Tag Archives: Petula Clark

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:30:09 — 105.4MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

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 207. Henry Wright and Pals

July 28, 2023African American Singers, Broadway, Great Baritones, Happy Birthday, In Memoriam, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Opera in Translation, Operetta, Pop Icons, Singers in Old Age, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century MusicAcey Prince, Alexander Borodin, Alfredo Bracchi, Anthony Newley, Arthur Rebner, Augusto Martelli, Bataille-Henri, Bill Evans, Biri, Bruno Martelli, Buddy Johnson, Cole Porter, Das Land des Lächelns, Dorsey Burnett, Duke Ellington, Eddie Cooley, Ennio Neri, Erich Korngold, Erich Werner, Francesco Specchia, Franco Calabrese, Franz Lehár, Frasquita, George Forrest, Gianfranco Intra, Gianni Ravera, Giovanni D’Anzi, Giulio Libano, Henry Defreyn, Henry Glover, Henry Wright, Irving Mills, Jimmy Kennedy, Joe Osborn, John Davenport, Johnny Mercer, José María Lacalle García, Joseph Kosma, Juan Tizol, Kismet, Lady Gaga, Leslie Bricusse, Little Willie John, Louis Lemarchand, Mario Buzà, Mario Cenci, Miguel Fleta, Mina, Nathaniel Shilkret, Nolan Lewis, Peggy Lee, Percy Faith, Peter Alexander, Peter Knight, Petula Clark, Ray French, Richard Tauber, Richy Nelson, Robert Stolz, Robert Wright, Romano Mussolini, Sinéad O’Connor, Titus Tee Turner, Tony Bennett, Tony Dallara, Tullio Romano, Vittorio de Sica, Vittorio Mascheronicountermelody

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:40:01 — 112.0MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

Today’s episode is first and foremost a tribute to a forgotten African American trailblazer, the pop singer Henry Wright, born in 1933, who, in the late fifties, claimed Italy as his adoptive country after touring there as a vocal soloist with Lionel Hampton. With a voice as suave and seductive as any of the great crooners of the 1950s and 1960s, Henry Wright first came to international prominence as the voice on the record to which Sophia Loren performed her legendary striptease in the 1962 film Ieri, oggi, domani [Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow]. He went on to make a great impact on Italian pop music throughout the 1960s. Your fearless podcaster discovered this fascinating singer almost by accident sometime in the past year and he (that is, I) have been collecting his rare and valuable recordings which I am thrilled to share with my listening public. Many of these songs exist in earlier versions, either from the Great American Songbook, from Italian films, from early American singers of R&B, from Italian pop stars of the 1950s, even from Viennese operetta! So I had the idea of playing those original versions alongside Henry Wright’s recordings. Thus you will encounter singers like Ricky Nelson, Peggy Lee, Tony Dallara, Peter Alexander, Mina, Petula Clark, Vittorio de Sica (who in his acting days was an Italian matinee idol!) and even opera legends Miguel Fleta and Richard Tauber. It’s a fascinating episode (if I do say so myself!) and I am thrilled beyond words to introduce the seductive, charming, compelling Henry Wright to my listeners. The episode begins with memorial tributes to recently departed pop music greats Tony Bennett 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. 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 44. Gl’amour, Part Deux: The Invaders

