Janet Baker in her own words BBC4

[Richard Tarleton]

It is of course a subjective viewpoint and I make it as someone who doesn't have the emotional/musical connection with Baker that some on this forum do.

Obvious question sg - do/did you just know her as a recording artist, or did you see her perform? I saw her on stage several times from the mid-60's, in recital (with Gerald Moore ), singing Mahler, Chausson and Duparc with Solti, Andrew Davis, Previn), in opera (Monteverdi/Leppard, Donizetti/Mackerras, Berlioz - the last, unforgettably, in Les Troyens opposite Jon Vickers with Colin Davis) and always found her an overwhelming stage presence - glorious voice, consummate actress, and absolute integrity in everything she did, invariably bringing out the best in those she worked with. One of those voices I can always identify in a matter of seconds.

I'm planning to watch the programme tonight.

[seabright]

They didn't mention that she sang in the Proms Premiere of Mahler's "Resurrection" Symphony under Stokowski in 1963. She was in radiant voice, as in the "Urlicht" movement ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3hADKo1nTg

... and again in the finale with an equally radiant Rae Woodland and a huge chorus ... I wonder how many Promenaders, then in their youth but now well struck in years, still remember this sensational performance ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gv1HMlTU0R0

[sgjames]

I have never seen her live, a little before my time, and I have two CDs on which she sings : Mahler song cycles with Barbirolli (EMI) and French Song with the Melos Ens (Decca). This doesn't reflect any opinion I have of her voice (I love it's richness) but merely that my musical interests and most of her singing reportoire are different.

I watched the programme as an interested viewer but probably from more of a distance than some. I found much of interest in the programme.

[pastoralguy]

I was lucky enough to hear her rehearse Mozart Arias with Sir Alexander Gibson conducting the SNO circa 1985. Actually, there wasn't really a lot of rehearsing, just playing through with Sir Alex making comments to the orchestra about balance.

I did have a great moment though! She arrived with her husband who, after the introductions, sat behind me. I had just read her autobiography and knew her married name was Shelley so I was able to call him Mr. Shelley - not Mr. Baker! He was so pleased he said 'I must introduce you to Janet!' 'This young man knew my name', he said to his wife. 'Oh', she replied to me. 'You've made a friend there. He gets so fed up being called Mr. Baker'.

She signed my miniature score of the Mozart 'To PG. very best wishes, Janet Shelley nee Baker'.

A nice memory!

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I was lucky enough to hear her rehearse Mozart Arias with Sir Alexander Gibson conducting the SNO circa 1985. Actually, there wasn't really a lot of rehearsing, just playing through with Sir Alex making comments to the orchestra about balance.

I did have a great moment though! She arrived with her husband who, after the introductions, sat behind me. I had just read her autobiography and knew her married name was Shelley so I was able to call him Mr. Shelley - not Mr. Baker! He was so pleased he said 'I must introduce you to Janet!' 'This young man knew my name', he said to his wife. 'Oh', she replied to me. 'You've made a friend there. He gets so fed up being called Mr. Baker'.

She signed my miniature score of the Mozart 'To PG. very best wishes, Janet Shelley nee Baker'.

A nice memory!

[Richard Tarleton]

most of her singing reportoire

This was pretty extraordinary - I listed just what I heard her sing live (Mozart/Schubert/Poulenc songs, Monteverdi, Donizetti, Berlioz, Chausson, Duparc, Mahler.....)...and then there was Cavalli, Elgar, Britten, a world of oratorio.......

[sgjames]

In the context of this Forum, extraordinary perhaps, but certainly not typical. I have no interest in Lieder or Bel Canto ( & Handel/Mozart together with several other major names), so this takes out a fair bit of Baker's repertoie as a start. I think it would be fair to say that the content of my CD collection (approaching 1000 CDs) is something that many on this forum would find hard to understand.

[Pulcinella]

I would acknowledge that the content of my CD collection (approaching 1000 CDs) is something that many on this forum would find hard to comprehend. In relation to what you list above:

(i) Lieder & Bel Canto are dead areas for me (and always will be)
(ii) I have a good selection of Monteverdi opera & vocal music, although nothing by Baker
(iii) For Elgar, Sea Pictures and Gerontious are simply not pieces that I like
(iv) Britten - Phaedra I have but not Baker. Lucretia, again not a piece I like.
(v) French song (20th C) - I have some but could easily accomodate more.
(vi) Mahler - I have the Barbirolli song cycle set (ludwig/Wunderlich for Song of the Earth)
(vii) Oratorio - never been for me - I tend to prefer music on a smaller scale.

