Tag Archives: St. John Passion

Episode 345. A Lenten Litany of Bach Contraltos

March 28, 2025African American Singers, Black History Month, Black History Month 2025, Forgotten Divas, Full-Figured Baroque, Great Contraltos, Great Tenors, Holiday Music, Johann Sebastian Bach, Listeners' Favorites, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Singers in Old Age, Singers of ColorAdolf Bruck, Aldo Baldin, Alfreda Hodgson, Anna Reynolds, Arleen Augér, Birgit Finnilä, Brigitte Fassbaender, Carol Brice, Carolyn Watkinson, Charles O’Connell, Christian Friedrich Henrici, Craig Smith, Daniel Saidenberg, Diethard Hellmann, Easter Oratorio, Elena Obraztsova, Else Brems, Friedel Beckmann, Günther Ramin, György Lehel, Helmut Winschermann, Helmuth Rilling, Jennie Tourel, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes-Passion, John Newmark, Julia Hamari, Karl Richter, Kathleen Ferrier, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Marian Anderson, Matthäus-Passion, Mogens Wöldike, Norma Lerer, Osteroratorium, Peter Schreier, Philip Ledger, Picander, Ria Bollen, Samuel Mayes, St. John Passion, St. Matthew Passioncountermelody

Audio Player

00:00

Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:39:01 — 114.9MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

Over the course of the past year, I have done a number of episodes on contraltos singing a wide range of material. Toward the end of last year, I did a program on Bach contraltos, which featured just a few of the best (and my favorite) contraltos in this genre. At the time, I had an overflowing cornucopia of material and today I have reorganized and expanded that material to bring you a set of Bach arias particularly appropriate for the Lenten Season. And thus I present to you today, arias from the Passions sung by Julia Hamari, Marian Anderson (pictured), and Friedel Beckmann, but also cantata arias by such eminent contraltos as Kathleen Ferrier, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Carol Brice, Jennie Tourel, Carolyn Watkinson, Ria Bollen, Brigitte Fassbaender, Norma Lerer, Alfreda Hodgson, Birgit Finnilä, Elena Obraztsova (yes, you read correctly!), Anna Reynolds, and Else Brems. Non-contralto guest appearances include Arleen Augér, Peter Schreier, and Aldo Baldin. If you are not a Christian, fear not, for behold, there is much in Bach’s music that draws the listener in on any number of levels, not just (or even primarily) a theological one.

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.

Episode 154. Adele Addison @ 97

July 22, 2022African American Singers, Art Song, Crossover, Full-Figured Baroque, Great Baritones, Happy Birthday, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, Voiceless WondersA.E. Housman, Aaron Copland, Adele Addison, Albert da Costa, Andre Previn, Arthur Rimbaud, Benjamin Lees, Brooks Smith, Canterbury Tales, Celius Dougherty, Charles Munch, Claude Debussy, Dawn Upshaw, DuBose Heyward, Earl Kim, Emily Dickinson, Francis Poulenc, Frederic Waldman, Geoffrey Chaucer, George Frideric Handel, George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, Johann Sebastian Bach, Leonard Bernstein, Lester Trimble, Lukas Foss, Milton Katims, Paul Verlaine, Porgy and Bess, Povla Frijsh, Robert Conant, Robert McFerrin, Robert Shaw, Samuel Beckett, St. John Passion, St. Matthew Passion, Walt Whitman, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozartcountermelody

Audio Player

00:00

Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:05:55 — 71.2MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

This Sunday, 24 July 2022, the great African American lyric soprano Adele Addison observes her 97th birthday. This Countermelody tribute presents this great artist in live and studio recordings during the glory years of her career, including performances conducted by three of her most important conductor collaborators, Robert Shaw, Charles Munch, and Leonard Bernstein. Addison might be best remembered today as providing the ghost voice for Dorothy Dandridge in Otto Preminger’s controversial 1959 film of Porgy and Bess, but her greatest artistic achievement undoubtedly centers on her concert and recital work. Among countless world premieres in which she participated, the most significant was probably the Gloria of Francis Poulenc, first heard in Boston in January 1961. Other contemporary composers represented in this episode are Aaron Copland, Lester Trimble, Lukas Foss, and Benjamin Lees; Addison’s exceptional performances of Handel, Bach, Mozart, and Debussy are also featured. Vocal guest stars include Robert McFerrin, with whom she duets in an excerpt from Porgy; the eminent recitalist Povla Frijsh, who was her voice teacher and coach; and Dawn Upshaw, probably her most renowned student. Please join me in celebrating the long life and legacy of this exceptional artist and teacher.

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 140. Universal Passion

April 14, 2022African American Singers, Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Canadian Singers, Full-Figured Baroque, Great Baritones, Holiday Music, In Memoriam, Lieder, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Schubert, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, Voiceless WondersAdele Addison, Alexander Young, Andrzej Hiolski, Arvo Pärt, August Wenzinger, Barthold Heinrich Brockes, Benjamin Luxon, Brockes-Passion (Handel), Christus am Ölberge (Beethoven), Daniel Pinkham, Das Marienleben, David Willison, Edda Moser, Eduard Mörike, Elzbieta Szmytka, Eric Tappy, Erich Itor Kahn, Ernst Haefliger, Eugen Jochum, Eugene Ormandy, Florence Quivar, Francis Poulenc, Franco Caracciolo, François Couperin, Frank Martin, Franz Crass, Franz Schubert, Friedrich Schlegel, George Frideric Handel, Georges Pretre, Gilbert Kalish, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Golgotha (Martin), Gundula Janowitz, Hannu Holma, Hans-Joachim Rotzsch, Heinrich Schütz, Henryk Czyz, Herbert von Karajan, Hugo Wolf, Hugues Cuenod, Irmgard Seefried, Irwin Gage, Jan DeGaetani, Jennie Tourel, Johann Sebastian Bach, John Shirley-Quirk, Jorma Hynninen, Judith Raskin, Jukka Vaari, Julius Baker, Karol Szymanowski, Kristina Boerger, Krzysztof Penderecki, Leçons de Ténèbres, Lotte Lehmann, Ludwig van Beethoven, Lukas-Passion (Penderecki), Maria Stader, Maria Triptychon (Martin), Marie-Lise de Montmollin, Matthäus-Passion, Maureen Lehane, Meriel Dickinson, Muriel Smith, Passio (Pärt), Paul Hindemith, Peter Pears, Peter Schreier, Philippe Huttenlocher, Pierre Mollet, Rainer Maria Rilke, Regine Crespin, Richard Lewis, Robert Bloom, Robert Faller, Robert Shaw, Roger Norrington, Rolf Apreck, Rudolf Jürgen Bartsch, Rudolf Mauersberger, Simon Rattle, Spanisches Liederbuch (Wolf), Spirituals, St. John Passion, Stabat Mater (Pergolesi), Stabat Mater (Poulenc), Stabat Mater (Szymanowski), Tauno Satomaa, Teppo Lampela, Theo Adam, Topi Tuuli Lindeberg, Wally Stämpfli, Walter Berry, Wolfgang Schneiderhancountermelody

Audio Player

00:00

Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 2:00:38 — 141.8MB) | Embed

Subscribe: Spotify | TuneIn | RSS | More

For Christians, this week is probably the most central to the theology of their faith, focusing as it does on the story of the Passion of the Christ. My dear friend, the choral conductor and singer Kristina Boerger posted a fascinating meditation this week about her “complicated” relationship with this theology, and how the performance of music for Holy Week over the years has given her insight into some universal tenets about human nature and behavior. She very kindly agreed to read her essay for me to use as the basis of this week’s podcast, which features music written for, and associated with, the Passion. Composers featured include, from the Baroque era, Couperin, Schütz, Handel, and Bach (with Pergolesi right on the cusp); from the 19th century, Beethoven, Schubert, and Wolf; and from the 20th century, Hindemith, Szymanowski, Poulenc, Penderecki, Frank Martin, and Arvo Pärt. Featured singers include Régine Crespin, Irmgard Seefried, Peter Schreier, Gundula Janowitz, Richard Lewis, Florence Quivar, Andrzej Hiolski, Judith Raskin, Jorma Hynninen, Margaret Marshall, Benjamin Luxon, Muriel Smith, Walter Berry, Edda Moser, and Adele Addison, plus further encounters with several of the Swiss singers we explored last week (Hugues Cuénod, Maria Stader, Eric Tappy, Pierre Mollet, and Ernst Haefliger). Whether you are Christian, agnostic, atheist, Muslim, Jew, or fall into a different category altogether, there will be something here for you of value in this episode.

The Countermelody podcast is 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.