Tag Archives: Zigeunerlieder

Episode 474. Brigitte Fassbaender sings Brahms

June 23, 2026Art Song, Great Contraltos, Happy Birthday, Lieder, Listeners' Favorites, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Queer PrideAdolf Frey, August von Platen, Brigitte Fassbaender, Christian Reinhold, Clemens Brentano, Die schöne Magelone, Edith Mathis, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Erik Werba, Friedrich Rückert, Gottfried Keller, Heinrich Heine, Hugo Conrat, Irwin Gage, Johann Gottfried Harder, Johannes Brahms, Karl August Candidus, Karl Engel, Karl von Lemcke, Klaus Groth, Ludwig Tieck, Martin Luther, Peter Schreier, Theodor Storm, Thomas Riebl, Vier ernste Gesänge, Wilhelm Häring, Wolfram Rieger, Zigeunerliedercountermelody

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Pride 2026 at Countermelody continues with an episode devoted to the towering German mezzo-soprano Brigitte Fassbaender, not only one of the great opera stars of the late twentieth century (her Octavian, for instance, was, is, and remains, hors concours), but also one of the greatest Lieder singers of all time. Today I choose to focus on her performance of the songs of Johannes Brahms, whose music is ideally suited to her dark-timbred, urgently projected voice and artistry. She’s heard in these selections with four of the primary pianists with whom she collaborated and recorded in the songs of Brahms: Erik Werba, Irwin Gage, Karl Engel, and the great Georgian pianist Elisabeth Leonskaja, with whom she made her final recordings and performances in the early 1990s, just before her sudden departure from the opera and concert stage. I read a portion of her memoirs (translated into English) in which she candidly discusses the reasons for that choice. Fassbaender has always lived her life openly and matter-of-factly, never foregrounding her sexuality while also never denying or hiding it. For her, music and the theater have always been the focal points in her public life, and her unique artistry has placed her at the forefront of the great musical artists of our time. There are few vocal artists I esteem as highly.

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 471. Joan Caplan In Recital

June 12, 2026Art Song, Bel canto, Comic Relief, Forgotten Divas, Full-Figured Baroque, Great Contraltos, Gustav Mahler, Honor Your Mentors, In Memoriam, Listeners' Favorites, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Queer Pride, Twentieth Century MusicAchim von Arnim, Alcina, Antonio Vivaldi, Cinco canciones negras, Clemens Brentano, Des Knaben Wunderhorn, Felice Romani, Gaetano Donizetti, George Frideric Handel, Gustav Mahler, Hugo Cohn, Hugo Conrat, Ildefonso Pereda Valdés, Jephtha, Joan Caplan, Johann Adolf Hasse, Johannes Brahms, Lieder und Gesänge aus der Jugendzeit, Lucrezia Borgia, Ludovico Ariosti, Néstor Luján, Newell Jenkins, Nicolás Guillén, Peggy Glanville-Hicks, Rafael Alberti, Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird, Thomas Morell, Victor Hugo, Wallace Stevens, Xavier Montsalvatge, Zigeunerliedercountermelody

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Today we visit the rare recorded output my beloved teacher, Joan Caplan (15 October 1932 – 19 April 2025), live performances made during her active years as a song recitalist and as an opera and oratorio singer. We hear her complete performances of Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird by Peggy Glanville-Hicks, the Cinco canciones negras by Xavier Montsalvatge, and the Zigeunerlieder of Johannes Brahms, as well as songs by Gustav Mahler from the German folk poetry collection Des Knaben Wunderhorn and arias by Handel, Vivaldi, Hasse, and Donizetti. This episode constitutes the continuation of a promise that I made to Joan before she died that I would do my utmost to ensure that she never be forgotten for the great teacher and singer that she was. The episode also includes a memorial tribute full of insights and anecdotes that I recorded in her memory last year.