Just as an illustration of how the other half live, I can tell you that my collection contains no J S Bach vocal music, no Handel, no Mozart, no Haydn, very little Schubert (piano music only), very little Schumann (piano music only), no Mendelssohn, no Liszt, very lttle Berlioz (Nuit d'ete only). I have tried with many of these composers (particularly Bach's vocal music ) but I just cannot connect with their sound worlds.

No need to fret: we're a pretty eclectic bunch here!
Welcome to the fray.

[Richard Tarleton]

No need to fret: we're a pretty eclectic bunch here!
Welcome to the fray.

Indeed - and sg is far from alone on one or two of his list

So much to treasure in this programme. We also had Purcell, Gluck, Handel, Beethoven, Wagner, Strauss, and we discovered she did a bit of Verdi, as an understudy.....

I saw that Mary Stuart at ENO with Mackerras....

Interesting re her being "Persona non grata" at ROH - was her Les Troyens with Vickers recorded, I wonder? The Colin Davis recording had Josephine Veasey as Dido, but Veasey sang Cassandra in the revival I saw so that Baker could sing Dido. Veasey was also a fabulous dramatic mezzo, of course.

I loved the shot of Previn's cat.....

[Barbirollians]

They didn't mention that she sang in the Proms Premiere of Mahler's "Resurrection" Symphony under Stokowski in 1963. She was in radiant voice, as in the "Urlicht" movement ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3hADKo1nTg

... and again in the finale with an equally radiant Rae Woodland and a huge chorus ... I wonder how many Promenaders, then in their youth but now well struck in years, still remember this sensational performance ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gv1HMlTU0R0

It appeared on BBC Legends CD and damn good it is too .

[vibratoforever]

The first time I heard Janet Baker was in Nottingham in 1970, singing Mahler's Songs of a Wayfarer with Horenstein. As soon as she started to sing my response was "what a voice!"- and that despite familiarity with some of her recordings - her sound took my breath away. These days, I particularly enjoy her contribution to many recordings of Bach choral works.

I would not want to nit pick over this or that aspect of the documentary, it was full of superb music making and I learned much about a singer I have enjoyed for 50 years or more. It is a sad fact however that BBC Four rarely broadcasts programmes of such quality or interest. Ninety minutes classical and that's your lot for the week.

[Pulcinella]

The first time I heard Janet Baker was in Nottingham in 1970, singing Mahler's Songs of a Wayfarer with Horenstein. As soon as she started to sing my response was "what a voice!"- and that despite familiarity with some of her recordings - her sound took my breath away. These days, I particularly enjoy her contribution to many recordings of Bach choral works.

I would not want to nit pick over this or that aspect of the documentary, it was full of superb music making and I learned much about a singer I have enjoyed for 50 years or more. It is a sad fact however that BBC Four rarely broadcasts programmes of such quality or interest. Ninety minutes classical and that's your lot for the week.

I was at that concert too!
I was an 18-year-old sandwich student apprentice with Rolls-Royce in Derby, and went with my landlady, who drove us there. I remember hearing the programme's opening piece, Boyce's Symphony 1, for the first time too, but can't now remember what came after the interval.

[Bryn]

My introduction to her voice was via the Saga disc of Brahms and Schumann. It had to wait until I had spent my very limited budget on the Bartok String Quartets and Stravinsky's Dunbarton Oaks Concerto (coupled with Schönberg's Pierrot Lunaire) but when I bit the Brahms and Schumann lieder bullet and spent my 12/6 on the Baker disc it was a revelation as to what the human voice can achieve. It converted me to the previously very much arms length world of German lieder.

[Nick Armstrong]

What a wonderful film and what a wonderful woman. I thought she seemed very authentic.
IMHO she did just the right thing to take the decision to retire when she was on a high. We only ever remember her as sounding absolutely wonderful.

Currently watching in rapt instalments. Marvellous voice, woman, programme. Additionally touching as she was my late father's favourite musician, wish he was still around to see it. (Took him to see her in Mahler's 'Kindertotenlieder' in Nottingham in the late 1970s, the repertoire was more up my street than his but it was a memorable evening).

Her reaction to her final performance with Barbirolli was very moving..... And fascinating to see her in Owen Wingrave.

I suspect this is going to get more than one watch.

[LeMartinPecheur]

Wonderful programme as everyone says, but I'd like to have heard more about her path to a career. She said she knew she had a voice from an early age but all we heard about her first steps was her catching the train to London and somehow getting into the Glyndebourne chorus.

PS Recourse to the LMP music library came up with a slim 1971 'Recordmasters' volume on JB by Alan Blyth which gives a lot more detail. Can summarise if anyone is interested.