- John Elwes
John Elwes (original name John Hahessy) (born
October 20 ,1946 ) is an Englishtenor singer.Born in
London , he was Head Chorister in the choir ofWestminster Cathedral , London. His musical and vocal education were furthered by the eminent harpsichordistGeorge Malcolm , the then Director of Music. Under the name of John Hahessy ( his father was from Carrick-on-Suir, Co.Waterford, Ireland ) he had considerable success as a boy soprano - from BBC broadcasts and recordings with Decca to concerts with such conductors asBenjamin Britten . He made the 1st recording of Benjamin Britten's Canticle "Abraham and Isaac ", singing the role of Isaac, accompanied by the composer. Britten later dedicated his "Corpus Christi Carol " to him. He went on to study at theRoyal College of Music , and made his stage debut as a tenor in 1968 at The Proms.John Elwes is particularly well known for his sensitive and musical performances. His repertoire is extensive ranging from
Monteverdi ,Rameau ,Bach andHandel toMozart ,Schubert ,Schumann ,Mahler and Britten. He regularly performs with the leading conductors of baroque, classical and contemporary music. He has sung in over one hundred recordings, includingDowland 's "First Book of Ayres", Schubert's song cycles "Die Schöne Müllerin" and "Winterreise",Purcell ’s "The Tempest", Bach's "St. Matthew Passion " and "Mass in B minor ", Handel's "Messiah " and Mahler's "Das Lied von der Erde ", for which he was nominated for aGrammy Award in 2008.External links
* [http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Elwes-John.htm Bach-cantatas.com: John Elwes]
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