My Two Favourite Singers Saluted!

Greetings!: 

Today is the birthday of one of my two absolute-favourite present-day singers, Miss Susan Gritton, to whom, in the name of the House of Old-School, I extend
heartiest best wishes and congratulations on this occasion!  Yet I thought it good to salute them _BOTH_ on this day, the other being Mr. Bryn Terfel!
 Both have been briefly mentioned elsewhere in this blog. 

These two singers have at least a few things in common.  Firstly, they were born in the same year, 1965, Miss Gritton again on this date and Mr. Terfel
on 9 November; both of their careers were advanced by winning singing competitions, Mr. Terfel having won the lieder prize in the 1989 Cardiff Singer of
the World Competition (as some of you might know already, he is a Welsh bass-baritone whose name is pronounced Tarevel) while Miss Gritton, an English
lyric soprano, won the 1994 Kathleen Ferrier Memorial Prize; both are, in their various ways and in my opinion at least, _MOST_-expressive as well as musical,
capable of depicting varying emotional states, and both seem technically sound; and, it must be admitted here in this old-fashioned house, they both seem
to have been linguistically influenced by modern culture.  Yet there seems to be one significant difference--Mr. Terfel, from what I gather, seems to be
more of a showman and pop-culturist, having once appeared at the BBC Proms in London wearing a Manchester United football shirt or some such, being a fan
of that team and also a golfer (unless something has lately changed).  He also makes what are often called crossover recordings, these being, as at least
some of you may know, when a performer of music in one particular style crosses over into another.  Mr. Terfel has made at least three recordings of songs
from the American Musical Theater, two of these, one of Rodgers-and-Hammerstein songs and the other of Lerner lyrics to music by Loewe and others, admittedly
being special favourites of mine!  Can anyone sing these songs more expressively?  Though some (e.g., Mr. Pinza in the original cast of _South_ _Pacific_)
might equal him or at least come close, I doubt whether any male singer at least can surpass him for expressiveness in this repertoire!  These two discs
may be found on the label for which he has been recording exclusively for the past several years, Deutsche Grammophon.  He has further given us at least
two discs of popular favourites from both the classical and popular literature, the latest of which, _Simple_ _Gifts_, so named because of the familiar
Shaker song contained therein (though here not in the famous version by Copland), including some duets (alongside the solos) with some other artists (one
of these being fellow Welshman Mr. Aled Jones, known to many (though I have never heard him sing it) for his recording of "Walking In The Air" from Mr.
Howard Blake's music for the film, _The_ _Snowman_, which he made as a boy).  I own this Deutsche Grammophon recording, and recommend it to those who like
inspirational songs, a couple which readily come to mind being "Amazing Grace" and "How Great Thou Art."  All of the crossover recordings I have mentioned
here feature an accompanying chorus for some of the songs, as does the Welsh disc discussed later in this post.  Another lean toward modern culture comes
in the form of a dedicated Website,
www.brynterfel.net,
which also has a message board attached to it.  Miss Gritton, on the other hand, seems less flashy and more interested in just her Classical art.  She has
no dedicated Website and, so far as I currently know, performs no real crossover (apart from a folkish song or more as encores), though I can somehow imagine
her at least singing Gershwin's "The Man I Love."  Another thing which both have in common is that they are married, though I do not think Mr. Terfel has
any children while Miss Gritton, presumably under her husband's name, has two (by the bye, it might interest some to know that Mr. Terfel's actual last
name is Jones, a very common Welsh last name, and so, since there was already a Welsh singer called Mr. Bryn Jones, the man we call Mr. Terfel decided
to use his middle name as last name instead.  And while we are about it, both he and his wife are interested in the Welsh language, of which more later!).
 When I had the immense privilege and pleasure of meeting her in New York on 18 March of last year, Miss Gritton told me that these children, and it would
go without saying, keep her quite busy, and possibly this could be a factor in her not having some of the trappings such as a Website, though it could
just be part of her life philosophy which seemed to come across in an interview she gave earlier this year on the BBC's _CD_ _Review_.  I admittedly have
mixed feelings about this, personally wishing that she _DID_ have a Website and the like, but cannot help admiring her for sticking to the important things
such as her family and her art!  Another interesting fact about her is that she first studied to be a botanist at both Oxford and London Universities,
but, as others had done before her, notably some composers, she would change to music.  Yet I cannot help wondering if, should she have any plants in her
house or a garden, she adheres to the modern philosophy that speaking (or singing?) to one's plants is good for them! 

