Phonograph Monthly Review, Vol. 5, No. 5 (1931-02)

February, 1931, Vol. V. No. 5 165 Ezio Pinza (from a caricature by Dr. Ricardo M. Aleman) Bizet: Pescatori di Perle—Del tempio al limitar sung by Dino Borgioli and Gino Vai^elli, and Rossini: II Barbiere di Siviglia—se il mio nome, sung by Dino Borgioli, the first with orchestral accompaniment, the second with harp. Col- umbia 50266 (D12, $1.25). The noted Italian tenor who but recently made his Ameri- can debut at Carnegie Hall appears to advantage in these familiar excerpts. There is a well-routined performance of the air from II Barbiere, while the duet from the Pearl Fish- ers, though obviously benefited by amplification remains a stirring bit of operatic singing. The mechanical reproduc- tion 1 again bespeaks the constant strides Columbia is making in the ultimate perfection of this important feature! R. B. Mozart: Marriage oj Figaro — Crudel, perche finora jarmi, sung in German by Felicie Huni-Mihacsek and Willi Dom- graf-Fassbaender; and The Magic Flute — Oh earn armonia, sung by the same artists and Gerhard Witting and Chorus of The Berlin State Opera. Orchestral accompaniment to both selections by the Berlin State Opera Orchestra, con- ducted by J. Pritwer. Brunswick 90112 (D12, $1.50). Last month Brunswick brought out an American repressing of a Poly dor record of two Mozart airs sung by Felicie Hiini- Mihacsek. This month they follow it by a Mozart duet and trio, in each of which she sings. This, also a re-pressing of a Polydor disc, will increase the debt which music lovers here should feel to the Brunswick company for making available excellent recordings of delightful music sung by European artist probably more expert in its presentation than any com- monly heard in this country. “Crudel! perche finora” is the duet of the Count and Susanna at the opening of Art II .of the Marriage oj Figaro, but the record is in German, and begins with the words “So lang’ hah’ ich geschmachtet.” It is graceful and thoroughly lovely music, made more so by the expression and dramatic quality which Huni-Mihacsek manages to convey even in the record. The Count is sung by Willi Domgraf- Fassbaender whose voice and artistry compare well with hers. The other side contains a section of the Finale to Act I of the Magic Flute. Labelled “Oh cara armonia,” it begins with Pamina (Huni-Mihacsek) and Papageno (Domgraf-Fassbaen- der) singing the German words “Schnelle Fusse, rascher Muth. ’ They call Tamino. who answers with his famous flute. They reioice together only to be checked bv Monostatos (Witting.) They resort to the glockenspiel (which perhaps is not recorded as sharply as it should be, though it makes a charming effect even so) and Monostatos is diverted to singing about the music, beginning “Das klinget so herrlich (Oh cara armonia) . Pamina and Papageno end the selection with a duet in praise of harmony and friendship as the key to happiness.. The record, fragment that it is, conveys none the less with its flute, glockenspiel, and three singers an excellent sample of the great opera from which it comes. As a piece of recording this disc is distinctly good, though from that point of view it is in no way exceptional. For the music it presents, though, it deserves a hearty welcome from record buyers. If it succeeds as it should it is perhaps not too much to hope that the Bruns- wick company will follow it with others of the same sort a Utopian prospect well worth striving for. K. B. M. Choral Wagner: Die Meistersinger — Sorgiam! (Procession of the Mastersingers) and Ponchielli: La Gioconda: Marinaresca, sung in Italian by the Chorus of the La Scala Theatre, Milan, with orchestra. Columbia 50268-D (D12, $1.25). The Marinaresca is a sort of chanty, sung by the sailors (supposedly through speaking-trumpets) at the beginning of the second act of La Gioconda. The La Scala chorus does not seem up to its usual standard, nor is the recording very satisfactory. The performance is vigorous, but often quite coarse in quality. The other side contains the “Wlach* auf-Chor” in Italian. It seems rather unnecessary to go to Italy for this when it could be done so much better elsewhere. It is quite lacking in the proper refinement and delicacy of phrasing and sung throughout in a more or less rollicking manner which be- comes, at the salute to the masters, quite boisterous. The disc will appeal most to those who prefer Italianate perform- ances even of Wagnerian operas. Maori Music A Fishing Chanty, arranged by the Rt. Rev. F. A. Bennett and Two Marching Songs arranged by P. Tomoana and the Hon. Sir A. Ngata. LL.B., sung by the Coro Rotorua Moari. Columbia 2067-M (DIO, $1.00). Arise and Av Maori Love-song sung by the Coro Rotorua Moari. Columbia 2068-M (D10,. $1.00). I must confess that these selections strike me as having been arranged so much that they here lost most of their original character. This is particularly true of the two march- ing songs which sound life ordinary popular songs in almost every respect except the quality of the voices. In the second record, however, there is a certain hauntingly sensuous quality which makes them more interesting. Still, how- ever, the harmonies and modulations—whether due to an arranger or not—make it difficult for the music to rise above the commonplace, interesting as it is as an example of rarely heard music from Maori. Light Orchestral Tchaikowsky (arr. Sear) : Chant Sans Paroles, and de Ber- iot (arr. Sear) : Scene de Ballet, played by the J. H. Squire Celeste. Columbia 50271-D (D12, $1.25). The Squire Octet is frankly purveying material that will please the so-called man in the street, but its firm, animated, and refreshingly unemotionalized performances of even such light music as Tchaikowsky’s popular melody and de Ber- iot’s neat little ballet piece place its work on a plane far above that of the usual salon ensemble. Altogether a good example of musicianly treatment of lighter music. Waldteufel: Love and Spring Waltz, and Romberg: May- time — Medley WaUz, played by Nat Shilkret and the Vic- tor Orchestra. Victor 36030 (D12, $1.25). A characteristic Waldteufel waltz coupled with a Romberg medley, both performances projected in Shilkret’s customary forcible, somewhat unresilient style, and orchestrated in mod- erate salon-jazz idiom. Gounod (Arr. from Bach): Ane Maria and Schubert: Ave Maria, opus 52 No. 6 played by the Victor Concert Orches- tra, conducted by Rosario Bourdon. Victor 36029, (D12, $1.25). The inseparable Ave Marias are played in about the sweet sentimental fashion which one would expect. A harp and bells are prominent in the Gounod, a piano in the Schubert. Band Moszkowski (arr. Sommer) : Tarantelle (Italian scene from the series “From Foreign Parts”, Op. 23), and Krier-Helmer : L R£vc Passe , played by the B. B. C. Wireless Military Band under the direction of B. Walton O’Donnell. Colum- bia 50272-D (D12, $1.25). The Krier-Helmer piece is an energetic military march, played here forcibly enough but with little thought to tonal refinement. The Tarantelle performance, while hardly pol- ished. is eciuallv spirited and considerably neater turned. The recording is likewise vigorous and a trifle coarse, but. the record should please with its liberal endowment of anima- tion. o. C. 0.