Episode 401. Sena Jurinac, Liedersängerin

October 9, 2025Art Song, Happy Birthday, Lieder, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Orchestral Songs, Richard Strauss, Twentieth Century MusicAugust Graf von Platen, Barylli String Quartet, Detlev von Liliencron, Eduard Mörike, Friedrich Halm, Georg Fischer, Georg Friedrich Daumer, Heinrich Heine, Hugo Conrat, Il tramonto, Johannes Brahms, Joseph von Eichendorff, Karl Candidus, Klaus Groth, Malcolm Sargent, Ottorino Respighi, Paul Heyse, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Richard Strauss, Roberto Ascoli, Sena Jurinac, Vier letzte Lieder, Zigeunerliedercountermelody

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On October 24, we observe the 104th birthday of the nonpareil Croatian soprano Sena Jurinac. Like Hildegard Behrens, whose prowess as a purveyor of art song we explored a few weeks ago, Jurinac was best known as an opera singer, specializing (in her case) in Mozart and Strauss heroines, though she was also beautifully suited to the Lieder repertoire. Jurinac was a singer of enormous warmth, poise, and humanity gifted with a voice that combined warmth and ease. It was her directness and spontaneity which, alongside her peerless musicianship and rock-solid vocal technique, has made her a favorite of many generations of lovers of great singing. Central to this episode is a rare 1976 album of Lieder by Johannes Brahms, which displays, even more than thirty years after her operatic debut, all her most treasurable qualities. The Brahms is supplemented by her 1953 studio recording of Ottorino Respighi’s extended vocal chamber work Il tramonto, a setting in Italian of Percy Bysshe Shelley’s poem “The Sunset”; as well as a rare live 1961 recording of Richard Strauss’s “Im Abendrot” from his Vier letzte Lieder, like the Respighi a meditation on two souls at the setting of the sun.

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 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 377. Joan Caplan Memorial Tribute

July 18, 2025Art Song, Bel canto, Comic Relief, Forgotten Divas, Full-Figured Baroque, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Contraltos, Honor Your Mentors, In Memoriam, Lieder, Listeners' Favorites, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Operetta, Queer Pride, Rescue Mission, Twentieth Century MusicAchim von Arnim, Antonio Salvi, Ariodante, Christian Reinhold, Cinco canciones negras, Clemens Brentano, Des Knaben Wunderhorn, Dido and Aeneas, Felice Romani, Gaetano Donizetti, Georg Friedrich Daumer, George Frideric Handel, Giambattista Martini, Giuseppe Verdi, Gustav Mahler, Harold Aks, Henri Meilhac, Henry Purcell, Hugo Conrat, Jacopo Ferretti, Jacques Offenbach, Jephtha, Joan Caplan, Johann Adolf Hasse, Johannes Brahms, L’Olimpiade, Lieder und Gesänge aus der Jugendzeit, Lucrezia Borgia, Ludovic Halévy, Ludovico Arioso, Martin Pearlman, Messa da Requiem, Nahum Tate, Newell Jenkins, Nicola Rescigno, Peggy Glanville-Hicks, Prosper Mérimée La Périchole, Rafael Alberti, Ruth Rabinow, Stephen Simon, Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird, Thomas Morell, Torquato Tasso, Victor Hugo, Wallace Stevens, Xavier Montsalvatge, Zigeunerliedercountermelody

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This past April, my former voice teacher and treasured friend Joan Caplan died at the age of 92. A few weeks ago, family and friends organized a memorial gathering for which I produced a short audio tribute, which is heard at the beginning of this episode. Before the event, we heard a number of recordings of Joan in her prime that absolutely knocked me on my ear. I was kindly given copies of these recordings from which I have fashioned an expanded episode in her honor. Most of these recordings have simply never been heard before, but I know that Joan was very proud of the work that she did during her active singing career, before she dedicated herself wholeheartedly to her teaching. Her rare live recordings of arias by Handel, Verdi, Donizetti, Purcell, and Hasse display her magnificent technique, while excerpts from her song recitals, including music by Brahms, Mahler, Montsalvatge, and Glanville-Hicks, display her versatility as well as her interpretive insight. I also share personal insights and reminiscences of Joan which will, I hope, reveal the special relationship that I shared with her, which many of her students, friends, and chosen family also experienced. When I last visited Joan, I promised her that I would do what I could to ensure that she would be properly remembered. With this episode, I do my part, to the best of my ability, to keep that promise.