 I now come _JUST_ _A_ _LITTLE_ toward closing by mentioning some other special recordings either by or including these two exceptional singers.  I wrote
earlier that Mr. Terfel and his wife are interested in the Welsh language.  He may be heard frequently singing in it on his Deutsche Grammophon disc of
Welsh songs, _We'll_ _Keep_ _A_ _Welcome_, which includes, among numerous other things, a full-blown festive version of the familiar Welsh hymn known in
English as "Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah" and that old and beloved song without which no important Welsh collection would be complete, "All Through The
Night," here sung softly and tenderly.  As those familiar with the standard choral literature will know well, Mendelssohn's _Elijah_ has been one of the
most popular of oratorios for many years, though it may not be as popular nowadays as it once was.  Those who like or love this work _MUST_, in my view,
at least hear the Decca recording of it released in 1997, conducted by Mr. Paul Daniel, in which Mr. Terfel _REALLY_ gets the title role right, giving
us both his heroic, full-blooded voice for the stentorian prophet and the tenderness and pathos which also characterize him (another soloist in this performance
is the much-admired/loved American lyric soprano, Miss Renee Fleming).  The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment plays on instruments of Mendelssohn's
time or copies of them, and the large Edinburgh Festival Chorus, while they might seem to lapse sometimes, is usually expressive of the drama and is appropriately
large as the choruses which first performed this work were.  A _COMPLETE_ contrast, though again there is appropriate variety of expression, is when Mr.
Terfel portrays the devil, called Nick Shadow in Stravinsky's 1951 opera, _The_ _Rake's_ _Progress_!  I could cite _MANY_ notable points, but, to take
only one, just listen to how furious he gets when Tom Rakewell, the character he is serving throughout the opera, thwarts him in a midnight game of cards
in a graveyard!  Since I wrote a post elsewhere in this blog about Vaughan Williams's _The_ _Pilgrim's_ _Progress_, he made a recording, on the Hyperion
Label, of the original version of _The_ _Shepherds_ _Of_ _The_ _Delectable_ _Mountains_, later to become the penultimate scene of the complete morality.
 This may not be one of his absolute best recordings, but it certainly is not bad, quite worth having!  Having mentioned VW, there are two discs of English
songs on Deutsche Grammophon in which songs by that composer and others are finely sung, _The_ _Vagabond_ and _Silent_ _Noon_, both titles of VW songs
(I refer to material from the former in my earlier post about Butterworth and Hammerstein).  I nearly forgot to further mention an _EXCELLENT_ disc of
largely-familiar Schubert songs which he has given us, also on Deutsche Grammophon, particularly noting his performance of the famous "Serenade!"  Though
I think this is now out of print, you might wish to try seeking out an EMI recording, conducted by Mr. Richard Hickox, of VW's _Sancta_ _Civitas_ and _Dona_
_Nobis_ _Pacem_.  Just listen to how beautifully Mr. Terfel sings in the "Reconciliation" movement from the latter!  And, since those among you who know
me know that Sir Charles Mackerras is my favourite conductor, these two artists team up for a rather-fine Deutsche Grammophon disc of Handel arias, an
excellent account of the suite from Elgar's incidental music for a children's play called _The_ _Starlight_ _Express_ on Decca (this may be hard to get
now since, apart from being available in a rather-large box of CD's, I think it is now out of print, though _MAYBE_ you can still find it on Amazon, etc.),
a most-interesting Britten (Benjamin Britten, another English composer) opera called _Gloriana_, written to celebrate the present Queen of England's coronation
in 1953, also on Decca, and one of Beethoven's beloved _Ninth_ _Symphony_ on EMI Classics For Pleasure.  All of these are separate recordings.  They have
again colaborated on a disc of Mozart arias for this Mozart 250th-Anniversary Year, and this is due for release on Deutsche Grammophon within the next
couple of months or so. 

