Stephen Varcoe
Stephen Varcoe is one of Britain’s most successful and respected classical baritone vocalists. He has appeared on over 150 recordings of mostly songs, but also several operas with a focus on British composers. Varcoe was born into a musical family in 1949, in Lostwithiel, a small town in Cornwall, England. His father was a violinist, and his mother was a pianist, and when he was young, his parents held small gatherings in their home where they performed chamber music with their friends. At age six, he began playing the piano and started taking lessons. From the ages eight through thirteen, he attended the Canterbury Cathedral school and studied with Allan Wicks. He went on to King’s School, Canterbury and eventually stopped practicing the piano so he could focus solely on singing. After graduating, he studied math and law at King’s College, Cambridge, and he won a scholarship to sing in the King’s College Choir conducted by David Willcocks. Here he received vocal instruction from John Carol Case, and Wilfred Brown. From 1970 to 1971, he studied German and French song, and Baroque music at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Arthur Reckless. Varcoe also started an a cappella ensemble called “the Scholars” with friends that he knew from the King’s College Choir. Other employment from this time includes work with the BBC radio, and touring Australia and New Zealand singing contemporary music with conductor John Alldis. In 1977 he won the first prize in the Gulbekian competition, which enabled him to pursue his solo career, initially delving into Baroque song. In the early '80s, Varcoe decided that he wanted to record songs by Gerald Finzi, but the idea was rejected by several record labels. However, he was later approached by Finzi's widow, who invited him to record the songs with the Hyperion label. This proved to be the beginning of a very long and prosperous relationship with Hyperion that has produced many recordings of French songs, English songs, and lieder. Throughout the '90s, Varcoe recorded cantatas by J.S. Bach with conductor John Eliot Gardiner, and he also sang in the premiere performance of Tavener's opera Mary of Egypt. In 2000, with pianist Clifford Benson, he released the critically acclaimed albums Stanford Songs in two volumes, followed by an intense study and analysis of the feelings and psychology of lyrics in the context of song. This led to Varcoe completing his PhD in the field of "communication in song" at the University of York in 2009. As an educator, he gives lectures, masterclasses, and workshops at universities, and he especially enjoys coaching individual singers. He and his wife also host informal singing workshops and performances at their farmhouse as part of their annual "Summer Music at Ansells" series.
© RJ Lambert /TiVo
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John Rutter Christmas Album
Stephen Varcoe, Ruth Holton, Gerald Finley, Cambridge Singers, City Of London Sinfonia, John Rutter
Classical - Released by Collegium on Sep 24, 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hummel: Mass in E-Flat Major, Te Deum & Quod in orbe
Richard Hickox, Collegium Musicum, Susan Gritton, Ann Murray, James Gilchrist, Stephen Varcoe
Masses, Passions, Requiems - Released by Chandos on Oct 1, 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Purcell: The Fairy Queen
Eiddwen Harrhy, Timothy Penrose, Wynford Evans, Stephen Varcoe, English Baroque Soloists, John Eliot Gardiner
Classical - Released by Archiv Produktion on Jan 1, 1982
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
English Orchestral Songs
Art Songs, Mélodies & Lieder - Released by Chandos on Aug 1, 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach, J.S.: Cantatas, BWV 131, 152 and 161
Theater of Early Music, Daniel Taylor, Suzie Leblanc, Jan Kobow, Stephen Varcoe
Classical - Released by ATMA Classique on Aug 1, 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Graupner: 2 Overtures & Cantata
Kleine Konzert, Das, Hein Meens, Stephen Varcoe, Barbara Schlick, Rheinische Kantorei, Hermann Max
Classical - Released by CPO on May 1, 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Hyperion Song Edition 2 - Water Songs
Stephen Varcoe, Graham Johnson
Classical - Released by Hyperion on Dec 25, 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vivaldi: Gloria / Scarlatti: Dixit Dominus
Nancy Argenta, Catherine Denley, Ashley Stafford, Stephen Varcoe, The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock
Classical - Released by Archiv Produktion on Jan 1, 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach, J.S. / Telemann: Actus Tragicus - Sacred Cantatas
Theater of Early Music, Suzie Leblanc, Daniel Taylor, Ian Honeyman, Stephen Varcoe
Classical - Released by ATMA Classique on Jan 1, 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Serenade / Variations for Orchestra / Bach Orchestrations
Classical - Released by Naxos on Apr 18, 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Concertos sacrés & Musique pour clavecin
Susan Gritton, Paul Agnew, Stephen Varcoe, Julian Podger, Robert Woolley, Purcell Quartet
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Chandos on Oct 1, 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: Mass in B Minor
Collegium Musicum, Richard Hickox, Nancy Argenta, Catherine Denley, Mark Tucker, Stephen Varcoe
Masses, Passions, Requiems - Released by Chandos on Sep 1, 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
St John Passion
Yorkshire Baroque Soloists, Peter Seymour, Charles Daniels, Stephen Varcoe, Stefan Loges
Classical - Released by Signum Records on Sep 1, 2010
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Messe en ré mineur - Salve Regina
Susan Gritton, Pamela Helen Stephen, Mark Padmore, Stephen Varcoe, Collegium Musicum, Richard Hickox
Sacred Vocal Music - Released by Chandos on Oct 1, 2005
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Britten, Finizi & Holst: Works for Chorus and Orchestra
Richard Hickox, City Of London Sinfonia, Stephen Varcoe, John Mark Ainsley, The Britten Singers
Choral Music (Choirs) - Released by Chandos on Jul 1, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
MESSE EN SI MINEUR
Nancy Argenta, Catherine Denley, Mark Tucker, Stephen Varcoe, Collegium Musicum, Richard Hickox
Sacred Vocal Music - Released by Chandos on Sep 1, 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Frank Bridge: Songs
Stephen Varcoe, Christopher Cox
Classical - Released by Heritage Records on Mar 31, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bush: A Summer Serenade, 4 Songs, A Menagerie & Farewell, Earth's Bliss
Richard Hickox, City Of London Sinfonia, Adrian Thompson, Stephen Varcoe, Eric Parkin, Westminster Singers
Mélodies - Released by Chandos on Jul 1, 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bergman: Nox, Bim Bam Bum, Fåglarna, Hathor-Suite
Classical - Released by Chandos on Jun 1, 1986
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
War's Embers: English Songs of World War 1
Martyn Hill, Stephen Varcoe, George Michael
Classical - Released by Hyperion on Mar 1, 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stanford: Songs, Vol. 1
Stephen Varcoe, Clifford Benson
Classical - Released by Hyperion on Mar 1, 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo