Tag Archives: René Chalupt

Episode 459. The Art of Steven Blier

May 2, 2026African American Singers, Art Song, Black History Month, Black History Month 2026, Broadway, Canadian Singers, Comic Relief, Great Baritones, Great Contraltos, Great Tenors, Honor Your Mentors, Lieder, Listeners' Favorites, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Pop Icons, Protest Songs, Queer Pride, Schubert, Singers of Color, Spirituals, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century Opera, Young SingersAlbert Roussel, Andre Previn, Andy Razaf, Arias and Barcarolles, Billy Strayhorn, Brett Polegato, Carlos López Buchardo, Catherine Martin, Charles Ives, Chris DeBlasio, Christopher Trakas, Cinco canciones negras, Corinne Winters, Cyndia Sieden, Darius de Haas, Eduard Toldrà, Emile Louis, Emmanuel Chabrier, Ernst Schulze, Eubie Blake, Eugène Adenis, Federico De Michaelis, Felix Gasbarra, Franz Schubert, George Gershwin, Greg Utzig, Gustavo Caraballo, Hal Cazalet, Haroldo Barbosa, Ira Gershwin, James Baker, Janet de Almeida, Jennifer Aylmer, Jerome Kern, John LaTouche, John Musto, Johnny Mercer, Joseph Kaiser, Joshua Blue, Jules Massenet, Kurt Ollmann, Kurt Weill, Leonard Bernstein, Lisa Vroman, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Louise Bogan, Marc Blitzstein, Marianne Moore, Mark Adamo, Mark Campbell, Michael Barrett, Moses Hogan, New York Festival of Song, Niccolò Machiavelli, NYFOS, P.G. Wodehouse, Pardon My English, Paul de Kock, Paul Demouth, Perry Brass, Rafael Merello, Recuerdo, René Chalupt, Sasha Cooke, Shea Owens, Sitting Pretty, Stephanie Blythe, Steven Blier, Sylvia McNair, The AIDS Quilt Songbook, Trinitat Catasús, Virgil Thomson, William Burden, William Sharp, Xavier Montsalvatge, Yvette Guilbertcountermelody

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There was only one way to follow up my interview with the iconic, the unique Steven Blier published earlier this week, and that is with an episode dedicated to his dazzling at the keyboard and his accomplishments as the co-founder and artistic director of NYFOS, the New York Festival of Song, which is just concluding its 38th season. Going all the way back to Steve’s first recordings in the late 1980s, I have compiled a setlist that is a testament to his love of song, and his ever-expanding interests in that field. Performances both live and studio, many of them straight from Steve’s own archives, feature composers ranging from Franz Schubert to Leonard Bernstein, Eubie Blake to Albert Roussel, Eduard Toldrà to Marc Blitzstein, and Billy Strayhorn to Kurt Weill , including work commissioned specifically by and for Blier and NYFOS. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. These are performed by vocal colleagues of Steven’s past and present, including William Sharp, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Darius de Haas, Stephanie Blythe, Christopher Trakas, Corinne Winters, Kurt Ollmann, Lisa Vroman, Federico De Michelis, Joshua Blue, Sasha Cooke, Brett Polegato, and many, many others. Kudos to this magnificent artist who has enriched all of our lives!

Countermelody is the 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 author 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 459. The Art of Steven Blier

