Phonograph Monthly Review, Vol. 4, No. 7 (1930-04)

April, 1930. The Phonograph Monthly Review 221 va« . i ■ i i | ~ of Joseph in Egypt was recorded acoustically for Polydor. Boieldieu (1775-1854) is the first of the great school of French comic opera. The best recorded examples are the overtures to his most popular works, La Dame Blanche (conducted by Blech for the Victor international series), and Le Calife de Bagdad (conducted by Gurlitt for Parlophone). Auber (1782-1871) is more liberally represent- ed, by vocal excerpts as well as by the overtures to his better known operas. I might mention par- ticularly the overtures to Fra Diavolo (conducted by Bourdon for Victor) and Masaniello (by Blech for the Victor international series), an orchestral Aubade (played by Dr. Hertz and the San Fran- cisco Symphony for Victor), an aria from Fra Diavolo (by Chamlee for Brunswick), and var- ious arias from Manon Lescaut, particularly the Eclat de Rire (sung by del Campo for Victor). Eugene Goossens made a number of acoustical recordings of the Auber overtures for British Columbia and Edison Bell; he would be an ex- cellent choice to make electrical versions (refer- ence should be made to Observer’s interview with Mr. Goossens in the February 1930 issue). Herold (1791-1833) is remembered almost ex- clusively (in this country at least) by his Zampa overture. There are various recordings of which the best is probably Shilkret’s version for Victor although there has yet to be a performance sur- passing that of Papi for the old Vocalion com- pany. Meyerbeer (1791-1864) has not been neglected by the phonograph, although his principal operas have not been recorded to any great degree of com- prehensiveness. Excerpts from Le Prophete, and L’Africana will be found in almost every cata- logue, and there are a good many excerpts from Dinorah, Les Huguenots, and Robert le Diable available. The coronation march from Le Pro- phete has recently appeared in new versions by Mengelberg (Victor), Molajoli (Columbia), and Pruwer (Brunswick). One of the best of the orchestral recordings is the overture to Les Hugu- enots, done with great vigor and eclat by Pruwer for Polydor. Halevy 1799-1862) is best represented by the unusually fine recordings of scenes from La Juive, done in the best manner of the Victor Metropol- itan Opera House series, with Martinelli, Pinza, etc., in the solo roles. The most recent release, the prayer, “O Dieu de nos Peres,” is a particu- larly brilliant performance. The overture to the same opera is issued by Fonotipia. Berlioz (1803-1869) has had a special signi- ficance for phonophiles in that his Symphonie Fantastique was the first symphony to be electric- ally recorded (Columbia). It would hardly be too much to say that the work has become better known in America at least, through Weingart- ner’s records than through the rare and often merely routine concert performances. There are other foreign versions (French Odeon, Polydor, etc.), but none has yet been re-pressed in this country. Harold en Italie is unrecorded even in part, but the great choral symphony, heard so rarely in concert, is represented by several fine excerpts, notably the Queen Mab scherzo conduct- by Sir Hamilton Harty for Columbia, and the movement, “Romeo Alone and the Ball at the Capulets”, conducted by Cloez for French Odeon. Two overtures are recorded, the popular Roman Carnival in a wide variety of versions, but best in that by Dr. Blech (Victor), and Benvenuto Cellini (Polydor and Parlophone). The familiar orches- tral suite from the Damnation of Faust is highly popular, especially the Rakoczy march, conducted by Harty, Stokowski, Dohnanyi, Mengelberg, and and many others. The Menuet of the Feu Follets has been done by Wolff for Polydor (together with the other two pieces), and the Valse des Sylphes also by )Harty (Columbia) and in the Victor Educational catalogue. I have never come across any recording of Berlioz’ songs, but there are occasional recorded arias from the Damna- tion of Faust. Adam (1803-1856) is represented most widely by his anthem, Holy Night, to be found in almost every catalogue. The variations on a theme by Mozart (sung by Guglielmetti for Columbia) and the overture to If I were King (conducted by Blech for Victor) should be added. Thomas (1811-1896) is well represented by the overtures to Raymond (perhaps best in Shilkret’s version) and Mignon (conducted by Stock and many others), and many recorded arias—particu- larly the gavotte, the polonaise, and Connais- tu le pays?—from the latter opera, to be found in every catalogue. Excerpts from Le Caid and Hamlet are less frequent in the American cata- logues, but one might mention those by Stracciari (Columbia) from Hamlet, and the Air du Tam- bour Major from Le Caid sung by Pinza (Victor). Both operas are more liberally represented in the catalogues of the French companies. Gounod (1818-1893) offers an embarrassment of riches, far too extensive for specific listings. Faust is available in the Polydor abridged opera series, but practically every number is available from one company or another. Most of the princi- pal scenes are of course issued in many versions. Romeo et Juliette is well represented, but not to the same extent, and Mireille still less well. The overture to the latter opera might be mentioned, recorded by Cloez for French Odeon. The Funer- al March of a Marionette is conducted by Dr. Hertz for Victor, and there are many recorded examples of Gounod’s popular anthems. Offenbach (1819-1880) has been so brilliantly dealt with in Mr. Hadley’s article, “Offenbach and Opera-Bouffe”, that appeared in the April and May 1929 issues, that I can only add that the recorded examples cited by Mr. Hadley have re- cently been greatly augmented by releases from all the French companies, few of which have yet appeared in this country. Franck (1822-1890), a Belgian by birth, is one of the brightest individual names in the French school, yet his qualities are not those commonly considered as characteristically Gallic, qualities exhibited so beautifully in Couperin and Rameau, and later in Debussy, Faure, Ravel, and Satie.