Episode 490. José van Dam chante l’éternité
SOCIAL SHARE
SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM
Today we commemorate the quarter century since 9/11, an event that sent shockwaves throughout the world as it was transpiring (and who can forget where they were in those first awful hours?) And yet the aftermath has been so much worse than one could even imagine at the time, and with no end in sight (witness the right-wing populism and divisiveness which have become the order of the day). My heart and spirit cry out in pain every single day and the only consolation, the only balm, my soul receives these days is through art, and particularly for me, as for many of us, music. 2026 has also seen an inordinate number of deaths of people who made a different in the world. As I struggled to come up with a theme and a setlist for today’s episode, one figure kept reappearing at the door: Belgian bass-baritone José van Dam, who died last February at the age of 85. Though I was a lifelong admirer of the singer, and was deeply saddened by his death, I have not yet presented a suitable memorial tribute in his honor. His voice exuded a warmth and humanity that gave his performances and portrayals a particular glow. So I have chosen to present him today singing music appropriate to this solemn occasion: songs of Ravel, Schubert, Gounod, Schumann, Fauré, Brahms, Ibert, Wolf, Mahler, and Trenet; supplemented by arias and scenes by Verdi, Massenet, Landowski, and Messiaen. I’m keeping chatter to a bare minimum on this episode, letting the music, the texts, and van Dam’s voice and artistry, create a patina of consolation for all the complicated emotions raised by this day of mourning and meditation.
RECORDINGS HEARD IN THIS EPISODE
Giuseppe Verdi, Francesco Maria Piave, Arrigo Boito [after Antonio García Gutiérrez]: Il lacerato spirito (Simon Boccanegra). José van Dam, Miguel Gómez Martinez, Orchester und Chor der Deutschen Oper, Berlin [live 04.II.75]
Maurice Ravel, anonymous Hebrew and Aramaic text: Kaddish (Deux mélodies hébraïques, MA 22/1). José van Dam, Dalton Baldwin [1981]
Charles Gounod, Louise Bertin: Si la mort est le but, CG 439. José van Dam, Jean-Philippe Collard [1993]
Johannes Brahms, Martin Luther [translation of Ecclesiastes 4: 1-3]: Ich wandte mich und sahe an (Vier ernste Gesänge, Op. 121/2). José van Dam, Maciej Pikulski [1995]
Hugo Wolf, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: Harfenspieler I [Wer sich der Einsamkeit ergibt]. José van Dam, Maciej Pikulski [1995]
Franz Schubert, Wilhelm Müller: Das Wirtshaus (Winterreise, D. 911/21). José van Dam, Dalton Baldwin [1990]
Robert Schumann, Justinus Kerner: Stille Tränen (Kerner-Lieder, Op. 35/10). José van Dam, Jean-Claude vanden Eynden [1981]
Gabriel Fauré, Sully-Prudhomme: Les Berceaux, Op. 23/1. José van Dam, Jean-Philippe Collard [1987]
Reynaldo Hahn, Robert de Flers: Air du mouchoir [C’est tout ce qui me reste d’elle] (Ciboulette). José van Dam, Cyril Diederich, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo [1982]
Maurice Ravel, Paul Morand: Chanson épique (Don Quichotte à Dulcinée, M.84/2). José van Dam, Dalton Baldwin [1981]
Jacques Ibert, Alexandre Arnoux: Chanson de la mort de Don Quichotte (Quatre chansons de Don Quichotte, No. 4). José van Dam, Kent Nagano, Orchestre de l’Opéra de Lyon [1992]
Jules Massenet, Henri Caïn [after Jacques Le Lorrain]: Écoute, mon ami, je me sense bien malade (Don Quichotte). José van Dam, Alain Fondary, Teresa Berganza, Michel Plasson, Orchestre Nationale du Capitole de Toulouse [1992]
Marcel Landowski [after Patrice de La Tour du Pin]: Écoutez-moi: à l’aube il sera temps. (Le Fou). José van Dam, Alain Lombard, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, Chœurs de l’Opéra du Rhin [1980]
Olivier Messiaen: Adieu, créature de Temps! (Saint François d’Assise). José van Dam, Seiji Ozawa, Orchestre de l’Opéra de Paris [live Paris (world première) 28.XI.83]
Gustav Mahler, Friedrich Rückert: Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen (Rückert-Lieder). José van Dam, Pierre Boulez, Chicago Symphony Orchestra [live Chicago XI.1996]
Charles Trenet, Léo Chauliac: Que reste-t-il de nos amours? José van Dam, Jean-Philippe Collard-Neven, Jean-Louis Rassinfosse [2018]
