Recorded Music: Notes and Reviews

New Zealand Times, Volume LII, Issue 12283, 31 October 1925, Page 14

Recorded Music: Notes and Reviews

HIS MASTER'S VOICE Derek Oldham (tenor) is chiefly known to gramophonists a* a delightful singer in light opera, hie name figuring in all the Savoy casts selected for the H.M.V. light opera list. As a singer of concert songs he is very happily suited m music of the clfise which Boger Quilter has made so,popular, as much for its tuneful quality as for its characteristically English atmosphere. In the new list Oldham sings Quilter's "O Mistress Mmo and '‘Fair House of Joy." A good disc. *** * , One of the most delightful orchestra! studies ever written is the celebrated „P a ucc of the Hours/' from Popchielli's l*a Gioconda, ' which has been recorded with varying <-uccess, by various companies Quite the best recording so far is that by iho Royal Albert Hall Orchestra, which has arrived with tlie Nobudget. The music is truly delightful. • • * * Xiovars of ''cello music of not too highbrow quality will be sure to like Cedric Sharpe s owu arrangement of the old Irish air, "Believe me if all those endearing young charms/'' and Elgar'« Beautiful "Rosemary*' ("That's for remembrance ). • • • , A scratched record is nn abomination, and a prolific cause of scotches 13 the trick of ilroptHig +ho mu-dte on to the record before a sufficient «need has beer attained. The result of this is to coaiven the waves at the edge of the disc, and so arises the verj unpleasant sound thai marj the begsnning of so many records, 'heap needles are also a mistake, for they, too. shorten the life of the record. • * * • Amongst the new records for, the November market is a remarkable bracket •u* Signor Apolla Granforte, who it be remembered, created quite a furore when he visited New Zealand with the Melba Grand Opera Singers some timo ago. On the platform he proved himself to be a singer of great dramatic power and first-class tone quality, and hi© first records for H.M.V. demonstrate that he is a recording artist of undoubted success. His numbers are the sombre Credo in up Dio Crudel," from Verdi's Otello/' and the dramatic "O Menumento! Regia e Bolgia Dogale!" from Ponohielli's "I-a Gioconda." This is a fifst-class bracket. • • # • If the records are Pot kept in a dustproof cabinet, always remove them before the room is swept, and even then it is a splendid habit to Tun a f.oft camel-hair brush over the record each time it is used. The baize cover of the table should also be kept well brushed, as that picks up an astonishing amount of dust, which finds its way on to the record. Never leave records lying with a direct sun upon them or place them near a fire. The hc-at will warp the record, and nothing can he done to restore it. *'

As an exponent of Schubert lieder there are few to equal Elena Gerhardt, whose fine mezzo-voice is admirably adapted for the sympathetic interpretation of the songs of her countryman. This month Gerhardt begins the first of a new series for H.M.V,—the first, that is to say, under the new system of recording—with two characteristic Schubert numbers—"Wohin" (Op. 25, No. 2L and "Das Lied im Grunen" (Op. als, No. 1). Both, of course, are sung in German. • • * * V The new light sympkonv orchestra recording for the H.M.V. Co., made an altogether charming selection when they chose the Rustic Wedding Symphony t by Goldmark. We have not heard such a delightful recording of strings for some time. As a strong contrast they could not have chosen better than Moskowskia Spanish dance “Malaguena," with its strong rhythmic charm.

COLUMBIA RECORDS Berlioz’s "Roman Carnival” overture is the latest work recorded for Columbia bv the Halls Orchestra, conducted by Sir Hamilton Harty. Musicians will know the curious origin of this work, and how it came to be an overture to an opera based on incidents in the life of Benvenuto Cellini, and what became of the opera. But the overture will remain as the work of a genius, with a sens© of gorgeous tone colour. •m■ * * The .latest recording of the Lener String is the Beethoven quartet in E flat Fuller reference to the record will be made later, but it ie gratifying to notice that its issue by Columbia emphasises the rapidly increasing interest taken in chamber music, through the gramoohone, the only way, it seems, in New Zealand for peoble to hear chamber music. * v « * Those who are in search of records of operatic tenors will greatly appreciate that of Hipolito Lazaro, a famous artist. with a pronounced individua ity. The latest of nis records are “Vesti la giubba" (“On with the Motley* ) from "I Pagliacci" and “M'appari" from “Martha." The records offer a striking

(Columbia Records.—Continued). contrast. It is raro indeed for grand opera companies to come to New Zealand. although accomplished singers of grand opera arias pass through tne Dominion, and sometimes concert platform versions of operas aro given, yet the opportunity of hearing the complete works is rare indeed. However, the Columbia list offers a fine selection of the principal arias and other excerpts from grand opera sung by stars who ar* ac* customed to shine at Covent Garden, the Metropolitan in New York, the Opera in Paris, and La Scala in Milan. Lapas, Ulysse and Borgioli are among the Covent Garden tenors, and Stracciari, Radini, and Benevenuto Franci. , These have recorded exclusively for Columbia. * m * • Like manv another great singer on tne operatic stage or the concert platform, Mr Norman Allin, the English basso, he- ' gan his musical career in church. This ; is where many American singers made their first public appearance. The same holds good of some Continental vocalists of distinction. Mr Allin began in a Rochdale Methodist Church. He was then aged nine and sang alto. But that was only the beginning of his musical career, still he was fond ip later veal* of composing tunes for hymns. From the church to the operatio stage was a long but sure step that Norman Allin took, when he became connected with the British National Opera Company, and finally became one of its directors, a post he still holds. Dramatio roles are his forte, and this is clear in his singing of the ballad "Edward/'* composed by Loewe in 1818. This is a terrible song, one «that ©ends a cold shiver down the spine, and it is in great demand. It has just been reissued by Columbia. It- is in form of tne duet, Edward being questioned by his mother of the crime which forms the burden of the ballad. Mr Allin's enunciation is astonishingly clear and that but intensifies the tragic note of the song. * 4 * *

"Invitation: Waltz Song," by Anita Owen, with orchestral accompaniment, is one of the most recent records made by Columbia of Elsa Stralia in ballads. It 3 companion on the one disc is Sir London Ronald's "O Lovely Night." The record shows how EJsa Stralia achieved success in the concert hall as well as in grand opera. Her notes are beautifully clear and pure, and all tho embellishments of the songs are sung with the ease and fluency that one naturally expects in so fine an artist.