Sanford Sylvan dies

Sanford Sylvan, baritone, died unexpectedly last Tuesday at age 65, apparently from an aggressive respiratory infection. His obituary appears today in the New York Times. I feel that I knew Sandy personally because I was a chorister in the Blanche Moyse Chorale in over fifty performances of Bach between 1980 and 2002 in which he was the baritone soloist - all the major Bach choral works, The St.Matthew Passion, St. John Passion, B-Minor Mass, Christmas Oratorio, Magnificat, and countless Cantatas, including an unforgettable 1985 performance of the St. John Passion in Symphony Space, and a 1990 performance of the St. Matthew Passion in Carnegie Hall. He was best known to the larger public for his role as Chou-En-Lai in John Adams' opera, Nixon in China, for which he won both an Emmy and a Grammy award, and other operatic roles. It is disappointing that the Times makes no mention of Sandy's 22-year connection with the New England Bach Festival and his great love for Blanche Moyse. However, I think there is an anonymous reference to Blanche in the final paragraph of the Times obituary. It reads,

“I just did what I wanted,” (Sylvan) said in the 2011 interview. “I didn’t live like a prince. To sing the ‘St. Matthew Passion’ with a great conductor, that’s the bottom line for me. You don’t get rich singing the ‘St. Matthew Passion,’ you just get happy.”

I strongly suspect that Sandy did not say, "great conductor." I would bet big money that his actual words in that 2011 interview were, "To sing the 'St. Matthew Passion' with Blanche, that's the bottom line for me," because I know that is how he felt, and that is how he would have expressed himself. I suspect the editor substituted "great conductor" for "Blanche" because he thought that most readers would not know who "Blanche" was. More's the pity.

Sandy had an incredibly warm, wonderful voice. He sang with a greater depth of emotion than any male singer I have ever known. His rendering of the Recitative, Am Abend, da es kühle war and the following Aria, Mache dich, mein Herze, rein in the St. Matthew Passion broke your heart. I am fortunate to have many recordings back home of Chorale performances which include Sandy. When we get home, I will dig them out and listen to them. 

R.I.P. Sandy!

Sanford Sylvan, baritone (1953-2019)

 

A 1993 performance of the St. Matthew Passion in Persons' Auditorium, Marlboro, VT. Blanche Moyse is conducting. The St. Matthew uses a double chorus. I am in the top row, far left, in Chorus I; Sandy Sylvan is seated with the four soloists in front at the far right. The other soloists are, l. to r.,  Henriette Schellenberg, soprano, Mary Westbrook-Geha, mezzo (who now serves as organist in the Dummerston Church!), and Frederick Urrey, tenor. Jon Humphries, Evangelist, is standing to the left of Blanche and was actually singing when this photo was taken.