Judith Kellock

Now you may hear a Great Songs program featuring Judith Kellock singing and in an interview.

Soprano Judith Kellock divides her time between teaching and singing and has a well-earned reputation for her interpretations of contemporary music. Her repertoire does contain Schubert, Schmann and Brahms as well as Foss, Del Tredici and Welcher.

She has sung with major symphony orchestrass and in the Aspen Festival. She sings oratoria and opera...but not the standard fare opera, rather Monteverdi, Chin, Hindemith, Tippet and Poulenc.

Ms. Kellock has recorded for Koch International, turnabout and Gasparo and is a 1995 Naitonal Endowment for the Arts Solo Recitalist Fellow.

Quote: Of all the music there is to sing in the world, there is nothing more rewarding than poetry set for the voice in the form of solo song. A concert of songs can be, at once, an intimate emotional odyssey, and a breathtaking dramatic adventure.

I was thrilled when I learned of the Lotte Lehmann Foundation, and the work that president Gary Hickling is doing to promote the sublime art of song in all its forms. Those of us who love and practice the song recital are all trying to find ways of getting people to take notice of the riches that lie within the solo song. And so we must be creative in our methods of delivery. It is no longer enough to plug in the standard repertory to the traditional format, and hope for the best. Now we have to find new connections, whether they are poetic, harmonic, geographical or stylistic. We have to be willing to mix Barber and Strauss, Schubert and Cole Porter. And a luxury it is to be able to create your own journey out of the wealth of song literature.

Language is another issue. I have been experimenting with singable translations of foreign language texts. Although this often doesn’t work, either for the sake of the poem or the music, there are many instances where it can be very successful. Many composers, from Handel to Poulenc, requested that their vocal music be performed in the vernacular of the audience. Another brilliant solution is the brainchild of Mr. Hickling: supra titles for Lieder! This could have far-reaching implications for the future of the song recital. I look forward to following the progress of that, and to my involvement with the Lotte Lehmann Foundation.