Gigli sings "O del mio dolce ardor, " from Christoph Willibald Gluck's "Paride ed Elena" 1935

[TomdeArgentina]

your comment is very right!

[EdmundStAustell]

@TomdeArgentina  Thank you very much. I appreciate that.

[SuperLuckydream]

What a splendid artist he was!

[EdmundStAustell]

@SuperLuckydream Thank you very much, my friend. Yes, I agree. I especially like the way the sings ancient arias, in a modern, romantic way which I believe more nearly represents the intentions of the composer.

[neelsdp1]

Thanks for sharing!

[EdmundStAustell]

@neelsdp1 My pleasure. And Happy New Year!

[nog55]

Gigli sings this beautifully perhaps, not strictly 18th century in style but,who cares when it's this good!?

[EdmundStAustell]

@nog55 Thank you. Yes, good point. We are by now so far from the 18th century, that I wonder sometimes how finely we actually understand their traditions. I have often felt, for example, that in some of Gigli's very early songs, such as "Intorno al idol mio," he may be nearer the mark with his lyrical and romantic style than we realize. I have heard songs like that sung by modern scholarly singers who sing like a computer, or a machine, and destroy the heart and soul of the song.

[Ankhsnammon]

@EdmundStAustel

I absolutely agree,Sir....

Nowadays ,,the majority of people have become like mechanic devices.Art,for them,is another computarized issue.

[Ankhsnammon]

@nog55

Who cares?

And...who,amidst us,was living in the XVIIIth century,for to be able of to judge?

[CNoeliaSoprano]

Dios!!! que lentitud!!!! me duermo!!!!!!!!!!!

[Ankhsnammon]

@CNoeliaSoprano

pues vaya usted a correr la maratón

esto es bel canto,por si no lo sabía...

[CNoeliaSoprano]

@Ankhsnammon si se que es canto, soy cantante y tengo la misma aria para cantar, el tempo de eso es mas agitado

[racheleleeba]

My first time to hear this beautiful song, thank you.

[EdmundStAustell]

I am happy that you like it. Gigli recorded a vast amount of material, a significant part of which lies outside the popular operatic "bread and butter" repertoire for which he is best known. I've always felt that he approached old music with a particular inborn sensitivity that revealed a lot about how the music was actually intended to be performed, and a lot about Gigli himself, for that matter.

[alainwilliam]

I love Gigli singing but i will live this kind of melody to his friend Tito Schipa

[EdmundStAustell]

No problem there. Schipa was a wonderful bel canto tenor, one of my very favorites, and you are right....he woud do a wonderful job with this classic aria.

[alainwilliam]

I have on a LP the recording of O del mio dolce ardor by the great tenor Alessandro Bonci

[EdmundStAustell]

Oh, that should be wonderful.! He was such a good tenor. I hope you'll be putting it up on Youtube. Edmund

[alainwilliam]

ok but tomorrow

[meltzerboy]

Gigli's combination of beautiful tone and line, infused with warmth and love, generate a magical performance. Thank you for this gem, Edmund.

[EdmundStAustell]

Thank you, my friend. I have always been fascinated by the sure musical instincts of Gigi, a relatively untutored man. He had a natural, and very sure sense of what it is in any song that makes it work, artistically. I have never gone along wih those who critique his "unsophisticated" approach to old music. The fact that something is old does not mean it is--or ever was--sterile. To a considerable degree, old music of this kind is simply 18th century theater music.