Henri Ledroit ( Villacourt, 1946 -

Nancy, France Nancy ; Lorraine Franconian: ''Nanzisch'' is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the northeastern Departments of France, French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle. It was the capital of the Duchy of Lorraine, which was Lorraine and Barrois, an ...

, 1988) was a French

counter-tenor A countertenor (also contra tenor) is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range is equivalent to that of the female contralto or mezzo-soprano voice types, generally extending from around G3 to D5 or E5, although a sopranist (a sp ...

, the first in France of the modern revival in that voice range.Bach Cantatas
/ref> Originally training to be a

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

in 1972 he met

Alfred Deller Alfred George Deller, CBE (31 May 1912 – 16 July 1979), was an English singer and one of the main figures in popularising the return of the countertenor voice in Renaissance and Baroque music during the 20th century. He is sometimes referre ...

and decided to train as a countertenor. He made many of the earliest recordings of pieces later to become standards of baroque countertenor repertoire - for example his ''Orphée Descendant aux Enfers'' H 471 of

Marc-Antoine Charpentier Marc-Antoine Charpentier (; 1643 – 24 February 1704) was a French Baroque composer during the reign of Louis XIV. One of his most famous works is the main theme from the prelude of his ''Te Deum'', ''Marche en rondeau''. This theme is still us ...

. Ledroit died in 1988 at the age of 42 as a result of complications from

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

Select recordings

* ''Orphée descendant aux enfers'' (H.471), ''Stances du Cid'' (H.457, H.458, H.459), ''Tristes déserts'' (H.469), ''Ah! qu'on est malheureux'' (H.443), ''Amour vous avez beau redoubler mes alarmes'' (H.445), ''Rendez-moi mes plaisirs'' (H.463), ''Auprès du feu'' (H.446), ''Le bavolet'' (H.499 a), ''Epitaphium Carpentarii'' (H.474), of Marc-Antoine Charpentier. CD (Ricercar 1987). *''Six cantates profanes'' de Haendel, avec Noëlle Spieth, clavecin, et David Simpson, violoncelle, CD (Solstice 1983). *

Guillaume-Gabriel Nivers Guillaume-Gabriel Nivers (c. 1632, Paris – 13 November 1714) was a French organist, composer and theorist. His first ''livre d'orgue'' is the earliest surviving published collection with traditional French organ school forms (a collection by Loui ...

, ''Œuvres vocales et instrumentales'', Louis Thiry, organ réalisé par le facteur Louis-Alexandre Clicquot en 1739 à l'église Saint-Jacques Saint-Christophe d'Houdan, CD (Solstice 1985). *''Miserere'' H.219, ''Pour la seconde fois que le Saint Sacrement vient au même reposoir'' H.372, ''Pour le Saint sacrement au reposoir'' H.346, ''Motet pour l'offertoire de la messe rouge'' H.434, de

. Chœur et orchestre de la Chapelle Royale, conducted by Philippe Herweghe. CD (Harmonia Mundi 1985). *''Messe de Minuit'' H.9, de Marc-Antoine Charpentier, La Grande Ecurie & la Chambre du Roy, conducted by Jean Claude Malgoire. (CBS Sony 1982). *''Motets'' de

François Couperin François Couperin (; 10 November 1668 – 11 September 1733) was a French Baroque composer, organist and harpsichordist. He was known as ''Couperin le Grand'' ("Couperin the Great") to distinguish him from other members of the musically talented ...

, Ian Honeyman, Michèle Ledroit, René Schirrer, Jean-Charles Ablitzer, continuo. CD (Still 1984).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ledroit, Henri Operatic countertenors 1946 births 1988 deaths People from Meurthe-et-Moselle 20th-century French male opera singers