Christopher Dylan Herbert (photo: Laura Rose) and Philippe Sly
Trinity Wall Street in New York City continues to live stream some of the best music available on the web. The last few weeks were rich with music and two of our favorite barihunks performed, Christopher Dylan Herbert in Schubert's Winterreise and Philippe Sly in Handel's Messiah. Fortunately, both are available online or on our site.
We recently posted about Christopher Dylan Herbert's participatory version of Schubert's popular 1828 song cycle dubbed Winterize, which was performed with hats, scarves and mittens in New York's Central Park.
Herbert will be singing lead roles in Stewart Copeland and Robert Paterson's Dixon Place with the American Modern Ensemble on January 16-19. The piece is based on Edgar Allen Poe's The Cask of the Amontillado and tickets are available online.
Handel's Messiah and Trinity have a long history, as the church presented one of the first performances of the work in North America in 1770.
Philippe Sly has a few more performances of sacred music coming up, with a Mozart Requiem with the Toronto Symphony later this month and a St. Matthew Passion with the Hamburg State Opera in April.
Barihunk Christopher Dylan Herbert encored his unique performance of his participatory version of Franz Schubert’s 1828 song cycle Winterreise at
the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. He recently released a video highlight of the performance. Appropriately dubbed Winterize, since it's performed outside in the cold New York winter, the piece reimagines Schubert's WINTERREISE for baritone and
transistor radios.
Performed in collaboration with Make Music New York, the audience holds the accompaniment playing through
the radios as they walk through the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Along the way, they pass through locations that reflect the imagery of
Wilhelm Müller’s poetry and Schubert’s music.
Christopher Dylan Herbert's Winterize:
The piano accompaniment was recorded by Timothy Long
and reimagined by sound designer Jonathan Zalben. The production was
directed by JJ Hudson. This year’s performance also featured twenty-four new, illustrated German-to-English supertitles by Italian artist Irene Rinaldi.
You can next see Herbert live with the Chamber Music Society in My Brother, Franz Schubert, which will be performed at Princeton on November 7 and Alice Tully Hall on November 8. On November 14, he rejoins New York Polyphony at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin in Times Square for Songs of Hope, featuring music by Andrew Smith, Francisco de Peñalosa, Cyrillus Kreek and Loyset Compère.
MAKE SURE TO ORDER YOUR 2016 BARIHUNKS CALENDAR BEFORE THE HOLIDAY RUSH; 18 OF THE WORLD'S HOTTEST SINGERS FROM 9 COUNTRIES.
Two barihunks will be features in the inaugural season of Floating Opera New York when they feature Debussy's Pelleas and Melisande on the water in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Christopher Herbert will sing Pelleas, while Sidney Outlaw takes on Golaud. Also in the cast are Aude Cardona as Melisande, Paul Goodwin-Groen as
Arkel, Jasmin DeRice as Genevieve and Caroline Loeb as Yniold.
The opera will be set on the railroad barge, Lehigh Valley No. 79, also known as The Waterfront Barge Museum. It will will be sung in English and presented with Debussy's original 1895 piano score.
The railroad barge and Sidney Outlaw
Performances of Pelleas and Melisande are October 16, 17 and 18 at 8 pm.
The barge is moored at 290 Conover in Red Hook. Directions and additional production information can be found online. Next Spring, the company will produce the New York premiere of
John Cage's Europeras 3 & 4.
If you can't wait until October, you can hear Chris Herbert perform his doctoral recital at The Julliard School on September 22 at 6 PM. He'll perform songs by Britten, Bernstein, Rorem, Kaminsky and DeBlasio.
Christopher Dylan Herbert will be the featured soloist in two performances of Ralph Vaughan Williams Five Mystical Songs and the Fauré Requiem in New York City next week.
The first performance is at Hunter College in Lenox Hill on Thursday, April 16 with a subsequent performance on April 18 at Our Savior's Atonement Lutheran Church in Washington Heights.
Ralph Vaughan Williams Five Mystical Songs were written between 1906 and 1911 to texts by the seventeenth-century Welsh-born English poet and Anglican priest George Herbert (1593–1633). The poems come from his 1633 collection The Temple: Sacred Poems.
While Herbert was a priest, Vaughan Williams himself was an atheist at the time, though this did not prevent his setting of verse of an overtly religious inspiration.