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 348. Rescue Mission II

April 8, 2025African American Singers, Art Song, Behind the Iron Curtain, Bel canto, Black History Month, Black History Month 2025, Comic Relief, Crossover, Forgotten Divas, Full-Figured Baroque, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, Great Contraltos, Great Tenors, In Memoriam, Johann Sebastian Bach, Lieder, Listeners' Favorites, Margaret Price, Mezzo Madness, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Orchestral Songs, Rescue Mission, Richard Wagner, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century Opera, Verismo, Wolfgang Amadeus MozartAh Perfido!, Alan Paton, Alexandre Dumas fils, Alfredo Kraus, Anton Guadagno, Arrigo Boito, Benjamin Luxon, Berislav Klobučar, Bruno Walter, Carlo Franci, Carlo Zangarini, Claudio Abbado, Conchita, Cosi fan tutte, David Willison, Dora Wilson, Edith Mathis, El amor brujo, Eleanor Steber, Ellabelle Davis, Eugene Holmes, Ferdinando Bertoni, Francesco Maria Piave, Frederick Weatherly, Fritz Busch, George Frideric Handel, Gilda Cruz-Romo, Giuseppe Verdi, Gloria Davy, Hans Thamm, Helga Görlin, Hermann Lohr, Hugo Cohn, Hugo Conrat, Hugo Hasslo, Janet Baker, Jean Féline, Joaquín Turina, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, John Alexander, Josefina de Attard, Judith Layng, Karl Böhm, Kjell Olsson, Kurt Weill, La Traviata, Le nozze di Figaro, Léo Chauliac, Leopold Stokowski, Lohengrin, Lorenzo da Ponte, Loris Gavarini, Lost in the Stars, Ludwig van Beethoven, Mady Mesple, Manuel de Falla, Mara Coleva, Margaret Marshall, Margaret Price, María de la O Lejárraga García, Martina Arroyo, Maurizio Vaucaire, Maxwell Anderson, Mefistofele, Musas de Andalucía, Nicolai Ghiaurov, Oralia Dominguez, Orfeo ed Euridice, Paul Misraki, Pierre Louÿs, Pietro Metastasio, Ranieri de’ Calzabigi, Raymond Leppard, Ria Bollen, Riccardo Zandonai, Richard Wagner, Roberta Alexander, Walter Herbert, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Zigeunerliedercountermelody

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After I post a Countermelody episode on a cherished singer, my relationship with these artists continues: one of those manifestataions is that I never stop seeking out rare and unusual recordings featuring those singers. This results in a grab-bag of fascinating and often obscure material that is simply too good not to share with my listeners. Today I present you with the second episode of such genre, which I have collectively dubbed “Rescue Mission.” On this episode I feature singers you’ve heard on the podcast over the course of the past several weeks and months, including, among many others, Janet Baker, Oralia Domínguez, Eugene Holmes, Ellabelle Davis, Gilda Cruz-Romo, Benjamin Luxon, Mara Coleva, Hugo Hasslo, Margaret Marshall, Gloria Davy, and Mady Mesplé, performing work by Handel, Verdi, Weill, Bach, Brahms, Boito, and Mozart. The episode concludes with Eleanor Steber (because, as I affirmed laast week, you can never have enough of her), in a 1949 performance of “Ah, Perfido!” that will have you picking your dislocated jaw up off the floor. Also expect shout-outs to friends of the podcast, old and new, as well as a certain amount of political snippiness!

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.