On October 26, 2017, the alto Wiebke Lehmkuhl sang a note—a G or an E flat, if I’m not mistaken—that was so quiet and smooth it sounded more like a boy than many boy sopranos do. The piece was Bach’s Mass in B Minor, conducted by Ton Koopman at the Berlin Philharmonic, penultimate movement, the Agnus Dei. Since then, I’ve practiced the piece on my keyboard without managing to recreate that magic. I decided I would have to talk to Lehmkuhl.
Unlimited access to our
