GRAMOPHONE NOTES

Greymouth Evening Star, 14 January 1928, Page 4

GRAMOPHONE NOTES

A Costly Disc . There is no one like Chaliapine. That o£ course, is why Mr. Cochran paid him £2500 for Myo performances in London recently, and that is why His Master’s Voice have spent £5OOO on producing one record of his alone. One must admit it was worth it. The record—the famous “Death of Boris” scene and the “Farewell” scene, both from Moussorsky’s “Boris Godounov” —is the best Chaliapine record yet made. The services of a specially selected orchestra and a specially picked chorus were enlisted. Mr. Eugene Goosens conducted, and test after test was made to obtain- the best acoustic conditions for perfect recordings. It is a pity that the objective “mighty” has been used so often of late, that it has lost some of its value, but here is a record that is worthy of it. Orchestral Recording.

Orchestral recording has gone ahead so rapidly that the centre of interest has tended to shift from the mechanics to the performers. It is impossible to deny that orchestral reproduction now gives an almost perfect illusion. The new process, like the old, only less so, is inclined to pick out the higher tones abnormally, with a result that “scream” of some sort is rarely absent in the louder passages and in ensembles generally. Nevertheless, it is almost fair to say that excellent recording is now taken for granted, and excellent performances expected. The gramophone recently gave us two orchestras, the Philadelphia and the London Symphony, the former playing the “Rienzi” overture and the closing scene of “Gotterdammerung,” while the latter plays, under Siegfried Wagner, the “Lohengrin” prelude. The recording is presumably the same in both instances, but in the matter of performance the American orchestra has it easily. Needless to say, they hive a permanent conductor. The London Symphony is the case of a first-class body of players that can never have, under its guest conductor system, a really fine and consistent style. With full allowance made for the different character of the works chosen, one must remark on the superior ensemble and richer tone (particularly in the strings) of the Philadelphia band. These four sides are really great work. Not that the “Lohengrin” performance is negligible. It is excellently played.

Disc Beats the Steel. The making of a matrix (the master die from which the record is pressed) is a costly afljair, especiall?/ when big orchestral combinations or highij-paid stars contribute to the performance engraven on it. In the early days this gramophone state of affairs was different. Then, actually, most of the popular hits were well on the wane (or the public had grown weary of the barrel-organ versions of them? long before they made thei rappearanee on gramophone records. To-day things are quite different. As an illustration of how the gramophone has “speeded up,” it is interesting to relate that a recent inquiry at a music publishers’ establishment for the printed copy of a rather brilliant dance record elicited the information that although the record had already arrived the sheet publication had not yet appeared. Elizabeth Schumaun. Amongst vocal records recently issued by the Gramophone Company, and due here shortly are Richard Strauss’s “Standchen’ and “Margen,” sung with orchestral accompaniiflent by Elizabeth Sqhumann. Her singing of these luscious songs, which are excellently recorded, will be. welcomed by the singer’s many admirers, among whom I do not account myself the most fervant, and certainly show her at her best.. A Good Record.

An orchestral record which should be noted is by the National Symphony Orchestra of the “Poet and Peasant” selection. The music needs no introduction, and it suffices to say that on this record it is played with finish and power. Good News of Coming Delights. Quite a number of gramophonists specialise in chamber music in these days of electric recording, and it will be good news to them to hear that the great trio, bortort, Thibaud, and Casals have made another record (states a London paper). As with the Schubert record made last year, in the reproduction of Haydn’s G major trio, great care has been taken to achieve perfection of balance, and these two small records are worthy of place along with the Schubert as models of what recording should be. Haydn’s music naturally records well, and this is an example of the composer in his most charming mood. Dividends in Discs. Only about three years ago (states the London “Financial News”) the shares of the leading gramophone manufacturers were being looked at askance by the majority of investors. The opinion was commonly held that the rapid strides being made by wireless would spell disaster to the gramophone business. The assumption was an entirely natural on§, and undoubtedly it was only logical to suppose that in every house where a wireless set was installed the gramophone would fall into disuse. But it appears a curious feature in modern economic conditions that new inventions do not always supersede the uses of those already in existence. Electricity did not stop the use of gas, nor has oil superseded the production of power from steam. One may, indeed, carry the argument further, and say that in many cases the newest inventions tend rather to broaden the existing demand. Certainly this has been the case in the gramophone trade. The invention of wireless has undoubtedly brought music much more into the lives of a very large number of pepole, and in so doing it has cerated a wish to hear more music, and the desire also for the repetition of certain popular pieces. The theory is that after havingheard certain music on the wireless, people purchase records of the same pieces so that they can play them at will afterwards. Probabty there is a good deal in this theory. We are inclined to think that there are at least two other cogent reasons for the popularity of the gramophone. First, there has been a vast improvement both in gramophones themselves and in records. The average person would be astonished to know how much research work has been put into the gramophone business over the last few years. Ju consequence, the me-1 thods of sound reproduction in use to-1 day arc so superior’ to those ruling as few years back, that a gramophone | has now become to all intents and pur-

poses a new instrument. The latest electrical methods of sound recordinghave also gone towards revolutionising the gramophone trade. Not only has the scope of harmonic scales been extended, but the purity of sound has been considerably increased. These advances in scientific manufacture have created a new public ■ for the gramophone trade ,as well as stimulating the demand for new records and machines among old users.