Ah! sì, ben mio, por Giacomo Lauri-Volpi

[1401JSC]

Voce, voce, voce.

What about the rhythm? The nuances. The 'portes de voix' marked by Verdi??? Poor Verdi.

[arumtriphyllum79]

Si parla tanto del vibrato di Corelli, ma questo qua non scherza mica. Bela non poco. Quanto alla tecnica mi sembra che si sia esagerato e si continui ad esagerare tributando a questo artista un primato che non merita.

[Cantormatis]

GBS was a perfect idiot when it came to this sort of music. Either someone is a great singer or not; his vibrato is a matter of personal taste. However, the fast vibrato is not a marker of a detestable singer- being a detestable singer is, if you catch my meaning.

[hiyadroogs]

Thank you very much for the information.

[sera1959]

¡Hola!, yo tambien soy fan de Lauri-Volpi y he colocado algunos vídeos , el próximo será la suave fanciula de Bohéme , espero que les eche un vistazo.

[rm946]

This is magnificent. I am a huge Volpi fan but I have not heard this recording before. Clearly it is one of his earliest. What year is it please?

[TrovadorManrique]

I really don't know, but I suppose that it is recorded around 1922. You can perceive the very rapid vibrato and the imperfect vocalization in the high notes, defects that he corrected after 1925.

I will try to find out the exact year and place.

[rm946]

Thank you. 1922 sounds about right. People do criticise Volpi's vibrato, but it is no faster than other great tenors like Bonci, Manurita or De Lucia. Personally I find it very dramatic. Do you have any more recordings of Volpi or contemporaries?

Thanks again.

RM

[TrovadorManrique]

Yes, I have more recordings, and I hope to make more videos soon. There are not many, because Lauri-Volpi, as you surely know, was not friend of the recording studios...

About the vibrato, probably the problem isn't the speed but the high oscillation... after 1925, he diminished the oscillation, making the voice more compact, and increased the squillo: I think that it was still not perfect.

[TrovadorManrique]

Bernar Shaw listened to the sublime voice of Julián Gayarre in certain occasion and said that it remembered a goat to him...

Another example of fast vibrato is the also spanish tenor Hipólito Lazaro, but in my opinion he not reached the technical perfection of Lauri-Volpi.

[rm946]

Some goat! Yes Bernard Shaw did not like Latin tenors very much. He called De Lucia's Almaviva 'perfectly detestable'.

Are you a tenor? I am a baritone, but a student. It's good to meet other singers who admire the old singers. I don't like most modern singers.

[TrovadorManrique]

I am only a fan... I've taken choral singing lessons, but that's all.

The masculine singers have been decades in crisis: there are not basses, tenors want to be baritones, baritones want to be tenors...

I am sure that if you study taking as reference to the old ones, you'll take advantage to your companions!!

[hiyadroogs]

Giampiero, no doubt you've solved the mystery by now, but if not, I can help. I have this recording, - it is on the Brunswick label. Lauri Volpi only recorded with Brunswick from 1923-1926. Since it is an acoustic recording which ended in 1925, then it has to be between 23-25.

[hibyeeee2]

@TrovadorManrique I actually wish he kept the rapid Vibrato I really like it.

[TrovadorManrique]

Ya veo que la partitura se ve fatal: culpa mía, pido disculpas.