When Miss Gritton was most-graciously giving me at least 10 to 15 minutes of her time in New York last year, I told her that, if I could only take one of
her recordings I have to one of those mythical desert islands, it would _HAVE_ to be her performance of "Now Sweetly Smiling, Peace Descends" from the
Hyperion recording of Handel's rarely-heard early London oratorio, _Deborah_!  She was somewhat taken aback when I told her that, reminding me that this
was one of the first recordings she ever made.  Yet, though her voice sounds younger there than it does now, I feel she gets the expression _SPOT_-_ON_
right, etc.!  If I could take another, it would be an early and admittedly-uncharacteristic song by Holst (an English composer who was a great friend of
VW's), "Lovely Kind And Kindly Loving," which may be found on a Naxos disc of Holst songs featuring her and two other singers.  It is kind, but _VERY_
loving/lovely!  I additionally have two other song-recital discs of hers, notably one of songs by Mendelssohn's beloved sister Fanny on the Hyperion label.
 At least some of these are very charming!  I am particularly fond of three Handel oratorio recordings conducted by Mr. Paul McCreesh on Deutsche Grammophon
Archiv, they being of _Saul_, _Solomon_ and _Theodora_.  In _Saul_ La Gritton gets particularly and aptly nasty as Merab in her first aria, "What Abject
Thoughts," but also does _WONDERFULLY_ in one of this great oratorio's greatest movements and a particular personal favourite, "In Sweetest Harmony!"
I feel the _Solomon_ is quite special, and Miss Gritton's performance of the Queen of Sheba's big aria near the end of the work, "Will The Sun Forget To
Streak," is widely and justly admired.  Though she may not be quite as memorable for me in _Theodora_, she is fine nonetheless, and perhaps her finest
performance in that recording comes in that _RAVISHING_ duet for Theodora and Didymus near the end of Act II, one of Handel's greatest in my view, "To
Thee, Thou Glorious Son Of Worth!"  All of her Handel recordings cited here feature authentic or copied instruments from Handel's time, as do instruments
from _SLIGHTLY_ later in her Deutsche Grammophon recording, again with Mr. McCreesh, of Gluck's rarely-heard opera, _Paride_ _Ed_ _Elena_, in which she
and two other singers, a Czech mezzo-soprano called Miss Magdalena Kozena and another English soprano called Miss Carolyn Sampson, put on what would _HAVE_
to be called a "singing clinic!"  Apart from Miss Gritton's, I feel Miss Kozena's contributions to this performance are particularly memorable!  Miss Gritton
also colaborates with Sir Charles, on a recording of the Mozart _Requiem_, in Professor Robert Levin's fairly recent completion, this on a Linn Records
super-audio CD.  And then they colaborate on the recording which she told both the BBC and me was the most moving, etc., in which she had participated
up to that time at least, of Smetana's folkish opera, _The_ _Bartered_ _Bride_, translated into English out of the original Czech, for the Chandos Opera-In-English
Series.  I can well understand why she loves this recording, and I hope some of you at least will also!  And next Spring?!  Having told you in that earlier
_Pilgrim_ post that she and Mr. Gerald Finley, conducted by the afore-mentioned Mr. Hickox, worked together on that _SUPERB_, again as far as I am concerned,
Chandos recording of that morality, I am _MOST_-eagerly looking forward to these three artists giving us, again on Chandos, VW's _A_ _Sea_ _Symphony_,
in a performance recorded live with the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus at London's Barbican Centre on 4 June of this year, just two days after this
blog was activated! 

I have indeed gone on _VERY_ long, but now I think I may have to throw a sort of "fly into the ointment" reference Mr. Terfel.  As pleased as I am that
he followed Sir Charles as winner of the Queen's Medal for Music, I personally feel that it should have probably gone again to an established, long-standing
artist such as Sir Charles, Sir Colin Davis, another long-time English conductor, and Mr. Hickox being two I had in mind.  Yet Mr. Terfel is making a name
for British arts now, and that probably figured in him receiving the medal this year.  I hope Miss Gritton might eventually win it, but, despite her being
one of my absolute favourites, not until she has earned it by making her _WONDERFUL_ contributions over a long period of time.  I would like to think that
she could enjoy it even more then! 

Hoping this finds my visitors well, and also wishing _BOTH_ of these artists well on Miss Gritton's birthday, 

J. V.