- Alfred Deller
Alfred Deller
CBE (31 May 1912 – 16 July 1979), an Englishsinger , was one of the main figures in popularizing the use of thecountertenor voice in Renaissance andBaroque music .Deller was born in
Margate , a seaside resort inKent . As a boy, he sang in his local church choir. When his voice broke, he continued singing in his high register, eventually settling as acountertenor . Throughout the 19th century, it was only in the tradition of all-male cathedral choirs that the countertenor voice had survived. [Giles and Steane] Deller was himself successively a member of the choirs of Canterbury and St. Paul's Cathedrals (1940-47 and 1947-62, respectively). He emerged as a soloist from this choral tradition, largely due to the admiration of the composerMichael Tippett , who heard him while at Canterbury and recognized the unique beauty of his voice. Tippett introduced him to the public as a countertenor, rather than a malealto . He also became better known with a radio broadcast (on the BBC's new "Third Programme") ofHenry Purcell 's "Come ye Sons of Art". He concentrated on popularizing and recording the music of English Baroque and Renaissance music by composers such asJohn Dowland and Purcell. [Steane]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
castrati 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." [Michael Chance interviewed in a documentary entitled 'Countertenors,' originally shown on "The South Bank Show ".]He formed the
Deller Consort in 1948, a group dedicated tohistorically informed performance . 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; the membership of the consort changed over the years. It included soprano Mary Thomas and, from 1964, Deller's son,Mark Deller [http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Deller-Alfred.htm] . (Mr. Deller's other son, Simon, trained as a music teacher during the 1960s.) As well as directing the Consort, Deller also conducted some performances with chamber orchestras.In 1960, Deller sang the role of Oberon in
Benjamin Britten 'sopera "A Midsummer Night's Dream". 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. [Steane] He did record the opera, with the composer conducting.Lutenist
Desmond Dupré performed with him, initially as a guitarist; other accompanists included harpsichordist and musicologistWalter Bergmann . In later years, he worked with lutenist Robert Spencer and harpsichordists Harold Lester and William Christie. His recordings include the lute songs of Dowland, operas by Handel, Britten's "A Midsummer Night's Dream", songs and semioperas by Purcell (such asThe Fairy Queen ), traditional English folk songs, works byThomas Tallis , and the Bach alto repertoire. He recorded for HMV, Vanguard Classics, andHarmonia Mundi .Deller died while working in
Bologna ,Italy .Notes
References
*J.B. Steane: "Deller, Alfred," "Grove Music Online" ed L. Macy (Accessed 6 February 2007), [http://www.grovemusic.com/ grovemusic.com] , subscription access.
*Peter Giles and J.B. Steane: "Countertenor," "Grove Music Online", ed. L. Macy (accessed 6 February 2007), [http://www.grovemusic.com/ grovemusic.com] (subscription access).External links
* [http://www.medieval.org/emfaq/performers/deller.html Alfred Deller (1912–1979) - A discography (Early Music FAQ)]
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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