Episode 291. A Bevy of Bachian Contraltos
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SUBSCRIPTION PLATFORM
This week I pull out all the Baroque stops (appropriately enough), to present you with an episode chock full of contraltos, all singing the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. I have chosen 28 different contraltos, active between the late 1930s and the early 2000s, who excelled in the singing and interpretation of this most spiritual, and most genius, of composers. I am dividing this episode into two separate segments, the first of which I present here, a group of singers which includes such legendary historical figures as Kathleen Ferrier and Marian Anderson, and Christa Ludwig, as well as such exceptional voices from the Americas as Maureen Forrester and Carol Smith; and, from the continent, Aafje Heynis, Germaine Cernay, Brigitte Fassbaender, Hilde Rössel-Majdan, Claudia Hellmann, Marga Höffgen, and Margarethe Bence. These women are joined by a further a group of British contraltos and mezzo-sopranos, each with distinctive and exceptional approaches to the music of Bach, including Helen Watts, Norma Procter, Maureen Lehane (for me, the big discovery of the week), and of course Janet Baker, beloved to all of us. I also pay tribute to a select group of exceptional Kapellmeister including Karl Richter, Helmuth Kahlhöfer, Fritz Werner, Kurt Thomas, and Hans Thamm, who thrived in recordings and live performances from the 1950s and beyond. If certain favorite names of yours are missing from this week’s setlist, no worries: they may well appear on next week’s episode, which continues to combine Bachian expressive profundity with plummy contralto depths.
RECORDINGS HEARD IN THIS EPISODE
All selections by Johann Sebastian Bach
Ach, dass nicht die letzte Stunde, BWV 439. Kathleen Ferrier, Millicent Silver [live BBC 26.XII.49]; John Newmark [live NYC Town Hall 08.I.50]
Du Herr, du krönst allein das Jahr (Es wartet alles auf dich, BWV 187). Marian Anderson, Robert Bloom, Bernard Greenhouse, Erich Itor Kahn, William Jensen, Choral Art Society Orchestra [live NYC Town Hall 03.XII.51]
Wir eilen mit schwachen doch emsigen Schritten [sung in French] (Jesu, der du meine Seele, BWV 78). Germaine Cernay, Martha Angelici, Noélie Pierront [1938]
Jesu, deine Liebeswunden, BWV 471. Hilde Rössel-Majdan, Richard Harand, Franz Holetschek [1958]
Die Schlange, so im Paradies (Dazu ist erschienen der Sohn Gottes, BWV 40). Brigitte Fassbaender, Diethard Hellmann, Bachorchester Mainz [ca. 1970]
Christi Glieder, ach, bedenket (Bereitet die Wege, bereitet die Bahn!, BWV 132). Carol Smith, Maurice Wilk, Bernard Greenhouse, Erich Itor Kahn [1954]
Nur durch Lieb und durch Erbarmen (Ihr, die ihr euch von Christo nennet, BWV 164). Marga Höffgen, Kurt Thomas, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig [1960]
Wohl euch, ihr auserwählten Seelen (O ewiges Feuer, o Ursprung der Liebe, BWV 34). Claudia Hellmann, Fritz Werner, Südwestdeutsches Kammerorchester Pforzheim [1961]
Reis von Habsburgs hohen Stamme (Schleicht, spielende Wellen, BWV 206). Margarethe Bence, Helmuth Rilling, Bach-Collegium-Stuttgart [1966]
Schließe, mein Herze, dies selige Wunder (Weihnachtsoratorium, BWV 248). Christa Ludwig, Karl Richter, Münchener Bach-Orchester [1965]
Komm du süße Todesstunde (Komm du süße Todesstunde, BWV 161). Aafje Heynis, Hans Heintze, Bremer Bachorchester [live Bremen 24.IX.61]
Stirb in mir (Gott soll allein mein Herze haben, BWV 169). Maureen Forrester, Antonio Janigro, I Solisti di Zagreb [1965]
Johann Sebastian Bach: Komm, ihr angefocht’nen Sünder (Freue dich, erlöste Schar, BWV 30). Bernadette Greevy, Madeleine Berkeley, John O’Sullivan, The New Irish Chamber Orchestra [1980]
Nun komm der Heiden Heiland (Schwingt freudig euch empor, BWV 36). Norma Procter, Elly Ameling, Helmut Hucke, Kurt Thomas, Collegium musicum des WDR [1965]
Ach, es bleibt in meiner Liebe (Du sollst Gott deinen Herren lieben, BWV 77). Helen Watts, Hermann Sauter, Helmuth Rilling, Bach-Collegium Stuttgart [1972]
Christen müssen auf der Erden (Sie werden euch in den Bann tun, BWV 44). Maureen Lehane, Helmuth Kahlhöfer, Hans Thamm [in da capo], Collegium musicum des WDR [1966 & 1971]
Ich wünsche nur bei Gott zu leben (Geist und Seele wird verwirret, BWV 35). Janet Baker, unknown organist, Benjamin Britten, English Chamber Orchestra [live Aldeburgh 12.VI.69]
