Jan (Janice) DeGaetani (July 10, 1933 – September 15, 1989) was an American

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...

known for her performances of contemporary classical vocal compositions. DeGaetani was born in

Massillon, Ohio Massillon is a city in Stark County, Ohio, Stark County in the U.S. state of Ohio, approximately west of Canton, Ohio, Canton, south of Akron, and south of Cleveland. The population was 32,146 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Mass ...

. Educated at

The Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

with Sergius Kagen, she was 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 The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

vocal composition. Her recording of

Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...

song cycle A song cycle (german: Liederkreis or Liederzyklus) is a group, or cycle (music), cycle, of individually complete Art song, songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a unit.Susan Youens, ''Grove online'' The songs are either for solo voice ...

Pierrot lunaire ''Dreimal sieben Gedichte aus Albert Girauds "Pierrot lunaire"'' ("Three times Seven Poems from Albert Giraud's 'Pierrot lunaire), commonly known simply as ''Pierrot lunaire'', Op. 21 ("Moonstruck Pierrot" or "Pierrot in the Moonlight"), is a me ...

'' is one of the classic recordings of the piece. (Due to its use of

atonal Atonality in its broadest sense is music that lacks a tonal center, or key. ''Atonality'', in this sense, usually describes compositions written from about the early 20th-century to the present day, where a hierarchy of harmonies focusing on a s ...

ity, wide range, and virtuoso techniques such as

sprechstimme (, "spoken singing") and (, "spoken voice") are expressionist vocal techniques between singing and speaking. Though sometimes used interchangeably, ''Sprechgesang'' is directly related to the operatic ''recitative'' manner of singing (in which p ...

, all while requiring a lyrical sensibility, it is exceptionally difficult to sing.) Her collaboration with

George Crumb George Henry Crumb Jr. (24 October 1929 – 6 February 2022) was an American composer of avant-garde contemporary classical music. Early in his life he rejected the widespread modernist usage of serialism, developing a highly personal musical ...

was also a fruitful one; she premiered his song cycle ''

Ancient Voices of Children ''Ancient Voices of Children'' is a musical composition written in 1970 by the American composer George Crumb. The work was given the subtitle "A Cycle of Songs on Texts by Federico García Lorca." It is scored for soprano, boy soprano, oboe, man ...

'', 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 Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

, instead concentrating on solo recital work in the art song literature. Her talent at foreign languages also made her an accomplished interpreter of

lied In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German, but among English and French s ...

er; she sang and recorded works by composers such as

Hugo Wolf Hugo Philipp Jacob Wolf (13 March 1860 – 22 February 1903) was an Austrian composer of Slovene origin, particularly noted for his art songs, or Lieder. He brought to this form a concentrated expressive intensity which was unique in late Ro ...

Hector Berlioz In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...

, and

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

and was noted for her intelligence and skillful analytical interpretation. Her interpretive skills also lent themselves to songs in her native tongue of English, such as

Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (, ; November 14, 1900December 2, 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later a conductor of his own and other American music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as "the Dean of American Com ...

's ''12 Poems of Emily Dickinson'', and the songs of

Charles Ives Charles Edward Ives (; October 20, 1874May 19, 1954) was an American modernist composer, one of the first American composers of international renown. His music was largely ignored during his early career, and many of his works went unperformed f ...

. On the other end of the spectrum, DeGaetani was also a noted performer of the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

and

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

repertoire. DeGaetani made her New York performance debut in 1958. Afterward, she performed with the

Contemporary Chamber Ensemble Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it i ...

regularly, and also appeared with several world-famous orchestras, including the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

, the

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription ...

, the

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. History The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...

, the

BBC Symphony The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. T ...

, and the

Chicago Symphony The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891. The ensemble makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. The music director is Riccardo Muti, who began his tenure ...

, and made numerous recordings with them and in

chamber ensembles Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

. She was professor of voice at

Eastman School of Music The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York. It was established in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman. It offers Bachelor of Music (B.M ...

and Artist in Residence at the Aspen Music Festival from 1973 until her death. Notable students include American sopranos

Dawn Upshaw Dawn Upshaw (born July 17, 1960) is an American soprano. She is the recipient of several Grammy Awards and has released a number of Edison Award-winning discs; she performs both opera and art song, and her repertoire spans Baroque to contempor ...

Karen Holvik Karen Holvik is an American classical soprano and voice teacher. Holvik was born in Cedar Falls, Iowa, the daughter of Karl Holvik (1921–2003), clarinetist, conductor, and Professor of Music at the University of Northern Iowa from 1947 to 1984 ...

Renée Fleming Renée Lynn Fleming (born February 14, 1959) is an American soprano, known for performances in opera, concerts, recordings, theater, film, and at major public occasions. A recipient of the National Medal of Arts, Fleming has been nominated for 1 ...

, and

Lucy Shelton Lucy Shelton is an American soprano best known for her performance of contemporary music. She graduated from The Putney School in 1961 and Pomona College in 1965. The only artist to receive the International Walter W. Naumberg Award twice (as ...

, mezzo-sopranos

Milagro Vargas Milagro Vargas (born June 11, 1955) is an American mezzo-soprano known for her distinctive voice and stage presence. She has appeared as an international soloist in operatic, orchestral, chamber music and recital settings. Family background and s ...

and Mary Nessinger, and baritone William Sharp. DeGaetani died in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

, in 1989, aged 56, of

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

Discography

*''Songs From a Colonial Tavern as sung by Taylor Vrooman also with Marvin Hayes, Bass (1964) *''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. (1972) *''Songs from the Spanisches Liederbuch'' by Hugo Wolf (1974) *''Songs'' by Schubert / ''The Book of the Hanging Gardens, Op. 15'' by Schoenberg (1975) *''Ancient Voices of Children'' by George Crumb (1975) *''Songs'' by Charles Ives (1976) *''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) *''String Quartet #6 - A Whitman Serenade'' by Samuel Adler (1979) *''Songs'' by Sergei Rachmaninoff & Ernest Chausson (1980) *''Duets & Four Songs from Op. 98a'' by Robert Schumann, with Leslie Guinn (1983) *''Apparition'' by George Crumb / ''Songs'' by Charles Ives (1983) *''Songs'' by Brahms (1983) *''Moore's Irish Melodies'' (1984) *''Chansons de Bilitis'' and ''Fêtes Galantes'' by Debussy / ''Histoires Naturelles'' by Ravel (1984) *''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) *''Jan DeGaetani/Gilbert Kalish In Concert: Recital Performances from 1987 by various composers'' (2011)

References

*"Janice DeGaetani." Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, Centennial Edition. Nicolas Slonimsky, Editor Emeritus. Schirmer, 2001. *Bernheimer, Martin. "Jan DeGaetani" Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 23 Jan 05
(subscription access)

External links

Art of the States: Jan DeGaetani
{{DEFAULTSORT:Degaetani, Jan 1933 births 1989 deaths American operatic mezzo-sopranos People from Massillon, Ohio Deaths from leukemia Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Juilliard School alumni 20th-century American women opera singers Singers from Ohio Classical musicians from Ohio