Mapleson Cylinders in TIME

[Lenoirstreetguy]

A while ago we were discussion the Mapleson cylinders and the records of Jean de Reszke. I recalled this article, but it took some digging through my old TIME Magazines to find it. This is one of the earliest press reports of the re-recording of the Mapleson stuff. Its most interesting aspect is the assertion in the footnote that Queen Alexandra had a disc of de Reszke's. It it's true then this would most probably have been a test pressing of one of the Fonotipia sides, which we are pretty sure were recorded and processed before " Darling Jean" as Melba used to call him, decided to veto the issue.
There is also that report that he recorded in the Paris studio of the Gramophone Company, but details on that session are flimsier. One feels like writing the Queen and asking her to check the attic at Sandringham the next time she's up for the weekend.
I've always thought that it was a pity in some ways that those cylinders were transferred for the first time in the late 30's: I suspect the pick up they used was fairly brutal.

Jim

[transformingArt]

"Singing under Water During Hurricane"

What a perfect description for those De Reszke Mapleson cylinders!
(BTW, later Mapleson cylinders from 1902-1903 period sounds very decent sometimes)

Although those De Reszke Mapleson cylinders sounds everything but satisfactory, One can clearly hear the glimpse of quite impressive and powerful voice. I recently got the tape copy of one of those 1937 Mapleson Cylinder dubbings from IRCC, "Echoes of the Golden Age of Opera", and those things sounds generally much better than the later reissues.

Regarding De Reszke's Fonotipias, it appears Robert Bauer used to have one of De Reszke test pressings, before almost all of his magnificent collection got totally smashed by Nazis during the WW2. He managed to save the Marie de Reszke, (Jean's wife) test pressing anyway, and Jean accompanied her with piano on that recording. Well, at least we have a decent recording of De Reszke, the problem is that he didn't say one syllable in that one!

There was also a French collector who claimed to have a De Reszke, and he even provided a label scan which appeared on The Record Collector (Vol.5, No.1, 1950). He even made arrangements with "Societe Francaise de Gramophile" for the possible re-release; which was all turned out to be a total fake. He got a Fonotipia record of Lucien Muratore, scraped off his name from the label, and stamped the new information with same typeface and faked autograph.

By the way, there was a supposed recording of De Reszke on a Wax cylinder found at the estate of Wagner in Bayreuth - it was broadcasted on a French Radio program is even uploaded on YouTube - it is surely an old cylinder recording, but there's no proof whether this is a "Kosher" De Reszke or just a well-made home recording.

I still wish somebody will find a Jean de Reszke record.