Phonograph Monthly Review, Vol. 1, No. 12 (1927-09)

494 The Phonograph Monthly Review Philharmonic,” and to our delight he spoke of his admiration of Toscanini’s famous Midsummer Night’s Dream Scherzo and Nocturne, which will be remembered as greeted so enthusiastically in the very first issue of this magazine. Truly, the singer of “popular” songs must bring the prin- ciples of artistry to his work no less than the interpreter of “classical” compositions, and it is an excellent lesson to learn the amount of care, training, and sheer musicianship that goes into the making of these records. “My aims have always been to sing the popu- lar ballad in an artistic manner, without doing so in a sort of ‘highbrow’ or ‘arty’ manner that would of course only be ridiculous. The perform- ance must be adapted to the need, the class of hearers must be kept in mind,—but diction and tone can be—and must be—perfected, the phras- ing must be smooth, limpid, and natural, and the whole effect one of congruous artistry.” And one begins to realize the difficulties to be conquered when he remembers the lamentable fiascos of cer- tain undeniably fine operatic stars singing popu- lar songs in an “opry” manner that of course is only ridiculous, and remembers also the per- formances of the same songs by vaudeville singers in a jerky, barking, totally unmusical manner. Baur’s field lies between these swamps of error and when one hears him sing the songs that others falsify, it can be seen immediately why he has become so successful. He has struck the happy medium of popularity without vulgarity, artistry without “arty-ness.” Nor should one forget to add his talent for diversity, for avoid- ing the falling into ruts, so that in spite of the fact that he makes almost countless records, everyone has an individual touch which saves his work from the flabby sameness which ruins that of so many a singer or instrumentalist. Mr. Baur’s comments on recording itself are naturally of the greatest interest. “The inven- tion of the electrical process was of greater sig- nificance than the average layman realizes,” he said. “Not only are the finished records incom- parably better from every standpoint, but the strain on the singer is immeasurably eased. A record can be made in exactly one-third the time it used to take, and no longer is it necessary for us to nearly crack our throats singing into that hated horn. Indeed, it was only the thoroughly competent and well-trained voice that ever es- caped unaffected by these conditions. When the electrical system was first introduced, the record- ing rooms were difficult to sing in since they were ‘deadened,’ exactly like the broadcasting studio of today. But the phonograph people have learned some secret the radio does not yet know, and now the recording studios are no longer ab- solutely ‘dead,’ but are resonant, and consequent- ly infinitely easier to sing in. This plays the strongest part in my preference of recording to broadcasting, which are alike in many respects, and unlike in so many others.” We pressed Mr. Baur to express his prefer- ence between concert singing and recording, but he skilfully evaded making any decision. “Of course, there is a thrill to concert performances before large audiences that cannot be compared with anything else,—but recorded music is perhaps my greatest field in that through my records I reach thousands who have never heard me in person.” It is inadequate to select one or two selections from Mr. Baur’s many records, but in our con- versation one or two interesting details came up about particular works which should be men- tioned. The Brunswick record of Valencia is perhaps one of his most famous; it was also the first vocal record of that favorite to be issued. Readers of this magazine will be especially in- terested in the recent Victor release of Baur’s singing of Just Like a Butterfly when they learn of its genesis: Mr. Shilkret (of whom, by the way, Baur is a very close friend) was playing the piece from the original manuscript one day when Baur was passing by, and at the former’s suggestion, the latter recorded it—with the con- sequence that it became one of the year’s biggest “hits.” Among his Columbia issues, the current one of selections from The Circus Princess is perhaps the most striking, particularly in its suc- cessful triumph over difficult recording problems, which oftentimes, we learn, cause a record to be abandoned altogether, unless the singer or re- cording director can find some ingenious way to conquer difficulties which at first glance would seem unsurmountable. Mr. Baur is also known as a member of that popular organization named variously as the Revelers, the Merrymakers, or the Singing Sophomores, and in addition, he is represented on records of the leading dance orchestras and in duets with other singers. But it is in the solo field, where he has established himself so im- pressively, that his future progress will naturally be watched most closely. It should not be long after this is published that the records of his cur- rent Follies hits are on the market and after hear- ing him on the stage of the Colonial Theatre, on his previous records, and in demonstrating pas- sages during our conversation in his room, it does not require a great deal of prophetic insight to assure his friends—both old and yet-to-be- ma de—that these will be the finest of the many fine works for which we are indebted to him. Our meeting with Mr. Baur and a consequent study of many of his records left us both gladder and wiser, with a new knowledge of a field of recorded music which is by no means as un-com- plex as the uninitiated have thought it to. be. An eminence such as Franklyn Baur has gained —no matter what the field may be—is never achieved without the exertion of talents and ef- forts perfectly adapted to the special needs at hand. Baur has used the phonograph to help him in his rise and it has well repaid his sagacity; it is a pleasure to think that the favors it has showered upon him have all been won by the conscious direction of natural talents along the logical paths of phonographic and music tech- nique. Observer.