# Janet Baker - In Her Own Words



## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

This wonderful documentary was aired on BBC4 last week, and is available on BBC iPLayer for the next 23 days (but presumably only to people in the UK).

Someone (not me) jas posted it on youtube, though I'm guessing that it probably contravenes copywight laws somewhere, so catch it before it's deleted.

It's the best classical music programme I've seen in years, with Dame Janet's interview interspersed with comments by colleagues (including the late André Previn). One of the most interesting segments is watching Joyce DiDonato listenint to and commenting on Baker's art, but the whole programme is wonderful, incredibly moving and a superb insight into her personality and character.

Baker might well be considered the greatest _living_ singer, though long retired of coures. Don't miss it.


----------



## JoeSaunders (Jan 29, 2015)

I watched it when it aired also, it's a really fabulous piece. It's so great to have an extended documentary on one of the greatest living singers, and it makes for an interesting contrast to the slightly fluffier programmes presented by Antonio Pappano. Some really touching moments with her husband as well. Thoroughly recommend!


----------



## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Well worth a watch! Especially as the contributors are musicians rather than critics.


----------



## Boludo (Apr 4, 2019)

'Don't miss it' indeed. That was a great insight into Janet Baker. Thank you for posting that Greg.


----------



## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

I too have seen the documentary and think it was a wise choice to make it 90 minutes long rather than the usual 60 minute format. This is the type of tribute that is often made when a singer passes away and it was wonderful that it was made with Baker's cooperation and so stands as a document of her career with her own views in the mix.

Some of the best parts were where the musicians being interviewed listened to recordings of Baker's singing and gave a running commentary on what made her such a unique artist. I've seen many a documentary where musicians and singers talk about a fellow artist's performing with general descriptions and it's much more illuminating to have examples of recordings with a contemporaneous commentary that really explains what is special.

There were a couple of niggles, though. I was rather bemused by the suggestion that she didn't sing enough at the ROH, she sang more roles there than she did at ENO. Whilst too much can be made of the label "the new whoever", her general tone was similar to Ferrier's and she sang much of the same rep. So it was a bit ingenuous for a couple of those commenting to make such a big thing of Ferrier being a completely different kettle of fish. You could also say that Christa Ludwig and Waltraud Meier have a similar tone to Baker and they really are very different artistically from her, despite having some rep in common with her.

Baker is without doubt one of the greatest singers of oratorio and I can't think of anyone else I'd rather hear sing Berlioz. Her cool, intellectual approach reminds me of the piano playing of Benedetti Michelangeli and he was best suited to the classical and French repertoire, as was she. Other mezzos before and since have had bigger voices and more soul. However, Baker always explored the text that went with the music in such a way that not only were her interpretations full of revealing insights into many of the works she sang, they also were always natural and never felt schoolastic in the way that some artists who have learned to use vocal colours and word painting often perform.

N.


----------



## Diminuendo (May 5, 2015)

Such a great documentary and I had to watch it as soon as I saw Greg's post. Baker may have retired a long time ago, but for all of us she isn't really gone. Great art endures. Her dedication to her art really shows when you listen or see her singing. Documentary was really well made and great that it was done while she is still with us and could tell her own story. It's so wonderful that they interviewed other musicians this way so that people who may be introduced to her for the first time get why she is so special.


----------



## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

The Conte said:


> I too have seen the documentary and think it was a wise choice to make it 90 minutes long rather than the usual 60 minute format. This is the type of tribute that is often made when a singer passes away and it was wonderful that it was made with Baker's cooperation and so stands as a document of her career with her own views in the mix.
> 
> Some of the best parts were where the musicians being interviewed listened to recordings of Baker's singing and gave a running commentary on what made her such a unique artist. I've seen many a documentary where musicians and singers talk about a fellow artist's performing with general descriptions and it's much more illuminating to have examples of recordings with a contemporaneous commentary that really explains what is special.
> 
> ...


A few points.

I don't think she did sing enough at Covent Garden. She sang Hermia in Britten's *A Midsummer Night's Dream* in 1966, then in 1969 she was a last minute replacement for an indisposed Josephine Veasey as Didon (singing in English to everyone else's French). Her next role was Kate in *Owen Wingrave*, a role that she had created for the TV production. That was in 1973. The following year she sang Vitellia in *La Clemenza di Tito*, a production that was revived the next two seasons, Cressida in Walton's re-working of his opera in 1976, Idamante in 1978/79, and finally Alceste in 1981, the year she retired from the operatic stage. Considering she was the foremost British singer of her time, she was pretty much ignored by the house. Remember that at this time, she was singing Didon, Dorabella, Octavian and the Composer for Scottish Opera.

Admittedly she sang no more roles at English National Opera - Poppea, Marguerite in *La Damnation de Faust*, Charlotte, Mary Stuart, Julius Caesar, but all in productions specially mounted for her, so maybe she was referring to the fact that she always felt more welcome there.

