Graham J talks about the highs and lows of the counter-tenor’s life

After the death of his partner, it took a while for Graham J to return to singing, writes Jo Kerrigan

Tue, 08 Mar, 2016 - 00:00

MALE singing voices: Tenors, baritones, basses, be they operatic, classical, jazz, folk, rock, or rap. It’s rare that someone can move across all these borders, and even into the female ranks. Graham J is one of these.

Counter-tenors possess a voice equivalent to that of the female contralto or mezzo-soprano. Much-used by 17th century composers, their popularity waned in later times, and only in the 20th century came back into high demand. Today, ensembles like the Tallis Scholars and the King’s Singers love them, and there is a growing modern repertoire.

How did it all come about for a young Dublin lad, unaware in childhood that he was unusual?

“There was always music and singing in our family, but I think I first began to notice the difference in my early teens. My voice, when it broke, just changed very subtly, so I got an extra octave on the bottom and my voice darkened. I can get up to a contralto’s high C, but my voice is dark and heavy, so I really equate to a female alto.”

First a boy soprano, Graham J took the new development in his stride, and became the first-ever male singer to win the contralto solo in the Feis’s 104-year history. “At the Feis, they recognised the possibility and sent me to see Paul Deegan at the Royal Irish Academy of Music. I was actually the first counter-tenor to be admitted to a conservatoire in Ireland. I studied with him, did my degree at DIT, and then a masters at CIT. I loved that. I was even considering doing a PhD, at RIAM, on the necessity of bel canto as a method for training the counter-tenor.”

Instead, he went to London, where the opportunities for his voice were better, and began to build his career. But in 2008 he suffered three strokes, and endured 12 hours of surgery to save his life. Incredibly, he was back at work soon after, with offers of roles and specially-created pieces. Then, tragically, in late 2013, his partner, Declan, took his own life. Graham J was devastated, and lost his voice, because of the shock, for some months.

In January, 2014, however, he was asked to appear as guest soloist with singer, Gloria, in aid of suicide awareness. A standing ovation from a packed theatre made him realise that, whatever life had thrown at him, his talent was still there.

But the near-death and bereavement experiences had changed his outlook. “I always did concert and cabaret, in secret as it were, and now the most important thing seemed to sing what I wanted, and be happy. In classical work, I have to keep exactly to the page. Now, I can do a song slower, differently. It’s so liberating. I always remember a teacher saying ‘You can’t sing Handel as if Bowie had never been born’.

Yesterday I had to study at the beach today it's beside the pool in 30degree heat. It's a hard life 😝 pic.twitter.com/6u5Al4Ioe1
— Graham J (@grahamjsings) February 16, 2016

“I’m picking the music that brings out the best colours in my life, and I can also sit and talk to my audience. I found I could write songs myself, and I’m also working with living composers, who are writing songs especially for my voice. I’m becoming a rounded artist, at last. A dramatic artist who sings.”

Following his sell-out shows at The Sugar Club, Graham will perform his first concert of 2016 in Dublin’s JJ Smyths this Thursday.

Tracks from his debut album, Wild Is, will be featured, including the very moving ‘I Miss You Most on Sundays’, which expresses the loss of his partner. “As a singer, my whole job is to tell stories, make people listen, and escape their own problems for a while.”