Andrew Garland sings Easter from Five Mystical Songs:
The songs supposed to be performed together as a single work, but the styles of each vary quite significantly. The first four songs are quite personal meditations in which the soloist takes a key role, particularly in the third - Love Bade Me Welcome, where the chorus has a wholly supporting role, and the fourth, The Call, in which the chorus does not feature at all. The final Antiphon is probably the most different of all: a triumphant hymn of praise sung either by the chorus alone or by the soloist alone; unlike the previous songs, a separate version is provided for a solo baritone. It is also sometimes performed on its own, as a church anthem for choir and organ: Let all the world in every corner sing.
On May 24th, Christopher Dylan Herbert rejoins the group New York Polyphony for their European tour, which takes them to Amsterdam and then Germany. Check out their website for dates and locations.
Christopher Dylan Herbert (far left & right)and Anthony Roth Costanzo
As part of the Twelfth Night Festival in early January, Julian Wachner and the Choir of Trinity Wall Street and Trinity Baroque Orchestra presented a fully-staged production of Handel’s Saul. The title role was sung by barihunk Christopher Dylan Herbert, who possesses one of the most eloquent and richly beautiful baritone voices in the business. David is sung by the stunningly gifted countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo and bass-barihunk Dashon Burton sings the role of the Ghost of Samuel. Rounding out the cast is Ryland Angel as Jonathan, Jessica Muirhead as Merab, Marie-Eve Munger, as Michal and Molly Quinn.
Christopher Dylan Herbert sining "With rage I shall burst his praises to hear!"
Saul is a dramatic oratorio taken from the First Book of Samuel in the Bible's Old Testament. The story of Saul focuses on the first king of Israel's relationship with his eventual successor, David; one which turns from admiration to envy and hatred, ultimately leading to the downfall of the eponymous monarch.
The work, which Handel composed in 1738, includes the famous "Dead March," a funeral anthem for Saul and his son Jonathan. The "Dead March" was played at the funerals of Winston Churchill and George Washington, as well as being played many times during the journey from Washington D.C. to Springfield, Illinois of the body of Abraham Lincoln after his assassination.
You can next hear Christopher Dylan Herbert on January 22nd, when he performs a recital with accompanist Christopher Reynolds at Julliard's Morse Hall. The will perform music by Liszt, Shostakovich and Rautavaara. Herbert is also part of the Grammy-nominated ensemble New York Polyphony and you can check out their schedule online.
Chris Herbert hitting some heavenly high notes as Jesus
Christopher Herbert, who in addition to his solo career and tours with New York Polyphony, also performs with Music at Trinity Wall Street on many Sundays. On Palm Sunday, the ensemble improvised the Passion according to Matthew and he sang the role
of Jesus.
And if you thought Jesus walking on water was impressive, wait until you hear his high B-flats. The
Passion starts in Trinity Wall Street's streaming video at 20:15. The heavenly high notes take
place around 31:00 and 57:00.
Herbert is also performing today for Good Friday and singing the role of Pontius Pilate in Bach's Saint John Passion. They will perform it in liturgical context with a sermon in the middle and the congregation singing the chorales in English. It will also be available online.
[Pontius Pilate and Jesus in the same week! There's a joke in there somewhere.] Herbert and New York Polyphony begin their tour of The Netherlands and Germany next week beginning on April 22 and running through May 3. On May 11, he returns to the U.S. as a soloist when he performs Handel's Israel in Egypt with Princeton ProMusica.
Bach lovers, rejoice and sing! You'll have two chances to hear Christopher Herbert sing music by your favorite composer, as he is the soloist in two upcoming performances of the baroque master's music.
On Monday, April 7th he'll perform Bach's Cantata BWV 32 ("Liebster Jesu, Mein Verlangen") with the Trinity Baroque Orchestra and Choir at Trinity Wall Street in New York City. Five days later on Saturday, April 12th he'll be the bass soloist in Bach's Saint Matthew Passion with the Canticum Novum Singers at the Church of St. Jean Baptiste near Central Park.
After one New York performance on Tuesday, April 15, Christopher Herbert reunites with New York Polyphony for a European tour to the Netherlands and Germany where they will focus on Franco-Flemish Renaissance polyphony dominated by the theme of mortality.
