Jan DeGaetani - Discography

Soprano, born in Massillon, Ohio, USA. After studies at Juilliard in New York City, she gravitated to modern music and found fame performing challenging works such as Crumb's Ancient Voices of Children, one of many works written expressly for her by major composers. Sometimes called ‘Queen of the Avant-Garde’, she actually had a vast repertoire and was an outstanding interpreter of many types of music from the Renaissance to the modern. Known for the intelligence she brought to music as well as for her rich voice, she also taught at the Eastman School of Music and at the Aspen, CO summer festivals.

Jan (Janice) DeGaetani (July 10, 1933, Massillon, OH – September 15, 1989, Rochester, NY) was an American mezzo-soprano known for her performances of modern vocal compositions.

Educated at Juilliard, DeGaetani is best known for her wide range, precise pitch, clear tone, and command of extended techniques that made her voice perfectly suited to the demanding style of modern and avant-garde vocal composition. Her recording of Schoenberg's song cycle Pierrot lunaire is one of the classic recordings of the piece. she premiered his song cycle Ancient Voices of Children, and many of his other works were written for her. Uncommonly for a singer of her caliber (though her voice was not as powerful as most), DeGaetani rarely appeared in opera, instead concentrating on solo recital work in the art song literature. Her interpretive skills also lent themselves to songs in her native tongue of English, such as Aaron Copland's 12 Poems of Emily Dickinson, and the songs of Charles Ives.

Discography

Pierrot Lunaire by Schoenberg (1971) Songs by Stephen Foster, with Leslie Guinn (1972) Las Cantigas de Santa Maria - Songs and Instrumental Music from the Court of Alfonso X, with the Waverly Consort, Michael Jaffee, dir. 15 by Schoenberg (1975) Ancient Voices of Children by George Crumb (1975) Songs by Stephen Foster, Volume II with Leslie Guinn (1976) Classic Cole songs by Cole Porter, with Leo Smit, piano (1977) Chansons Madécasses by Ravel (1978) Songs by Sergei Rachmaninoff & 98a by Robert Schumann, with Leslie Guinn (1983) Apparition by George Crumb / Songs by Charles Ives (1983) Songs by Brahms (1983) The Nursery Cycle by Mussorgsky / Songs by Tchaikovsky (1985) Lullabies and Night Songs by Alec Wilder (1985) Songs of America on Home, Love, Nature, and Death - various composers (1988) Les Nuits d'été by Berlioz with Five Wunderhorn Songs & Five Rückert Songs by Mahler (1989) Jan DeGaetani in Concert, Volume One: La Chanson d'Eve by Gabriel Fauré / Dark upon the Harp by Jacob Druckman (1991) Jan DeGaetani in Concert, Volume Two: Frauenliebe und -leben by Schumann / Zigeunerlieder and other songs by Brahms (1991) Aaron Copland 81st Birthday Concert at the Library of Congress with Leo Smit (1993) Jan DeGaetani in Concert, Volume Three: Shostakovich, Welcher, Kurtág (1995) Jan DeGaetani in Concert, Volume Four: Early Music Recital by various composers (1999)