Alfred Deller was a hero - make no mistake.
The handsome young man you see in this picture had the voice of an angel - not the wishy-washy children's, sickly-sweet voice of a Christmas carol angel, but the voice of a mature, powerful, penetrating angel.
This man stuck arrows in you.
He sang counter-tenor - that's the high sounding male voice.
In fact, you could almost claim he reinvented the counter tenor voice. Until Dellor came along and broke out of church (where the average counter tenor was trembling in fear of detection - oh, a man with a voice like that - he isn't right - is everything all there?), many people never even knew normal men could make that sound, or that songs could be sung that way- or that the power and glory of many early songs lay hidden with the counter tenor.
He was a brave man - he went public. And anyone who loves 'early' music, or the Baroque, Purcell or Britten - should go down on their knees and thank whichever deity they believe in (I'm with Dionysus myself - libation poured). His son also sings counter tenor - there must have been something in the genes (pun intended).
One of the recordings Deller went on to make with the Deller Consort was 'Shakespeare Songs'.
This is a collection of music - much of which can be directly linked to a named Shakespeare play, by Shakespeare's contemporaries or Mr Anonymous himself.
In addition to Dellor and friends (and possibly family) - there is Desmond Dupre on the lute - a man almost in need of the same reverence as Dellor himself.
The collection starts with a rollicking performance of one of the most well known Shakespeare songs - It was a lover and his lass, with music by Thomas Morley. Morley was a writer of madrigals and the arrangement he made of Shakespeare's words from As you like it, carries with it an assurance about English text, a love of light bouncy sounds and a humour.
Deller takes this at quite a speed - and straight away one of the best things about this disc becomes apparent - a clarity in pronunciation that makes a booklet with printed texts almost irrelevant. You understand every word.
He moves on to the much slower contemplative 'Take, oh take those lips away' from Measure for Measure: A dark play and a dark setting from John Wilson who worked for Shakespeare's Theatre company - though just after he left.
Deller's voice really shines here - he has a dark resonance even though he is singing high - he gives a woeful, touching rendition which only the hardest of hearts would fail to feel.
Next Thomas Morley again with 'Oh mistress mine' from Twelfth Night - lighter than the second, but darker than the first - and this is where you become aware of the thoughtfullness behind the arrangement on the disc.
The first three fit together like in a recital - showing off the music and the singer to best advantage. There is an interlude of Thomas Welkes Strike it up, Tabor which is a madrigal delivered by the Deller Consort - and although it has no known connection to Shakespeare, does help to give a flavour of the music making of the time, and the popular pieces people would be singing. This is the first time you need to dive into the booklet - only to find out that the words don't actually help much - this is a dance with morris and worn shoe leather and the consort give it a full leg tapping performance. Maybe it is something like this that the Duke is offered at the end of the mechanical's performance in A Midsummer Nights Dream.
Then we are back to Shakespeare - and one of the great songs which needs the sort of artistry unbelievable in the boy who originally sang it as Desdamona in Othello, The Willow Song. Mr Anonymous wrote the music.
Deller here reveals the third element in his musical makeup - an intelligent reading of the text. Unlike too many good singers, he actually sounds as though the words mean something - that the words come first - they carry emotion and meaning which the music picks up on and intensifies. It is also a song which plays on that deep, powerful resonance and cuts deep.
The disc goes on for a total of 19 tracks - and each is worthy of comment. I'll only pick out a couple though that tickled my fancy.
We be soldiers three is a bit of bawdry! ''Putting ink in your pen'' - and money in your pocket. It's given a very rousing, gritty performance by the Consort - that manages to suggest a rough bunch of music students (possibly brass players) let loose.
Bonny sweet Robin is a lute solo - and jolly good too.
And Deller's rendering of 'When that I was' - the closing song in Twelfth Night, is so complex and controlled that I still can't get to the bottom of it - it's the sort of performance you just know is as good as it is ever going to get.
