Julian Podger (born 1966) is an English

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

who has appeared mostly in concert in

historically informed performance Historically informed performance (also referred to as period performance, authentic performance, or HIP) is an approach to the performance of Western classical music, classical music which aims to be faithful to the approach, manner and style of ...

. He took part in the 2000

Bach Cantata Pilgrimage The Monteverdi Choir was founded in 1964 by John Eliot Gardiner, Sir John Eliot Gardiner for a performance of the ''Vespro della Beata Vergine'' in King's College Chapel, Cambridge. A specialist List of early music ensembles, Baroque ensemble, t ...

. He also sings in vocal ensembles, and directs his own ensemble, Trinity Baroque.

Life and career

Born in England, Podger grew up in

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

, Germany. His sister, Rachel Podger, is an acclaimed

violinist The following lists of violinists are available: * List of classical violinists * List of contemporary classical violinists * List of jazz violinists * List of popular music violinists * List of Indian violinists * List of Persian violinists * Li ...

. He studied at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

. He has sung with notable vocal ensembles such as

Gothic Voices Gothic Voices is a United Kingdom-based vocal ensemble specialising in the performance of music of the Medieval era. The group was originally formed in 1980 by the scholar and musician Christopher Page. Repertoire The choir's repertoire is m ...

, a group for medieval music, and

The Harp Consort The Harp Consort is an international early music ensemble directed by Andrew Lawrence-King, specialising in Baroque opera, early dance-music, and historical World Music. The Harp Consort improvises within the distinct baroque, renaissance, and ...

. He founded his own ensemble Trinity Baroque while still studying in Cambridge. On 10 August 1997, he appeared as a soloist at

The Proms The BBC Proms is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in central London. Robert Newman founded The Proms in 1895. Since 1927, the ...

with the

Monteverdi Choir The Monteverdi Choir was founded in 1964 by Sir John Eliot Gardiner for a performance of the ''Vespro della Beata Vergine'' in King's College Chapel, Cambridge. A specialist Baroque ensemble, the Choir has become famous for its stylistic conv ...

and the

Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique The Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, founded in 1989 by John Eliot Gardiner, performs Classical and Romantic music using the principles and original instruments of historically informed performance. The orchestra has recorded symphonies ...

, conducted by

John Eliot Gardiner Sir John Eliot Gardiner (born 20 April 1943) is an English conductor, particularly known for his performances of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, especially the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage of 2000, performing Church cantata (Bach), Bach's church ...

, performing vocal works by Schubert and Beethoven. Podger took part, as a soloist and member of the Monteverdi Choir, in the 2000

by Gardiner. He sang the role of the Evangelist in Bach's ''

St John Passion The ''Passio secundum Joannem'' or ''St John Passion'' (), BWV 245, is a Passion or oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach, the earliest of the surviving Passions by Bach. It was written during his first year as director of church music in Leipzi ...

'' and ''

St Matthew Passion The ''St Matthew Passion'' (), BWV 244, is a '' Passion'', a sacred oratorio written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with libretto by Picander. It sets the 26th and 27th chapters of th ...

'' several times. In 1998, he recorded the title role in Handel's last oratorio ''

Jephtha Jephthah (pronounced ; , ''Yiftāḥ'') appears in the Book of Judges as a judge who presided over History of ancient Israel and Judah, Israel for a period of six years (). According to Judges, he lived in Gilead. His father's name is also given ...

'' with the Maulbronner Kammerchor conducted by Jürgen Budday, alongside

Emma Kirkby Dame Carolyn Emma Kirkby, (; born 26 February 1949) is an English soprano and early music specialist. She has sung on over 100 recordings. Education and early career Kirkby was educated at Hanford School, Sherborne School for Girls in Dorse ...

as Iphis and Melinda Paulsen as Storge. A reviewer noted his "well phrased and beautifully rounded performance" but missed the dark emotions of the character. In 2010, he recorded an album ''Music for the Peace of Utrecht'' with

Jos van Veldhoven Josephus Maria Martinus van Veldhoven (born 1952 in Den Bosch) is a Dutch choral conductor. He studied musicology at the Rijksuniversiteit of Utrecht, and choral and orchestral conducting at the Royal Conservatory, the Hague. He was artistic dire ...

and the

Netherlands Bach Society The Netherlands Bach Society () is the oldest ensemble for Baroque music in the Netherlands, and possibly in the world. The ensemble was founded in 1921 in Naarden to perform Bach's ''St Matthew Passion'' on Good Friday and has performed the work ...

, alongside Nicki Kennedy, William Towers, Wolfram Lattke and

Peter Harvey Peter Michael St Clair Harvey (16 September 19442 March 2013) was an Australian journalist and broadcaster. Harvey was a long-serving correspondent and contributor with the Nine Network from 1975 to 2013. Career Harvey studied his journalism c ...

, combining Handel's ''

Utrecht Te Deum and Jubilate ''Utrecht Te Deum and Jubilate'' is the common name for a sacred choral composition in two parts, written by George Frideric Handel to celebrate the Treaty of Utrecht, which established the Peace of Utrecht in 1713, ending the War of the Spanis ...

'', HWV 279, and

William Croft William Croft (baptised 30 December 1678 – 14 August 1727) was an English composer and organist. Life Croft was born at the Manor House, Nether Ettington, Warwickshire. He was educated at the Chapel Royal under the instruction of John Blow, ...

's ''Ode for the Peace of Utrecht'' (With Noise of Cannon), which was recorded for the first time.

References

External links

* *
Julian Podger

{{DEFAULTSORT:Podger, Julian Living people Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge English performers of early music English tenors English expatriates in Germany 1966 births