I don't think she sounds anything like Ferrier. Baked did sing a lot of Ferrier's repertoire to begin with but they diverged quite a bit later, and the only operatic roles they shared were Orfeo and Lucretia. Ferrier was a true contralto. Baker was not and she had a very useful upper extension. A above the stave was the absolute top of Ferrier's voice, whereas, according to my singing teacher, who knew her, Baker would exercise up to top D.

Finally I have no idea what you mean about other voices having more soul. I have never found Baker in the least bit cool, and she has reduced me to tears on more than one occasion. Her Marguerite on the otherwise not very recommendable Prêtre recording of *La Damnation de Faust* is arguably the best on record. The only other singers I have heard to equal her performance of _D'amour l'ardente flamme_ are Callas and Verrett. Her Didon is peerless, passionately intense and scrupulously sung. Though their voices and methods are so dissimilar, she has a Callas-like ability to get right to the emotional core of the music, without ever diverging from the score. Soul is the very thing that marks her out from other singers.


----------



## Boludo (Apr 4, 2019)

GregMitchell said:


> Though their voices and methods are so dissimilar, she has a Callas-like ability to get right to the emotional core of the music, without ever diverging from the score. Soul is the very thing that marks her out from other singers.


Yes, absolutely.


----------



## Boludo (Apr 4, 2019)

The video has now been taken down. 

As have I.


----------



## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Boludo said:


> The video has now been taken down.


Awwwww! I only got to watch the first 9 minutes. But I have her on Julius Cesare in both DVD and CD and it is a GREAT performance by her and others.


----------



## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

I player link - https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m00048q7/janet-baker-in-her-own-words


----------



## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Boludo said:


> The video has now been taken down.


I assumed it would be. Taggart has added the link to the BBC iPLayer, but I have a feeling that is only available to people in the UK. It will only be available for a limited time.


----------



## Boludo (Apr 4, 2019)

GregMitchell said:


> I assumed it would be. Taggart has added the link to the BBC iPLayer, but I have a feeling that is only available to people in the UK. It will only be available for a limited time.


Yes, even within the UK it is available only if you have a TV License. I don't have one, so happily I got to see the programme in time. Thanks again Greg.


----------



## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

GregMitchell said:


> I don't think she sounds anything like Ferrier, and their repertoires might have started off similar, but diverged quite a bit later. Ferrier was a true contralto. Baker was not and she had a very useful upper extension. A above the stave was the absolute top of Ferrier's voice, whereas, according to my singing teacher, who knew her, Baker would exercise up to top D.
> 
> Finally I have no idea what you mean about other voices having more soul. I have never found Baker in the least bit cool, and she has reduced me to tears on more than one occasion. Her Marguerite on the otherwise not very recommendable Prêtre recording of *La Damnation de Faust* is arguably the best on record. The only other singers I have heard to equal her performance of _D'amour l'ardente flamme_ are Callas and Verrett. Her Didon is peerless, passionately intense and scrupulously sung. Though their voices and methods are so dissimilar, she has a Callas-like ability to get right to the emotional core of the music, without ever diverging from the score. Soul is the very thing that marks her out from other singers.


I may not have explained myself well as you seem to have taken some of my observations as being negative points. When it comes to similarities and differences between singers it is, of course, all relative. However, most singers sound _similar_ to at least one other singer whilst still being instantly recognisable and these singers often sing a lot of the same repertoire. You have Callas, Souliotis and Aliberti, all different and each one sang roles the other two didn't, but at the same time there is a similarity in their timbres. Baker has a _similar_ tone to Ferrier, Ludwig and Meier to my ear and these four shared _some_ repertoire. (It's true that Ferrier's voice had a darker hue and she had quicker vibrato, but _similar_ doesn't mean _same_). Baker was seen as the heir to Ferrier at the beginning of her career, so this observation isn't controversial, nor should it be taken as being denigrating, which is why I find comments poo pooing the similarities between the two as if someone had suggested that Baker were the "English Simionato" amusing more than anything else. I am in no way suggesting that Baker was a poor copy of Ferrier or that she was trying to imitate her, it is clear that she has always felt that she was a special artist in her own right, even before she started singing seriously.

Perhaps, what I call soul, you would term something else (and it may be something that you don't value in a singer, but I do). The best way to illustrate what I mean is to compare Baker and Ferrier in 'He was despised' from Messiah (whatever it is, Ferrier has it and Baker does not):











N.


----------



## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Boludo said:


> The video has now been taken down.
> 
> As have I.


I can never understand why the BBC take things down like this. Surely it was out on national terrestrial TV so anyone could watch it.


----------



## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Something that had nothing to do with singing but everything with humanity was the way Janet is now caring for her disabled husband. "He spent his life looking after me so now I'm going to spend the rest of mine looking after him." Great sentiments of faithfulness. How they are needed in the world today!


----------



## Boludo (Apr 4, 2019)

DavidA said:


> I can never understand why the BBC take things down like this. Surely it was out on national terrestrial TV so anyone could watch it.


I'm not too sure how it works but I believe that the BBC buy all of their programmes from outside companies who set terms and conditions about where and for how long each one can be broadcast.

It has been a long time since the BBC has been run for the benefit of the UK's citizens.