New York Polyphony sings Times go by Turns:
New York Polyphony’s CD Times go by Turns was nominated for a GRAMMY® in the Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance category. The album features masses by Thomas Tallis and William Byrd, a three-voice mass setting by medieval English composer John Plummer, and three new works written for New York Polyphony by composers Gabriel Jackson, Andrew Smith, and the late Sir Richard Rodney Bennett.
Make sure to check out Christopher Herbert's new website (which includes the photo in the barihunk tee shirt shown above!).
Simon Keenlyside (L) and Christopher Dylan Herbert (R)
In case you missed the Grammy Award nominations on Friday or managed to overlook the Opera/Classical/Choral categories in all of the clutter around Jay Z with his nine nominations or Kendrick Lamar, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Pharrell and Justin Timberlake with their seven nominations a piece, we have some nominations of interest.
In the "Best Opera Recording" category, barihunk Simon Keenlyside was part of the cast on Thomas Adès' The Tempest recorded at the Metropolitan Opera, which also includes mezzo Isabel Leonard, soprano Audrey Luna and tenor Alan Oke.
Also nominated was a recording of Britten's The Rape Of Lucretia, an opera that we feature regularly due to great barihunk casting opportunities. This performance is conducted by Oliver Knussen and features tenor Ian Bostridge, baritone Peter Coleman-Wright and sopranos Susan Gritton and Angelika Kirchschlager.
New York Polyphony, which features barihunk Chris Herbert as part of its quartet was nominated for "Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance" for their glorious CD Times Go By Turns. If you don't own this, buy it today.
Also nominated was our Honorary Barihunk and MezzoSexual diva Joyce DiDonato for "Best Classical Vocal Solo" for Drama Queens featuring ll Complesso Barocco under Alan Curtis.
The Recording Academy announced
the nominations Friday during a concert at the Nokia Theater in Los
Angeles. The 56th Grammy Awards will be held on Jan. 26 at the Staples
Center in Los Angeles. Click HERE for a complete list of nominations.
Have you ordered your 2014 Barihunks Charity Calendar. Time is running out. Please remember that every penny of profit goes to help out young artists!
When Christopher Dylan Herbert recently attended our annual Barihunks lunch in New York City, it reminded us that we had never posted the video of his haunting performance last April in Jonathan Berger's The War Reporter. He was joined by his fellow members of New York Polyphony, soprano Heather Buck and the St. Lawrence String Quartet at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California.
Jonathan Berger's The War Reporter is based on the true story of Pulitzer
Prize–winning photojournalist Paul Watson. Convinced that he is haunted
by the ghost of an American soldier he photographed in Mogadishu in
1993, Watson seeks to rid himself of this curse.
Wolf played the violin, piano and organ as a child and studied briefly at the Vienna Conservatory from 1875 to 1877 where he met his idol Richard Wagner. He wrote musical criticism for the Wiener Salonblatt, taking sides with Wagner and Anton Bruckner against Johannes Brahms. It was difficult for Wolf to get his compositions performed during this period due to his printed views. Wolf was broke most of his life and at times had to make due with one meal a day. His bad temper made it difficult to keep students. He was said to be small, of mean build, thin and undernourished.
Christopher Herbert sings Wunden trägst du, mein Geliebter:
In 1888, Wolf was living in a friend's villa in Perchtoldsdorf near Vienna where he had a period of intense creativeness. He wrote many songs with texts by Goethe, Eduard Mörike, Eichendorff, and other German poets. He also used foreign lyrics in translation. He continued and extended the lied tradition of Franz Schubert and Robert Schumann, but he was original in his conception of the songbook as the larger dramatic form. His later life was clouded by illness, depression and final insanity. Wolf becoming manic-depressive and was sent to a lunatic asylum, mad at the age of 43.
Piotr Prochera sings Gebet:
A number of baritones have successfully recorded his Mörike lieder,
including Olaf Baer, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Thomas Allen and Hans
Hotter.
