Episode 465. Black Bach I

Episode 465. Black Bach I

Here is an episode I have been dreaming of putting together since the very early days of the podcast: Black Bach, an historical survey of the solo vocal music of Johann Sebastian Bach as performed by African American singers. In nearly the entire first half of the Twentieth Century, the performance of Black singers was restricted primarily to the concert platform. Even young singers of color who were first making their mark in the 1950s barely dared to aspire to a career in opera. In such a context, the work of Bach. One of the first such singers was the great Marian Anderson, who leads off the episode. Other featured singers were sometimes renowned for their performances of Bach (Adele Addison, Carol Brice, Kathleen Battle), while others (Leontyne Price, George Shirley, Mattiwilda Dobbs, Shirley Verrett) were less so. There is, additionally, a tribute to our late beloved friend Roberta Alexander, a discussion of accessibility to all audiences of the music of Bach and performances by two great Black countertenors, a refreshing interlude by the exquisite Delcina Stevenson (pictured; still with us at the age of 93), and a surprise appearance by Nina Simone, whose entire musical life was inspired by and dedicated to, the music of Bach. This is the first of two episodes on the “Black Bach” theme; the next will follow later in the summer and will feature a new roster of great singers. The entire episode is dedicated to the memory of the great African American dramatic tenor Limmie Pulliam, who died unexpectedly this week.

RECORDINGS HEARD IN THIS EPISODE

Traditional American, arr. Moses Hogan: Another Man Done Gone. Limmie Pulliam, Spencer Myer [live 2025]

All remaining selections composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. Texts are by anonymous poets, unless otherwise noted.

Picander [né Christian Friedrich Henrici]: Erbarme dich, mein Gott (Matthäus-Passion, BWV 244). Marian Anderson, Joseph Fuchs, Robert Shaw, Victor Chamber Orchestra [1946]

Ach, mein Sinn, wo willt du endlich hin (Johannes-Passion, BWV 244). George Shirley, Eugene Ormandy, Philadelphia Orchestra [1968]

Ich folge dir gleichfalls mit freudigen Schritten (Johannes-Passion, BWV 245). Roberta Alexander, Johannes Walter, Peter Schreier, Staatskapelle Dresden [1988]

Et in unum Deum (Mass in b minor, BWV 232). Leontyne Price, Christa Ludwig, Herbert von Karajan, Wiener Philharmoniker [live Salzburg 20.VIII.1961]

Walter Donaldson, Gus Kahn: Love Me or Leave Me (Whoopee!). Nina Simone, Lisle Atkinson, Bobby Hamilton [1965]

Drum sucht auch Amor sein Vergnügen… Wenn die Frühlingslüfte streichen (Weichet nur, betrübte Schatten, BWV 202). Mattiwilda Dobbs, Raymond Lambert [live Sydney 23.VII.1955]

Wir beten zu dem Tempel an… Höchster, mache deine Güte (Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen, BWV 51). Kathleen Battle, John Nelson, Orchestra of St. Luke’s [live New York ca. 1995]

So glaubt man denn, dass die Musik verführe… Schweigt, ihr Flöten, schweigt ihr Töne (O holder Tag, erwünschte Zeit, BWV 210). Delcina Stevenson, Gretel Shanley, H. Vincent Mitzelfelt, Mitzelfelt Orchestra [1972]

Picander [né Christian Friedrich Henrici; English version by John Troutbeck]: Although my Heart and Eyes… Lord, to Thee my Heart I Proffer [Wiewohl mein Herz in Tränen schwimmt… Ich will dir mein Herze schenken] (Saint Matthew Passion, BWV 244). Adele Addison, Leonard Bernstein, New York Philharmonic [1962]

Qui sedes ad dextram Patris (Mass in b minor, BWV 232). Carol Brice, Daniel Saidenberg, Columbia Broadcasting Concert Orchestra [1949]

Getrost! es faßt ein heil’ger Leib (Ich freue mich in dir, BWV 133). Derek Lee Ragin, John Eliot Gardiner, English Baroque Soloists [1998]

Georg Christian Lehms: Widerstehe doch der Sünde (Widerstehe doch der Sünde, BWV 54). Reginald Mobley, Nicholas McGegan, Cantata Collective [2023]

Schlafe, mein Liebster (Weihnachts-Oratorium, BWV 248). Shirley Verrett, Lorin Maazel, Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma della RAI [live Roma 06.XII.1968]