Technorati Tags: Shakespeare, Alfred Deller, Deller Consort, Shakespeare Songs
The handsome young man you see in this picture had the voice of an angel - not the wishy-washy children's, sickly-sweet voice of a Christmas carol angel, but the voice of a mature, powerful, penetrating angel.This man stuck arrows in you.
He sang counter-tenor - that's the high sounding male voice.
In fact, you could almost claim he reinvented the counter tenor voice. Until Dellor came along and broke out of church (where the average counter tenor was trembling in fear of detection - oh, a man with a voice like that - he isn't right - is everything all there?), many people never even knew normal men could make that sound, or that songs could be sung that way- or that the power and glory of many early songs lay hidden with the counter tenor.
He was a brave man - he went public. And anyone who loves 'early' music, or the Baroque, Purcell or Britten - should go down on their knees and thank whichever deity they believe in (I'm with Dionysus myself - libation poured). His son also sings counter tenor - there must have been something in the genes (pun intended).
One of the recordings Deller went on to make with the Deller Consort was 'Shakespeare Songs'.This is a collection of music - much of which can be directly linked to a named Shakespeare play, by Shakespeare's contemporaries or Mr Anonymous himself.
In addition to Dellor and friends (and possibly family) - there is Desmond Dupre on the lute - a man almost in need of the same reverence as Dellor himself.
The collection starts with a rollicking performance of one of the most well known Shakespeare songs - It was a lover and his lass, with music by Thomas Morley. Morley was a writer of madrigals and the arrangement he made of Shakespeare's words from As you like it, carries with it an assurance about English text, a love of light bouncy sounds and a humour.
Deller takes this at quite a speed - and straight away one of the best things about this disc becomes apparent - a clarity in pronunciation that makes a booklet with printed texts almost irrelevant. You understand every word.
He moves on to the much slower contemplative 'Take, oh take those lips away' from Measure for Measure: A dark play and a dark setting from John Wilson who worked for Shakespeare's Theatre company - though just after he left.
Deller's voice really shines here - he has a dark resonance even though he is singing high - he gives a woeful, touching rendition which only the hardest of hearts would fail to feel.
Next Thomas Morley again with 'Oh mistress mine' from Twelfth Night - lighter than the second, but darker than the first - and this is where you become aware of the thoughtfullness behind the arrangement on the disc.
The first three fit together like in a recital - showing off the music and the singer to best advantage. There is an interlude of Thomas Welkes Strike it up, Tabor which is a madrigal delivered by the Deller Consort - and although it has no known connection to Shakespeare, does help to give a flavour of the music making of the time, and the popular pieces people would be singing. This is the first time you need to dive into the booklet - only to find out that the words don't actually help much - this is a dance with morris and worn shoe leather and the consort give it a full leg tapping performance. Maybe it is something like this that the Duke is offered at the end of the mechanical's performance in A Midsummer Nights Dream.
Then we are back to Shakespeare - and one of the great songs which needs the sort of artistry unbelievable in the boy who originally sang it as Desdamona in Othello, The Willow Song. Mr Anonymous wrote the music.
Deller here reveals the third element in his musical makeup - an intelligent reading of the text. Unlike too many good singers, he actually sounds as though the words mean something - that the words come first - they carry emotion and meaning which the music picks up on and intensifies. It is also a song which plays on that deep, powerful resonance and cuts deep.
The disc goes on for a total of 19 tracks - and each is worthy of comment. I'll only pick out a couple though that tickled my fancy.
We be soldiers three is a bit of bawdry! ''Putting ink in your pen'' - and money in your pocket. It's given a very rousing, gritty performance by the Consort - that manages to suggest a rough bunch of music students (possibly brass players) let loose.
Bonny sweet Robin is a lute solo - and jolly good too.
And Deller's rendering of 'When that I was' - the closing song in Twelfth Night, is so complex and controlled that I still can't get to the bottom of it - it's the sort of performance you just know is as good as it is ever going to get.
Technorati Tags: Shakespeare, Alfred Deller, Deller Consort, Shakespeare Songs
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