Wolf wrote numerous songs for baritone including Der
Musikant; Nachtzauber; Verschwiegene Liebe; Das Standchen; Prometheus;
Wachterlied auf der Wartburg; Biterolf; Benedeit die sel'ge Mutter; Nun
lass und Frieden schliessen; Der Mond hat eine schwere Klag'; Auf dem
grunen Balkon; Koniglich Gebet; Der Rattenfanger; Genialisch Treiben;
Heimweh; Grenzen der Menschheit; Cophtisches Lied II; Cophtisches Lied
I; Harfenspieler I; Seemanns Abschied; Der verzweifelte Liebhaber;
Anakreons Grab; Abschied; Lied eines Verliebten; Gesang Weylas; Der
Jager; An die Geliebte; Gebet; Seufzer; Verborgenheit; Der Genesene an
die Hoffnung; Der Tambour; Fussreise; Der Freund.
In an item titled "Sweet celebration," the New York Post's Page Six gossip column features this about Martha Stewart and her barihunk nephew Chris Herbert.
Martha Stewart certainly didn’t spend much time in the kitchen on New Year’s Eve. The domestic doyenne rang in the New Year with her nephew Chris Herbert, part of the acclaimed male singing quartet the New York Polyphony, Herbert’s partner Tim Long, and Stewart’s longtime friend Memrie Lewis. The group popped into Le Cirque in Midtown just before midnight for champagne and a crème brulée. Director Woody Allen and his wife, Soon-Yi, were also spotted at the restaurant.
Herbert's aforementioned group New York Polyphony will next appear on January 26 with the Miller Theatre's Early Music Series at New York City's Church of Saint Mary the Virgin. They then head off on tour to Massachusetts, North Carolina, California, Alberta, Virginia, Louisiana and Texas. Check out their full schedule at their website.
Chris Herbert and his Aunt Martha (taken from her wonderful blog)
Also, check out their amazing new album endBeginning, which was was recorded in the superb acoustics of the 14th century church of
Länna, Sweden, and features rare and never-before recorded works from
the Franco-Flemish Renaissance by composers Crecquillon, Brumel and
Clemens non Papa.
New York Polyphony performs William Byrd's "Agnus Dei" on WQXR in New York:
Chris Herbert as he appeared in the 2012 Barihunks Calendar
How would you like to help out with the hurricane relief while enjoying a barihunk perform? On Saturday, November 10th, Chris Herbert will be performing the "Quoniam" from Bach's B Minor Mass with the "Music at Trinity Wall Street" series.
Hebert will be joined by the Trinity Choir and
Trinity Baroque Orchestra under the baton of Julian Wachner. The 7:30 PM concert is FREE and open to the public. The event will benefit the Mayor’s Fund to
Advance New York City, which is gathering donations to provide essential
living supplies to New Yorkers in need – including food, water,
blankets, baby supplies and other emergency items. The Mayor’s Fund
retains no administrative fee, and 100% of donations are being
dispersed to relief efforts and organizations to provide essential living supplies to storm victims in the New York City area.
Due to flooding after the Hurricane, Trinity will not be able to
webcast this concert. If you aren't able to attend but would like to
contribute, here are for easy ways:
1. Online – visit www.nyc.gov/fund.
2. Mail – checks can be made payable to Mayor’s Fund to Advance New
York City, with “hurricane relief” in the memo line, and sent to:
Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City,
253 Broadway, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10007.
3. Call – donations can be made over the phone at 212-788-7794.
4. Text – text NYCFUND to 50555 to donate $10 to the Mayor’s Fund to
support hurricane relief. (Message and data rates may apply.)
You can also benefit young artists by purchasing ur 2013 Barihunks Charity Calendar, which is available at:
Our favorite vlogger Jonathan Estabrooks keeps a busy schedule. This Thursday, April 19 at 7:30 p.m. he'll be part of a concert that includes Gian Carlo Menotti's The Telephone and a collection of opera arias
and duets with soprano Emily
Duncan-Brown. The concert is at the SWCC King Community Center in Richlands, Virginia and includes selections from
Verdi, Puccini and Rossini.
Christopher Dylan Herbert in Central City
Just a reminder that you can hear Christopher Dylan Herbert live on WWFM singing Johann Sebastian Bach's Cantata
56 "Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen." The concert is free, so if you're in New York go check out this talented member of New York Polyphony. The concert will performed on Monday, April 16 at 1pm EST at St. Paul's Chapel near
Ground Zero. Broadcast time is 10 AM for those on the West Coast.
