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In my mind, J. S. Bach is the greatest composer who ever lived. I know that he never wrote an opera, but my first musical love was choral music, and by extension, sacred music. Even removed from the specific religious context it was written for, there is something...
The only other “art song” on the list this week, Mahler’s “Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen” from Rückert Lieder is another song that always brings me to tears. This is especially true when sung by the peerless Dame Janet Baker (though Dieskau or Anne Sofie von...
I chose this song both because it’s a wonderful song from a great show, but also to highlight Jerry Herman and Marin Mazzie, two giants who each died in the last few years. I feel that even though Jerry Herman won two Tony awards, he may be somewhat overlooked as a...
I chose this song because I wanted to highlight what is, without question in my mind, the greatest performance ever given at the Tony awards. Jennifer Holliday is only 21 in this performance!! How is that even possible?? She sings with so much power and feeling and...
I wasn’t sure how to start this week of posts, so I decided to begin with my favorite Lied sung by probably my favorite Lieder singer. Is it cliché to share a recording of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Gerald Moore? Probably. Do I care? No! It’s hard to put into...