British Contralto Clara Butt ~ Rend'il sereno al ciglio (1915-16)

[fiorellahincapie]

dont like her!

[LouisLeeKH]

@fiorellahincapie Then you should go to hospital to check your ears !!!

[Chesterbarnes1]

What a voice, God Bless her memory!

[blahblahblah399]

im doing this song for a recital!

[ilovecollecting]

Does anybody know where I can hear more of her husband singing 'Mr. Rumford'? Thanks.

[rupepill]

By a remarkable coincidence, this singer, who seemed the very personification of the spirit of the British Empire, died in the same week as did her Sovereign, His Majesty King George V and the eminent British novelist and the Poet of the Empire, Rudyard Kipling. An era had ended.

Her rich, immensely powerful voice was heard, on Empire Day, 1927, at an outdoor concert in Hyde Park, contending with (and heard over) the Band of His Majesty's Grenadier Guards and a chorus of 10,000! A great woman

[CurzonRoad]

Amazing coincidence, indeed! Thank you very much for this information.

[rupepill]

Thank you for making available these splendid recordings. for the enjoyment of your viewers.

Faulty memory led me astray in a detail: Dame Clara sang (and was recorded singing) 'Rule Britannia' in the open air concert I mentioned, but she did not actually sing "against" the giant chorus, as my comment wrongly suggested. Nevertheless, hers was indeed a huge voice of beautiful quality, much like the spirit and character of the remarkable woman herself.

[Kievest]

Formidable interpretation...Clara Butt

had a voice that was totally alive from

top to bottom! Her singing had style

and vibrancy and she understood the

majesty in Handel's music and ex-

pressed it with taste and intelligence!

She had a great hour glass figure...

fine photo! Thanks Doug!

[raymo51]

What an utter joy to the ear. As meltzerboy states, no "crashing of the registers", which apparently was always eagerly expected of her by Victorian audiences!

[spannerworks1]

Doug

I am still checking my 78 collection to see if I have a Clara.

Great - warm regards

Richard

[Glenmed]

As so often, meltzerboy encapsulates what I would say, if I were as articulate. A wistful voice calling through the mists of time.  I'm rarely unaffected by hearing it. A very great and wholly distinctive singer. Must come here more often.

[Bivolari]

Imaginatively sung. Great sensitivity in her use of vocal colors. She really was a fine singer.

[meltzerboy]

I agree that Clara Butt is adept at tonal color. Her technique, in general, is excellent, and even her distinct, gear-shifting registers (not necessarily apparent in this recording) are endearing. I just love her voice and singing.

[paulostroff99]

Exceptional! Brava! TY Doug