Herbert's ensemble New York Polyphony is currently performing on the East Coast as part of the Five Boroughs Music Festival'sGabrieli @ 400 and these concerts are not to be missed. On April 27 they perform at St. Ann's and the Holy Trinity in Brooklyn, on April 28 they are at St. Ignatius of Antioch in New York City and then on April 29 they perform at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Greenwich, Connecticut.
Quirijn de Lang sings Hugo Wolf
One of the most popular singers on this site is Dutch barihunk Quirijn de Lang, who appears to have quite an international fan club. He's just released a CD of songs by Hugo Wolf based on work by Ibsen & other poets. He is joined by soprano Mary Bevan and accompanist Sholto Kynoch. For lovers of Wolf lieder, the recording includes twelve previously unrecorded songs. You can purchase the CD at Stone Records.
Barihunk John Brandon will be part of a free afternoon of opera at the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga on Sunday, April 15, at 3 p.m. in the Roland Hayes Hall.
An Afternoon of Opera sponsored by the Connor Society will be held on , UTC Fine Arts
Center, located at the intersection of Vine and Palmetto Streets. He will be joined by soprano Cherry Brendel, tenor Ron
Brendel and mezzo Rosella Ewing in selections from Carmen, Rigoletto, La traviata, Lakme, The Pearl Fishers,
Samson & Delilah, The Elixir of Love, and The Magic Flute.
For more information, call 425-4627 or email verbie-prevost@utc.edu.
Apple of our eye: Christopher Dylan Herbert
Christopher Dylan Herbert is breaking away from his role as the baritone/bass member of New York Polyphony to perform a free concert on Monday, April 16 at 1pm at St. Paul's Chapel near Ground Zero. Herbert will be performing Johann Sebastian Bach's Cantata 56, "Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen," one of only two solo cantatas for baritone written by the German baroque master.
Also on the program is mezzo Luthen Brackett performing Bach's Cantata 54, and organist Renée Louprette performing Bach's Fugue in Eb Major (BWV 551b). Click HERE for additional information. The concert will be broadcast live on WWFM.
Seattle's Best: Joseph Lattanzi & David Krohn
Puccini's "Madama Butterfly" is generally not a barihunk opera, but the Seattle Opera is featuring two of its hottest young artists in a free simulcast on Saturday, May 5th. David Krohn will sing Prince Yamadori and Joseph Lattanzi will sing the Registrar in the opening night performance that includes the Cio-Cio-San of Patricia Racette.
The live HD simulcast from McCaw Hall will be broadcast onto a 50' x 80' screen at KeyArena. Tickets are free, but are expected to go fast, so reserve your tickets by clicking HERE. Door will open at 6:00 PM and the broadcast will begin at 7:30 PM.
Alex Ross, the esteemed music critic Alex Ross, has named New York Polyphony's album endBeginning as his CD of the week. The ensemble include Christopher Herbert, who has been featured regularly on this site. However, the success of this group is not any individual, but how beautifully the four singers work together.
Here is a video of the making of New York Polyphony's album endBeginning:
We've seen this ensemble live and their CD is a must for any serious classical music lover. The album is being released today and is available at Amazon.
Martha Stewart with her barihunk nephew Chris Herbert
The New York Post recently photographed barihunk Chris Herbert with his equally glamorous, but slightly more famous aunt, Martha Stewart, at the Metropolitan Opera gala. Here's what they had to say:
Martha Stewart was snap-happy at the Metropolitan Opera season-opening gala at Lincoln Center Monday night. The décor doyenne was taking shots for her blog, said a spy, “and when she left she told her nephew Chris Herbert to keep taking pictures.” Actress Leelee Sobieski turned heads in sky-high, Rodarte lizard heels and a Mary Katrantzou dress -- cut “just below her pupik,” according to one patron. She arrived with her countertenor pal Anthony Roth Costanzo, but dashed from the dinner across Broadway to Café Fiorello with husband Adam Kimmel. Also at the premiere of “Anna Bolena” were Tyra Banks, Katie Couric, Barbara Walters, Henry Kissinger, Peter Gelb, Peggy Siegal, Christine Baranski and Archie Panjabi. The evening raised $5.4 million for the Met, and 5,000 fans watched simulcast outdoor screenings in Lincoln Plaza and Times Square.
You can read the entire article at the NY Post website.
