Artists who recorded very well acoustically

[schallplatte]

Sopranos didn't usually come off too well with the acoustic process, though as several others have said, Galli-Curci was a triumphant exception. Two others that came off well were Eleanor Jones-Hudson, and the prolific Maria Michailova.

Chaliapin also comes over splendidly on acoustics, as did his contemporary and competitor, Sibiryakov. I'd also commend the many acoustic discs of the English tenor John Harrison who recorded extensively for G&T/Gramophone Company. Did Victor ever offer any of his recordings to the US public?

Lastly, the baritones Battistini and Ruffo. No effort of imagination is required to understand just how great, in their different ways, these were.

I totally agree with your comments. Chaliapin, Battistini, and Ruffo were captured very well by the acoustic process. Ruffo has a tremendous voice and was very gifted. He along with Caruso are two of my all-time favorites on acoustic disc.

[Wolfe]

Peter Dawson is another. I was listening to an Amberol of his (via YouTube) the other night. Great sound.

Yep, the big basses and baritones were pretty well served.

[Rastus10]

John Mc Cormack recorded great music in the Odeon 11-inch acoustic discs. On Pathé he does not sound as good. He made some well-recorded acoustic Victors as well, but later in the electric era, that started when he was in his 40s, he just sounded different, with a darker voice and more profound interpretations.

Odeon produced the highest quality recordings in the acoustic era, including their Milan-based Fonotipia label. To my ears, there is no Victor, Edison or Columbia that compares in quality.

It's another of my obsessions to try to mark out John McCormack's vocal decline, combined as it is with stylistic changes in singing after the adoption of the microphone.

He did suffer a near-fatal illness in early 1922, and his records from 1922-24 show an ever so slight decline in terms of range, and a slightly darker voice. Comparing his last acoustic session from December 1924 (All Alone and Rose-Marie) to his first two electrical sessions in April 1925, the timbre of his voice and range are the same, as one might expect given only a four month difference, but certain things like taking breaths or the endings of notes that were hidden by the acoustic process are now more evident. Personally, I like that he's still belting out the music, and singing some A-flats, A's and B-flats above the staff, particularly at the end. I have to wonder, though, how he did that pianissimo with the recording horn.

Go forward to October 1925, and he's recording in New York, and I think it's here he recorded henceforth. His voice sounds pinched at times, less golden, and the style of music and that salon-type ensemble seem to make his voice sound more tired. I used to think it was his voice, but I'm convinced the New York set-up didn't do justice to him. Watch concert footage from the 1929 film Song O' My Heart where he needs to project, once again, and his voice doesn't sound as tired as it does on the electric recordings.

Over-analysis, maybe, but I do enjoy how he adapted to his decreased range in terms of improvement of his craft. I wish he'd recorded more at Camden, and maybe did more of his acoustic-era remakes then, when his voice still packed a punch, but that's one person's preference, and I'm grateful for what he did record--although the pop songs after about 1926 just aren't all that great for him.

[CarlosV]

Go forward to October 1925, and he's recording in New York, and I think it's here he recorded henceforth.

[/quote]

Good insight on McCormack's evolution, Rastus. As to the recordings, the discography in the (excellent) http://www.mccormacksociety.co.uk/ shows that he recorded from the late 20's onwards in England, most frequently in the Abbey Road HMV studio. My guess for the changes that his voice underwent is just nature, most male singers change significantly their voice in the late 30s-early 40s, McCormack was not an exception, but as you say he more than made up by adapting his interpretation.

[Rastus10]

Go forward to October 1925, and he's recording in New York, and I think it's here he recorded henceforth.

Good insight on McCormack's evolution, Rastus. As to the recordings, the discography in the (excellent) http://www.mccormacksociety.co.uk/ shows that he recorded from the late 20's onwards in England, most frequently in the Abbey Road HMV studio. My guess for the changes that his voice underwent is just nature, most male singers change significantly their voice in the late 30s-early 40s, McCormack was not an exception, but as you say he more than made up by adapting his interpretation.[/quote]

My apologies about that mistake. I should have said up until early 1930, and when he recorded in the United States, as indeed he did not after that time, except for one trial recording in Hollywood (1931), and of course, the radio broadcasts.

Even the sessions that were held in Liederkranz Hall, New York, seem to lack something compared to those early Camden sides. That could be to my ears alone.

Glad that we are in agreement, otherwise. I love that discography! That was all I had when I started listening to McCormack in college, and the printed discography was hard to find, back then!

[schallplatte]

Another bass singer that recorded well was Jose Mardones. Some of his Victor recordings are really tremendous. Impressive power and volume in these recordings. His voice is huge. He sang at the Met Opera from 1917-1926 and performed in 21 different roles.

”He had the greatest bass voice I ever heard. Nobody could even come close to that sound. It was like the lowest pedal on the pipe organ of a great cathedral - a real basso profondo. He had everything vocally: a huge voice, excellent technique, and a top that could go way up into the baritone range.” - Rosa Ponselle

[Nat]

I just acquired a late Victor acoustic of Journet singing "Wotan's Farewell" - stupendously good sound of both the voice and the orchestra. Really astonishing and almost hard to tell from an electric.

[schallplatte]

I just acquired a late Victor acoustic of Journet singing "Wotan's Farewell" - stupendously good sound of both the voice and the orchestra. Really astonishing and almost hard to tell from an electric.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl83RasqCz8

[Nat]

I just acquired a late Victor acoustic of Journet singing "Wotan's Farewell" - stupendously good sound of both the voice and the orchestra. Really astonishing and almost hard to tell from an electric.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl83RasqCz8

Sounds better on my Victor IV with an Exhibition reproducer & mahogany horn!

[Henry]

Are you sure that this is acoustic? It's not listed in Moses "Collectors' Guide." What is the record number, please?