The Edison phonograph monthly (Mar-Dec 1907)

6 Edison Phonograph Monthly, Sept., 1907 AdvanceList Edison Grand Opera Records Supplement No. 8, November, 1907 RECORDS listed below will be shipped from Orange in time to reach all Jobbers in the United States and Canada before October 28, 1907, all things being favorable but they must not be placed on sale by Jobbers or leave their places of business, or be reshipped to Dealers before 8 A. M. on October 28, 1907. Supplements will be shipped with Records. These may be distributed to Dealers after October 20th, but must not be circulated among the public before October 28. Jobbers are required to place orders for Grand Opera Records on or before September 10th. Dealers should place Grand Opera orders with Jobbers before September 10th to insure prompt and complete shipment when Jobbers stock is received. B. 55 Steuermannslied, ("The Helmsman's Song" ) "Der Fliegende Hollander" Wagner By HEINRICH KNOTE, Tenor, Sung in German, Orchestra Accompaniment Partly from the legend of the Flying Dutchman, which had been told him by sailors when, on a voyage to England in 1839, his vessel was driven by storms to take refuge in a Norwegian fjord, and partly from Heine's "Salon" Wagner wrote this celebrated work. The Flying Dutchman was a sailor, who, when attempting to weather the Cape of Good Hope, was repeatedly driven hack by the winds. Angered by these vain efforts he cried out, "Thoug'i Hell itself prevail, I'll sail on till eternity." For this impious boast he was condemned to scour the seas in his dreaded vessel with black masts and sails blood-red, until he should find a maiden who would be faithful to him even unto death. Many times he had been disappointed; and it was while he was dropping anchor on the Norwegian coast that he hears, sung on a ship nearby, the beautiful Steuermannslied. B. 56 L 'Ultima Rosa d Estate, ("The Last Rose of Summer") "Martha" Flotow By BESSIE ABOTT, Soprano, Sung in Italian, Orchestra Accompaniment But for this beautiful air it is more than likely that "Martha" would have been forgotten long ago, although there are other notable airs in it. The air was known in Ireland so long ago as 1660, but attained special popularity by Moore's words. In the opera it is sung by Lady Harriet Durham, who, with her maid, is masquerading as the hired servant of Lionel, the young farmer, whom she has learned to love. The difference in their rank rendered their love hopeless. Fortunately Lionel is found to be the son of an Earl, and thus the marriage takes place. B. 57 Quand 'ero Paggio ("When I was a Page") "Falstaff" Verdi By ANTONIO SCOTTI, Baritone Sung in Italian, Orchestra Accompaniment Although this opera was written in Verdi's eightieth year, it is the most vivacious and sprightly of all his many splendid works. The libretto follows almost literally the text of Shakespeare's "Merry Wives of Windsor," and it is not too much to say that the composer's music fits the wit and humor of the play to perfection. "Quand 'ero Paggio" is sung by Sir John Falstaff, when he is making love to the lively Mistress Alice Ford, who is aware that he is at the same time making love to her friend, Mistress Meg Page. Monstrously fat, the knight describes the April days when he was a page to the Duke of Norfolk, and so slim he could have slipped through a ring. B. 58 So Anch ' lo la Virtii Magica, ( "The Magic Virtue I Also Know" ) 'Don Pasquale" Donizetti By SIGNORINA GARAVAGLIA, Soprano Sung in Italian, Orchestra Accompaniment One of Donizetti's last compositions, this opera contains the cleverest music that he wrote and was finished in eight days. Don Pasquale is an elderly man whose nephew, Ernesto, refuses to marry an heiress, preferring instead the young and beautiful widow Norma, who is poor His uncle then determines to marry, and by means of a plot is made the victim of a mock ceremony. Instead of his bride being a young girl from a convent, it is Norma. Immediately she assumes shrewish airs and becomes wildly extravagant. Her victim so far frorrr being mortally angry when he finds out, is so delighted at getting rid of her that he permits Ernesto to marry he?, and gives him a fortune. The very charming cavatina Norma sings is suggested by a romance she is reading of a beautiful lady and the bold knight Richard.