Alfred Deller (31 May 1912 – 16 July 1979) was an English singer, one of the main figures in popularising the use of the countertenor voice in renaissance and baroque music. Events 1279 BC - Rameses II (The Great (19th dynasty becomes pharaoh of Ancient Egypt. Year 1912 ( MCMXII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year starting Events 622 - The beginning of the Islamic calendar. 1054 - Three Roman legates fractured relations between the Western and Year 1979 ( MCMLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1979 Gregorian calendar) England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland This article is related to a series of articles under the main article Voice type. Renaissance music is European music written during the Renaissance, approximately 1400 - 1600 Baroque music describes an era and a set of styles of European classical music which were in widespread use between approximately 1600 and 1750.
Deller was born in Margate, a seaside resort in Kent, and as a boy sang in his local church choir. Margate is a Seaside resort town within the Thanet district of East Kent, England. KENT (1400 AM) is a Radio station broadcasting a Adult Standards/MOR format When his voice broke, he continued singing in his high register, eventually settling as a countertenor. This article is related to a series of articles under the main article Voice type. Throughout the 19th century, it was only in the tradition of all-male cathedral choirs that the countertenor voice had survived. [1] Deller was himself successively a member of the choirs of Canterbury and St. Paul's Cathedrals (1940-47 and 1947-62 respectively). Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a St Paul's Cathedral, is the Anglican Cathedral on Ludgate Hill, in the City of London, and the seat of the Bishop of London. He emerged as a soloist from this choral tradition largely due to the admiration of the composer Michael Tippett, who heard him while at Canterbury, and recognised the unique beauty of his voice. Sir Michael Kemp Tippett, OM (2 January 1905 &ndash 8 January 1998 was one of the foremost English Composers of the 20th century Tippett introduced him to the public as a countertenor rather than a male alto. Alto is a musical term derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high" that has several possible interpretations He also became better known with a radio broadcast (on the BBC's new "Third Programme") of Henry Purcell's Come ye sons of Art. Henry Purcell (ˈpɜrsəl 10 September 1659 (? – 21 November 1695 was an English Baroque Composer. He concentrated on popularizing and recording the music of English baroque and renaissance music by composers such as John Dowland and Purcell. John Dowland (1563 &ndash buried February 20, 1626) was an English Composer, singer and Lutenist He is best known today for his [2]
Deller's voice sounded remarkably high. Misconceptions about the countertenor voice were common at the time Deller was first gaining significant notice as a singer, which was only a matter of decades after the last castratos had died; Michael Chance tells the story that once a French woman, upon hearing Deller sing, exclaimed "Monsieur, vous êtes eunuque", to which Deller replied "I think you mean 'unique', madam". A castrato is a man with a singing voice equivalent to that of a Soprano, Mezzo-soprano, or Contralto voice produced either by Castration Michael Chance (born 7 March 1955 in Penn Buckinghamshire, England) is an English Countertenor. [3]
He formed the Deller Consort in 1948, a group dedicated to historically informed performance. The historically informed performance, period performance, or authentic performance movement is an approach by musicians and scholars to research and perform works The group significantly expanded popular notions of the baroque repertoire, producing high-quality authentic "period performances" of the works of Bach, Handel, Purcell, Dowland, and even folk songs. WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section.2 This article is written in British English including maximised use of "-ise" The membership of the consort changed over the years and included the soprano Mary Thomas and, from 1964 Deller's son, Mark Deller[1]. Mark Deller is a Countertenor, the son of the first modern countertenor Alfred Deller. (Mr. Deller's other son, Simon, trained as a music teacher during the 1960s. ) As well as directing his Consort, Deller also conducted some performances with chamber orchestras.
In 1960, Deller sang the role of Oberon in Benjamin Britten's opera A Midsummer Night's Dream. Oberon, also Auberon, King of Shadows and Fairies, is best known as a character in William Shakespeare 's play A Midsummer Night's Dream Edward Benjamin Britten Baron Britten, OM CH (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976 was an English Composer, conductor, Opera is an art form in which Singers and Musicians perform a Dramatic work (called an opera which combines a text (called a Libretto A Midsummer Night's Dream is an Opera with music by Benjamin Britten and set to a libretto adapted by the composer and Peter Pears from Britten wrote this role with Deller specifically in mind, although he was dropped from staged revivals of the work against the composer's wishes, probably because of poor acting technique. [4] He recorded the opera, with the composer conducting.
The lutenist Desmond Dupré performed with him, initially as a guitarist. Desmond Dupré (December 19 1916 London &mdash August 16 1974 Tonbridge, Kent) was an English Lutenist and a prominent figure in the 20th Other accompanists included the harpsichordist and musicologist Walter Bergmann. In later years he worked with the lutenist Robert Spencer and the harpsichordists Harold Lester and William Christie. His recordings include the lute songs of Dowland, Handel operas, Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Purcell songs and semi-operas (such as The Fairy-Queen), traditional English folk songs, works by Thomas Tallis, and the Bach alto repertoire. The Fairy-Queen (Z629 is a Masque or Semi-opera by Henry Purcell; a Restoration spectacular It was first performed on 2 May 1692 Thomas Tallis (c 1505 &ndash 23 November 1585) was an English Composer. He recorded for HMV, Vanguard Classics and Harmonia Mundi. Vanguard Records is a Record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York. "Harmonia Mundi" is also the title of a track on Mike Oldfield 's Music of the Spheres album
Deller died while working in Bologna, Italy. Bologna (boloɲa from Latin Bononia, Bulåggna in Bolognese dialect is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest
Notes
- ^ Giles and Steane
- ^ Steane
- ^ Michael Chance interviewed in a documentary entitled 'Countertenors', originally shown on The South Bank Show. The South Bank Show is an award-winning Television arts magazine show made by London Weekend Television, presented by Melvyn Bragg, broadcast
- ^ Steane
References
- J. B. Steane: "Deller, Alfred", Grove Music Online ed L. Macy (Accessed 6 February 2007), grovemusic.com, subscription access. Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar defeats the combined army of Pompeian followers and Numidians under Metellus Scipio Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.
- Peter Giles and J. B. Steane: "Countertenor", Grove Music Online, ed. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is an Encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians L. Macy (accessed 6 February 2007), grovemusic.com (subscription access). Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar defeats the combined army of Pompeian followers and Numidians under Metellus Scipio Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.
External links
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Deller, Alfred |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Countertenor singer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 31 May 1912 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Margate, Kent, England |
| DATE OF DEATH | 16 July 1979 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Bologna, Italy |
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