Format: Classical, NTSC
DVD Release Date: Nov 18 2008
ASIN: B001E181Y6
Campion: (Michael Chance & David Miller, Lute)
Never Weather-Beaten Saile
Dowland: (James Bowman & David Miller, Lute)
Sorrow Stay
Can She Excuse My Wrongs?
Flow My Tears
Ford: (James Bowman & David Miller, Lute)
Since First I Saw Your Face
Purcell: (Michael Chance & James Bowman with Sonnerie)
Sound the Trumpet; O Dive Custos
Purcell: (Michael Chance with Sonnerie)
Strike the Viol; Evening Hymn
Blow: (Michael Chance & James Bowman with Sonnerie)
Ode on the Death of Henry Purcell
Bach: (Michael Chance with Sonnerie)
Cantata BWV 170
Vivaldi: (Michael Chance with Sonnerie)
Cum Dederit
Pergolesi: (Andreas Scholl with the Akademie Für Alte Musik)
Stabat Mater
Handel: (Andreas Scholl with the Akademie Für Alte Musik)
Ombra Mai Fu (from Xerxes)
Dove Sei; Vivi Tiranno (from Rodelinda)
Butterworth: (Michael Chance & Julius Drake, Piano)
When I was one-and-twenty
Is My Team Ploughing?
Description
An LWT South Bank Show, presented by Melvyn Bragg, exploring the phenomenon of countertenor singing.
With its unique, soaring beauty, the high male voice is today enjoying a huge resurgence in popularity. Heirs to the celebrated castrati of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, today’s countertenors produce their voices by wholly natural means.
In this program international stars Michael Chance, Andreas Scholl and James Bowman, as well as pop star Jimmy Somerville, shed light on the appeal of the male falsetto. Meanwhile, experts such as Michael White place today’s countertenors in their historical context.
What emerges is a compelling portrayal of an unmistakable vocal style, rooted in church and operatic tradition, yet completely up-to-date, resonating louder today than at any time in the last two hundred years.
Following the South Bank Show is a 70-minute program of specially recorded performance material, showcasing the extraordinary talents of today’s most popular countertenors.
Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
This episode of London Weekend Television’s acclaimed, long-running documentary series The South Bank Show (hosted by the iconic Melvyn Bragg) discusses the phenomenon of countertenor singing, where adult male singers perform pieces from the classical repertoire in the mezzo-soprano, contralto or soprano ranges. Vocalists who appear in this program and discuss the phenomenon at length include Andreas Scholl, Michael Chance, James Bowman and Jimmy Somerville; as an added bonus, the program features a countertenor concert where Bowman, Chance and Scholl perform works by such classical composers as Ford, Handel, Bach and Dowland.