José Candel

José Candel is one of those names that emerged through Dutch radio in the years immediately following World war II.  She became rather famous through two 78-rpm recordings. The success of them is obvious given the number of rereleases on 45-rpm vinyl and later also on lp format. Even today, the 45-rpm pressings are easily the ones most easily found at flea markets and in antiquarian record stores such as Concerto, Record Mania or Spuirecords. Thus she is now only remembered for the 'Nun's chorus' from the Strauss/Benatzky operetta Casanova and the Ave Maria' of Bach/Gounod. Other than that, Candel is wholly forgotten today and the picture featured here is the only one we have of her. We did find back the original 78-rpm records and we also have a glimpse of her radio career here, by means of 'la ci darem la mano'. These recordings reveal a warm, friednly, very moving voice that is very well suited to the sentimental quality of especially the record titles. Shortly we will release her complete recordings including what we can salvage from her radio career on our first potpourri cd with Dutch singers from Candel's generation.

Maria Josephina Andres (José) Candel was born on 16 August 1907 at Maastricht. She studied singing at the 'Conservatory of Luik' and obtained there the 'Gouden Medaille voor zang' (Gold Medallion for singing). In the Netherlands she became quickly well known by regularly appearances in radio-concerts with the KRO (a Dutch broadcast company), as well as in orchestra-concerts as in recitals. She also appeared with many other orchestras as a soloist. Together with Hélène Ludolph, Greet Koeman, Gerda Pons and Dora Schrama she was until Janary 1947 part of the 'chamber-choir' of Felix de Nobel. On January 1947 she left this choir, together with a.o. soprano Ans Stroink, contralto Jo Immink and baritone Léon Combé. As mentioned, her recording of the Nuns-choir from Casanova  and the  Bach/Gounod 'Ave Maria' (with choir and orchestra under Hugo de Groot) became immensely popular and yet... she never recorded anything else. We do not currently know why she never recoded anything else but we are in the process of reconstructing her chronology with the Dutch radio. 

Candel was married with Jacobus Hermes, brother of the contralto Annie Hermes. She died at Oirschot on 3 September 1995, cremated at Heeze on 7 September 1995.

The following unique radio recording of 'La ci darem la mano' from Mozart's Don Giovanni (with the original announcment) comes from a 'Zonnebloem' radio-broadcast on 3 July 1948. Candel isaccompanied from Dutch baritone Frans van der ven.

Strauss, Casanova, 'Nonnenkoor' :