Today’s episode features baritones of all stripes (with the occasional bass-baritone) in a program focusing primarily on song in its various manifestations. Whether that be Broadway and pop tunes (sung by Alfred Drake, Allan Evans, and Harve Presnell); Schubert (performed by Doda Conrad, Bernard Diamant, Max van Egmond, Robert Holl, and Siegfried Lorenz); other German Lieder (with Victor Braun and Heinrich Schlusnus); Russian and Nordic song (sung by Matti Lehtinen, Yuri Mazurok, Erik Sædén, Martti Talvela, Knut Skram, and Gerhard Hüsch); or folk song (as recorded by Arne Dørumsgaard, John Bröcheler, and Spyros Sakkas), there’s something here for everyone. And to avoid accusations of prejudice against arias, I round off the episode with three arias: one from opera (Tannhäuser, sung – in Italian! – by Apollo Granforte), one oratorio (Handel’s Samson, with Thomas Stewart), and one operetta (from Viktoria und ihr Husar, performed by Bernd Weikl).

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.