July 19, 2020African American Singers, Art Song, Comic Relief, Mirella Freni, Music, Operetta, Pop Icons, Protest SongsAdam Le Postillon de Longjumeau, Adolphe Adam, Albert Lance, Alfred Bachelet, Alfredo Kraus, Allen Rogers, André Cluytens, André d’Arkor, Annie Lennox, Armand Canfora, Arthur Endrèze, Autour de minuit (Round Midnight), Barbara Hendricks, Barbra Streisand, Berlioz Zaïde, Bizet Les Pêcheurs de perles, Bob Dylan, Boieldieu La Dame blanche, Carole King, Charles Chaplin, Charles Gounod, Cherche la rose, Chère nuit, Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, Comment te dire adieu, Dalida, Daniel Beckwith, Daniel Behle, Daniel Gundlach, Dans le souffle du vent [Blowin’ in the Wind], Dave Stewart, Demain tu peux changer, Duparc Au pays où se fait la guerre, Duparc Chanson triste, Dusty Springfield, Dylan Aufray Dans le souffle du vent, Eartha Kitt, Édouard Lalo, Eleanor Steber, Elie Cohen, Elis Regina, Emile Paladilhe, Eurythmics, Eurythmics Tous les garçons et les filles, Frances Alda, Franco Corelli, François Adrien Boieldieu, Françoise Hardy, Franz Lehár, Frédéric Chopin, Free Again, Gabriel Faure, George Bizet, Georges Pretre, Georges Thill, Giacomo Puccini, Glamour, Gounod Roméo et Juliette, Hector Berlioz, Henri Duparc, Henri Salvador, Hugues Aufray, Hugues Aufray Chante Dylan, Jacques Demy, Jacques Offenbach, Jacques Prévert, Jean Fournet, Jo Basile, John Constable, Joseph Kosma, Joseph Rogatchewsky, Jules Massenet, La Marseillaise, Lalo Le Roi d’Ys, Le Postillon de Longjumeau, Le Roi d’Ys, Lehár Le Pays du Sourire, Leopold Simoneau, Les feuilles mortes, Les parapluies de Cherbourg, Lloyd Arriola, Marlene Dietrich, Marlene Dietrich Cherche la rose, Massenet Werther, Michel Jourdan, Michel Legrand, Miguel Villabella, Mirella Freni, Muriel Smith, Natalie Dessay, Nicolai Gedda, Non... c’est rien, Non... c’est rien [Free Again], Offenbach Tales of Hoffmann, Paladilhe Psyché, Petula Clark, Pierre Delanoë, Puccini in French, Raoul Jobin, Récit de Cassard (Les parapluies de Cherbourg), René Rouzaud, Reynaldo Hahn, Richard Verreau, Serge Gainsbourg, Stuart Burrows, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Thelonious Monk, Tony Poncet, Tous les garçons et les filles, Un jour mon prince viendracountermelody

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:48:42 — 111.9MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

Aux armes, citoyens! We have received advance warning that an army of foreigners masking as French speakers are storming the artistic gates, so to speak, and attempting to usurp France’s national artistic identity. Strangely, many of the invaders are operatic tenors, though they are accompanied by a coterie of vivandières singing popular music, all in French, no matter what their native tongues. Last week’s celebration of French glamour is today compromised, sullied, and usurped by all manner of unwelcome albeit glamorous guests, led by the New Zealander Frances Alda and buttressed by the American Eleanor Steber, fresh from celebrating her birthday this past week. Some of these figures masquerade more convincingly as actual French persons, but make no mistake, whether they be deceptive Canadians (Léopold Simoneau, Raoul Jobin, Richard Verreau), interloping Belgians (André d’Arkor), unwelcome Italians (the shocking Franco Corelli, the mysterious Dalida, and the dreaded Mirella Freni), subsersive Spaniards (Miguel Villabella, Alfredo Kraus, Tony Poncet) bullying Brazilians (Elis Regina), sneaky Swedes (Nicolai Gedda), denizens of the dreaded United Kingdom (Stuart Burrows, Dusty Springfield, Petula Clark, Annie Lennox), Germans of nefarious intent (Marlene Dietrich, Daniel Behle), questionable Australians (Albert Lance, traveling incognito), suspicious Russians (Joseph Rogatchewsky), or worst of all, Americans intent on conquest (Barbara Hendricks, Eartha Kitt, Barbra Streisand, Muriel Smith, and even the spotlight-stealing Daniel Gundlach), these characters are all intent on destroying France’s language and music and must be thwarted at all costs, no matter how appealing their songs might appear to be. Finally, following the heroic actions of Georges Thill, France re-asserts her right to her own repertoire. But it seems that the damage has been done, for Natalie Dessay, Françoise Hardy, and even the formerly trustworthy Hugues Aufray, now seem only interested in singing American pop songs, albeit in French. All in all, an episode packed with intrigue, deception, and glorious singing!

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 classical and opera singers of the past and present with the help of guests from the classical music field: singers, conductors, composers, coaches, agents, and voice teachers. 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 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.