solti, Georges Bizet, Gioacchino Rossini, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Hans Rosbaud, István Kertész, Joaquín Turina, José Serrano, La Cenerentola, La Chulapona, La Clemenza di Tito, Las Hijas del Zebedeo, Le nozze di Figaro, Lola Rodríguez Aragón, Lorenzo da Ponte, Los Claveles, Luis Antonio García Navarro, Manuel de Falla, Maria Callas, Medea (Cherubini), Mirella Freni, Nicola Rescigno, Pilar Lorengar, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Ricardo Requejo, Robert Schumann, Ruperto Chapí, Siete canciones populares españolas, Stabat Mater (Pergolesi), Teresa Berganza, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Zarzuelacountermelody

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:05:25 — 73.5MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

A week ago today the beloved and revered Spanish mezzo-soprano Teresa Berganza, died at the age of 89. This episode pays tribute to her artistry through the exploration of her operatic roles, from Neris in Medea opposite Maria Callas, through her matchless Mozart and Rossini portrayals, through her fascinating and highly individualized portrait of the title heroine of Bizet’s Carmen. Special emphasis is given to her performance of Spanish music, from the zarzuelas of Ruperto Chapí and Federico Moreno Torroba, to art songs of Manuel de Falla and Fredric Mompou. Vocal guest stars include Mirella Freni, Pilar Lorengar, Lola Rodríguez Aragón, Franco Bonisolli, and the incendiary Callas herself, an early mentor and supporter of Berganza. I began the preparation for this episode with an incomplete appreciation of Berganza’s voice and artistry, but she won me over and I am now, even if belatedly, a huge fan.

Episode 123. Lois Marshall (Great Canadian Singers)

January 7, 2022Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Full-Figured Baroque, Giacomo Puccini, Gustav Mahler, Lieder, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Schubert, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, VerismoAchim von Arnim, Acis and Galatea, Adalbert von Chamisso, Ah Perfido!, Anne Frank, Anthony Bernard, Anton Kuerti, Benjamin Britten, Brian Priestman, Chansons de Bilitis, Claude Debussy, Clemens Brentano, Des Knaben Wunderhorn, Eduard Grikurov, Eduardo Pedrazolli, Ernest MacMillan, Folk Songs, Franz Schubert, Frauenliebe und -leben, George Frideric Handel, George van Renesse, Giacomo Puccini, Glenn Gould, Grace Bumbry, Gustav Mahler, Healey Willan, Heinrich Heine, Henry Purcell, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, John Dryden, John Weldon, Joseph Haydn, Judy Loman, La Clemenza di Tito, Lois Marshall, Ludwig van Beethoven, Manuel de Falla, Maureen Forrester, Orford String Quartet, Oskar Morawetz, Ottorino Respighi, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Pierre Louÿs, Pietro Metastasio, Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Robert Bloom, Robert Burns, Robert Schumann, Tannhäuser, The Creation (Haydn), The Fairy Queen, Thomas Moore, Turandot, Weldon Kilburn, Welford Russell, Wilhelm Müller, Winterreise, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Yehudi Wynercountermelody

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:42:32 — 112.3MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

Today is my first episode of the New Year, and the first in my three-part series this month on Great Canadian Singers. It is my contention that my first subject, Lois Marshall (1925-1997), is one of the greatest artists of the twentieth century. If you haven’t heard of her (which is entirely possible, given the vagaries of posthumous fame and reputation), you are in for an enormous treat. Possessed of a rare musical scrupulousness, an interpretive honestly, directness, and integrity, as well as a finely-honed dramatic sensibility, Lois Marshall, in a better world, would have graced the world’s operatic stages. Alas, she was stricken with polio as a child, and though she managed to gain the ability to walk, staged opera was a genre which she only rarely attempted. Yet she worked with the world’s greatest conductors, among them Toscanini, Stokowski, and Beecham, and was a recitalist celebrated the world over. This episode offers an extended yet partial glimpse of the range and variety of her artistry, and includes recordings of arias by both Purcell and Puccini (the title role of Turandot!), Bach and Beethoven, as well as a dazzling array of recital repertoire from Debussy to folk song arrangements. Fellow Canadians Maureen Forrester and Glenn Gould are also featured. In my opinion, this artist is ripe for rediscovery, and I hope that you will join me on this extraordinary journey into the life and career of Lois Marshall.

Episode 86. Cathy Berberian’s Second Hand Songs

April 25, 2021Art Song, Comic Relief, Crossover, Mezzo Madness, Needle Drop, Twentieth Century MusicArnold Schoenberg, Bruno Canino, Cathy Berberian, César Cui, Claude Debussy, Claudio Monteverdi, Folk Songs, Frédéric Chopin, Georges Bizet, Giancarlo Menotti, Gioacchino Rossini, Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel, Harold Arlen, Harold Lester, Johann Sebastian Bach, John Lennon, John Newmark, Kathleen Ferrier, Liza Lehmann, Luciano Berio, Ludwig van Beethoven, Manuel de Falla, Marcel Proust, Massimiliano Damenini, Maurice Ravel, Modest Mussorgsky, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Paolo Tosti, Paul McCartney, Pauline Viardot, Pierrot lunaire, Reynaldo Hahn, The Beatlescountermelody

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:29:10 — 108.3MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

I return to Cathy Berberian, Prima Donna of the Avant Garde (or “The Divine Miss B” as she was sometimes called in the mid-seventies) for a further exploration of her career and influence on vocalism in the twentieth century and beyond. This time around I consider her explorations outside of the avant garde, specifically the recital. Based on her 1967 recording of Beatles Arias, the conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt invited Cathy Berberian to take part in his groundbreaking 1969 period instrument recording of Monteverdi’s Orfeo. In 1969 Cathy Berberian began to perform recitals that exploited her entire stylistic and vocal range, a program which eventually became known as “From Monteverdi to The Beatles.” In 1971 her ex-husband Luciano Berio wrote a theater piece for her called Recital I (For Cathy), in which she portrayed an increasingly deranged performer who eventually descends into madness. Her interest in Reynaldo Hahn and Marcel Proust eventually led her to create a program entitled À la recherche de la musique perdue. Additional late-career recitals were called Cathy Berberian’s Second Hand Songs and Cathy Sings America. This episode features excerpts from all of those works, as well as a smattering of folk music and a recorded excerpt of her singing the title role of Carmen, a tantalizing prospect which never came to be. The episode also includes a tribute to Kathleen Ferrier, whose 109th birthday was observed this past week.

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:13:18 — 79.7MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

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.