Collector and discographer William R. Moran was not interested
in cylinders in particular, but because of his interest in opera he assembled
a fine collection of operatic cylinders, many of which are quite rare
and have never been issued in any other format. Some, including the rare
Mary
Garden cylinders, are believed to have been from the collection of
the brother of singer Jean Périer (Debussy's first Pelléas)
and found their way to Mr. Moran's collection through William Hogarth
of Australia. A selection of thirty five operatic cylinders from Mr.
Moran's collection are gathered together for this radio program, featuring
some of the most well known voices of the day and giving a broad representation
of the typical operatic repertoire of 100 years ago, which remains largely
the same today.
These cylinders date primarily from 1906 to 1913, a brief period from
shortly before the four-minute cylinder was introduced (which was much
more suitable for opera) until the gradual decline of cylinders in the
teens as discs became more popular. While opera singers that recorded
primarily on cylinder are much more obscure than their counterparts who
recorded on disc, some do not deserve this status. Singers who also recorded
on disc such as Leo
Slezak and Antonio
Scotti are still well known today. - David Seubert, UC Santa Barbara
Pêcheurs de perles. Je crois entendre encore
/ Georges Bizet. Aristodemo Giorgini, tenor. Edison
Amberol: 30032. 1911.
Luisa Miller. Quando le sere al placido / Giuseppe search.php?queryType=@attr+1=1020&num=1&start=1&query=cylinder1545
Verdi. Alessandro Bonci, tenor. Edison
Royal Purple Amberol: 29005. 1918
Freischütz. Durch die Wälder, durch die
Auen / Carl Maria von Weber. Ernst Kraus, tenor. Edison
Amberol: 15178. 1911.
Juive. Rachel! quand du Seigneur la grâce tutélaire
/ F. Halévy. Paul Dangely, tenor. Edison
Amberol: 17100. 1911.
Bohème. Je suis poète / Giacomo Puccini.
Gaston Dubois, tenor. Edison
Amberol: 17157. 1912.
Cavalleria rusticana. Tu qui Santuzza? / Pietro Mascagni.
Maria Avezza, soprano, Francesco Daddi tenor. Edison
Amberol: 5008. 1909.
Faust. Alerte! alerte! / Gaetano Donizetti. Ida Vaudére,
soprano; M. Gluck, tenor; M. Ragneau, baritone. Cylindres
Edison Moulés Sur Or: 17802. ca 1906.
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Whispering hope - Helen Clark and Harry Anthony. (Edison Blue Amberol: 1518), [1912].