And in this set he gives us a pretty wide range, including an elegant, Bach-inflected French art song, a regal opera aria by Handel, a moving traditional spiritual and the devastating jazz song “Strange Fruit,” made famous by Billie Holiday. “It’s not a feel good song,” the countertenor warns, adding that it “represents so much in our country’s history that sometimes we like to skirt.”
The only way to follow a song of such darkness is with one of light and triumph. Holiday dedicates “Lift Every Voice and Sing” to young, Black voters, saying, “It’s really important that you let your voices be heard, even if you think nobody’s listening.”
And for fans of fabulous voices, it’s important that this voice be heard — the singular, silvery and expressive voice of John Holiday.
SET LIST
- Reynaldo Hahn: “À Chloris”
- Traditional (arr. Hall Johnson): “I’m Goin’ to Tell God All My Troubles”
- George Frideric Handel: “Ombra mai fù” (from Xerxes)
- Abel Meeropol: “Strange Fruit”
- James Johnson/J. Rosamond Johnson: “Lift Every Voice and Sing”
