Bent Notes: A Queer Musicology Podcast LGBTQ+ Music Study Group

Rachel Cowgill interviews Robert Crowe about his work as a male soprano and research on Giovanni Battista Velluti, the last operatic castrato.

Robert and Rachel discuss the differences between the castrato, countertenor, and male soprano voices, how the public reacted to Velluti in nineteenth-century London, and what it means to be an artist at the end of an era.

This episode features extracts from Robert's award-winning CD, 'The Romantic Castrato' (Toccata Classics, 2020), on which he sings music from Velluti's repertoire.
Clip 1: ‘Eco o numi’ from Carlo Magno by Giuseppe Nicolini.
Clip 2: ‘Nel cor più non mi sento’ from La Molinara by Giovanni Paisiello.
Clip 3: ‘Ah can I think of days gone by?’ by Thomas Welsh.
Thanks to Martin Anderson and David Weuste for generously allowing us to play these tracks.

You can stream 'The Romatic Castrato' or buy it here: https://toccataclassics.com/product/the-romantic-castrato/
Rachel Cowgill's profile: https://www.york.ac.uk/music/staff/academic/rachelcowgill/
Robert Crowe's website: https://www.robertcrowe.com/

Bent Notes is produced by the LGBTQ+ Music Study Group: https://www.lgbtqmusicstudygroup.com/

Dr Hannah Marie Robbins on the queerness of the MGM film of The Wizard of Oz, the iconic status of Judy Garland, and all things Broadway-meets-Hollywood.

Hannah's UoN profile: https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/humanities/departments/music/people/hannah.robbins
Hannah's Twitter: @drhannahrobbins

Ryan Persadie discusses his work on queer Indo-Caribbean spaces in Toronto. A scholar-activist-artist, he performs as Tifa Wine, and reflects on how he uses drag to bridge ethnomusicological theory and praxis.

Tifa Wine on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tifa.wine/
Ryan's page: https://wgsi.utoronto.ca/person/ryan-persadie/

Jack Doyle and Marie Bennett discuss the afterlife of Freddie Mercury: his enduring status as a queer icon for multiple generations, the tensions between his public and private personas, and what it is that made his performances so spectacular.

Marie's co-edited book with David Gracon: https://books.emeraldinsight.com/page/detail/Music-and-Death/?k=9781838679460(see her chapter "Mercury's Message to Go On With the Show")
A really great Medium article by Jack: https://medium.com/@jackdoyle_76250/the-trans-take-towards-a-trans-public-history-deb1bc9d822b

The LGBTQ+ Music Study Group: https://www.lgbtqmusicstudygroup.com/

Singer, writer and researcher CN Lester joins Naomi in conversation on gender history and song. They share some of their research on 17th-century Venetian composer Barbara Strozzi, as well as their experiences as a trans musician.

Please note, this episode's interviewer now goes by Naomi Orrell (she/her).

The first clip is "Aether" from CN's 2014 album of the same name.
The last is "Be a Choir" from their 2017 album "Come Home". Both are released independently.
The clip in the middle is "La riamata da chi amava" by Barbara Strozzi, performed live by Ursula's Arrow feat. CN Lester (mezzo), Sarah Dacey (soprano), Aileen Henry (harp) and Toby Carr (theorbo).
CN's Website: www.cnlester.com

The LGBTQ+ Music Study Group is having a queer forum at York University on Friday 3rd April. Free to attend. Keep an eye on our website for more details: www.lgbtqmusicstudygroup.com

Composer Anthony R. Green talks to us about a new song in memory of Stonewall, the controversies of writing trans characters, and redressing classical music's race problem.

Visit our BRAND NEW WEBSITE: https://www.lgbtqmusicstudygroup.com/
Visit Anthony's website: https://www.anthonyrgreen.com/
Learn more about Castle of our Skins: http://www.castleskins.org/
Read Anthony's article: https://nmbx.newmusicusa.org/what-the-optics-of-new-music-say-to-black-composers/

Special thanks to Cole M. Wilson, Thomas Gibbs, and Catherine Kelly for providing us with recording space.