April 1, 2026African American Singers, Art Song, Black History Month, Black History Month 2026, Broadway, Canadian Singers, Comic Relief, Crossover, Great Baritones, Great Contraltos, Great Tenors, Honor Your Mentors, In Memoriam, Lieder, Listeners' Favorites, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Pop Icons, Queer Pride, Schubert, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century Opera, Young SingersAlbert Roussel, Andre Previn, Andy Razaf, Arias and Barcarolles, Billy Strayhorn, Brett Polegato, Carlos López Buchardo, Catherine Martin, Charles Ives, Chris DeBlasio, Christopher Trakas, Cinco canciones negras, Corinne Winters, Cyndia Sieden, Darius de Haas, Eduard Toldrà, Emile Louis, Emmanuel Chabrier, Ernst Schulze, Eubie Blake, Eugène Adenis, Federico De Michaelis, Felix Gasbarra, Franz Schubert, George Gershwin, Greg Utzig, Gustavo Caraballo, Hal Cazalet, Haroldo Barbosa, Ira Gershwin, James Baker, Janet de Almeida, Jennifer Aylmer, Jerome Kern, John LaTouche, John Musto, Johnny Mercer, Joseph Kaiser, Joshua Blue, Jules Massenet, Kurt Ollmann, Kurt Weill, Leonard Bernstein, Lisa Vroman, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Louise Bogan, Marc Blitzstein, Marianne Moore, Mark Adamo, Mark Campbell, Michael Barrett, Moses Hogan, New York Festival of Song, Niccolò Machiavelli, NYFOS, P.G. Wodehouse, Pardon My English, Paul de Kock, Paul Demouth, Perry Brass, Rafael Merello, Recuerdo, René Chalupt, Sasha Cooke, Shea Owens, Sitting Pretty, Stephanie Blythe, Steven Blier, Sylvia McNair, The AIDS Quilt Songbook, Trinitat Catasús, Virgil Thomson, William Burden, William Sharp, Xavier Montsalvatge, Yvette Guilbertcountermelody

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:55:57 — 159.2MB) | Embed

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There was only one way to follow up my interview with the iconic, the unique Steven Blier published earlier this week: with an episode dedicated to recordings of his exceptional pianism, necessarily highlighting his accomplishments as the co-founder and artistic director of NYFOS, the New York Festival of Song, which is just concluding its 38th season. Going all the way back to Steve’s first recordings in the late 1980s, I have compiled a setlist that is a testament to his love of song and his ever-expanding interests in that field. Performances both live and studio, many of them straight from Steve’s own archives, feature composers ranging from Franz Schubert to Eubie Blake, including work commissioned specifically by and for Blier and NYFOS. These are performed by vocal colleagues of Steven’s past and present, including William Sharp, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Darius de Haas, Stephanie Blythe, Christopher Trakas, Corinne Winters, Kurt Ollman, Lisa Vroman, Federico De Michelis, Joshua Blue, Sasha Cooke, Brett Polegato, and many, many others. Kudos to this magnificent artist who has enriched all of our lives!

Episode 367. Bernac Sings Not-Poulenc (Pride 2025)

June 13, 2025UncategorizedAlphonse de Lamartine, André Jolivet, Boris Golschmann, Camille Saint-Saens, Charles Fontaine, Charles Gounod, Charles Munch, Claude Debussy, Dichterliebe, Don Quichotte à Dulcinée, Emmanuel Chabrier, Éphraïm Mikhaël, Ernest Chausson, Francis Poulenc, Franz Liszt, Georges Auric, Gerald Moore, Henri Cazalis, Histoires naturelles, Jean Doyen, Jean Lahor, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Jules Barbier, Jules Renard, Leconte de Lisle, Leïla ben Sedira, Louis Beydts, Maurice Ravel, Mélodies Passagères, Paul Bourget, Paul Morand, Paul Verlaine, Pierre Bernac, Pierre Vellones, Rainer Maria Rilke, René Chalupt, Reynaldo Hahn, Robert Casadesus, Robert Schumann Heinrich Heine, Samuel Barber, Stéphane Mallarmé, Tristan L’Hermitecountermelody

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Continuing our exploration of queer pride in classical music, I bring you the great baryton-martin Pierre Bernac (1899 – 1979), known first and foremost as a creator of some of the most exquisite mélodies of his friend and musical partner Francis Poulenc. Later Bernac became renowned as the exemplar of style and taste in the interpretation of French art song. In this episode, however, I wanted to explore his contribution as a singer of the music of composers other than Poulenc. I had already found some great orchestral song cycles by André Jolivet and Louis Beydts, as well as a sublimely anachronistic recording of a Bach cantata, but just yesterday I came upon a series of rare recordings that Bernac made in 1935 for the Ultraphone label. These include songs by Debussy and Hahn accompanied by pianists Jean Doyen and Boris Golschmann (who was the brother of the conductor Vladimir Golschmann, and whose tragic story I relate), as well as an earlier (and even more exquisite) recording of Chausson’s “Le colibri.” But perhaps the crown jewels among these early records were two duets with the exquisite French-Algerian soprano Leïla Ben Sedira which won the Grand Prix du Disque in 1936. I have folded these deeply satisfying early recordings into the setlist that I had already partially assembled for a very special episode that I hope that you will enjoy!

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.