----------



## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Boludo said:


> I'm not too sure how it works but I believe that the BBC buy all of their programmes from outside companies who set terms and conditions about where and for how long each one can be broadcast.
> 
> It has been a long time since the BBC has been run for the benefit of it's citizens.


You are probably right in this. Possibly if the BBC had made it themselves it would still be on YouTube


----------



## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

DavidA said:


> You are probably right in this. Possibly if the BBC had made it themselves it would still be on YouTube


The BBC may well post it on youtube eventually, but it was posted by an outside source which presumably contravened copyright laws. That would be why it was taken down.


----------



## Boludo (Apr 4, 2019)

It is a shame that the BBC's huge archive isn't available.


----------



## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Boludo said:


> I'm not too sure how it works but I believe that the BBC buy all of their programmes from outside companies who set terms and conditions about where and for how long each one can be broadcast.
> 
> It has been a long time since the BBC has been run for the benefit of the UK's citizens.


It's available on iplayer for all UK citizens who have a TV licence, so it IS available for the benefit of UK citizens who contribute to the costs of making the programme in the first place.

It isn't available for those outside the UK who haven't paid the licence fees. I'm not arguing that that is necessarily how it should be of course.

N.


----------



## Boludo (Apr 4, 2019)

The Conte said:


> It's available on iplayer for all UK citizens who have a TV licence, so it IS available for the benefit of UK citizens who contribute to the costs of making the programme in the first place.
> 
> It
> 
> N.


It is only available for a few weeks on iplayer. So those who pay for it can only watch it for a short period.


----------



## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

I picked this up for a song some time ago. Now I need to spin it (20 disks) again.


----------



## Boludo (Apr 4, 2019)

Fritz Kobus said:


> I picked this up for a song some time ago. Now I need to spin it (20 disks) again.


I have that box too. It is great isn't it?

One little quibble is that LPs have been split over various CDs. I would have preferred to have each LP uninterrupted.


----------



## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Boludo said:


> I have that box too. It is great isn't it?
> 
> One little quibble is that LPs have been split over various CDs. I would have preferred to have each LP uninterrupted.


My only quibble is that they could have picked a nicer cover image. It is a great set. Hours upon hours of bliss!


----------



## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Fritz Kobus said:


> My only quibble is that they could have picked a nicer cover image. It is a great set. Hours upon hours of bliss!


My main quibble is that, as per usual these days, there are no texts and translations.


----------



## Admiral (Dec 27, 2014)

Drat, missed out.

Will have to cue up Sea Pictures on the weekend.


----------



## nobilmente (Dec 18, 2018)

Watched it last night: the tears hardy stopped. What an artist.


----------



## Rania (Jun 23, 2009)

I am so, so sad I missed this on yt before it was taken down. As a committed listener of the BBC I am always very disappointed about the resources that are only available for people in the UK. Radio 3 hosts kept reminding listeners not to miss it while it is available, and I, now in Germany, had no way to access it. I know it will be available at some point in the future and I would be happy to pay for it, but as a student of Lied accompaniment I thought it would be wonderful to arrange a viewing of this film for the class, singers and pianists.


----------



## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

This is back on BBC iPlayer again, but presumably only for people in the UK. I suppose anyone who has a VPN might be able to watch it though. 

It really is a superb programme, one of the best tributes to a singer I've seen, and all the more wonderful that it was made with Dame Janet's full cooperation and whilst she was very much alive.


----------



## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

I’m sure I watched this on it’s initial release but no matter, it’s now downloaded for watching again soon. There are some nice music documentaries on the iPlayer. There’s a rather good one about Britten - Britten on Camera and one about the music film maker, Christopher Nupen, which is excellent.


----------



## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

This wonderful video now seems to be available again on youtube again, though I don't know if it's available outside the UK. If you haven't seen it, I recommend it most highly.


----------



## Mr Belpit (Oct 1, 2015)

Tsaraslondon said:


> This wonderful video now seems to be available again on youtube again, though I don't know if it's available outside the UK. If you haven't seen it, I recommend it most highly.


Thanks for the heads up. It is indeed wonderful.

(And I'm outside the UK, so the answer to that question appears to be 'yes.')


----------



## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Tsaraslondon said:


> This wonderful video now seems to be available again on youtube again, though I don't know if it's available outside the UK. If you haven't seen it, I recommend it most highly.


It's available here too. I'd forgotten that Hyacinth Bucket was a Janet Baker fan. How could she not be?


----------



## Paw (4 mo ago)

This doc is available again on YT. Grab it while it lasts! One of the best tv doc on living singer I have ever seen. She is the giant of wisdom, sensitivness and human feelings. Scenes with her husband before the film ends simple tear your heart. It is the kind of documentary you wish to return - the dose of emotions, musical archives and examples what she can still offer in her comments is enormous - you cannot consumme it in one portion. Hats off, gentlemen!


----------



## Admiral (Dec 27, 2014)

After a 3-year wait (see post #27) finally got to catch this on YT. Incredibly moving; wasn't ready for that. Since I'm home with Covid I've been blasting Janet Baker from my collection, and also have a bunch more on order


----------

