Lanza Sings Tosti
Derek McGovern
affinity with the music of De Curtis. Another Italian composer to whom
he often returned was, of course, Francesco Paolo Tosti
(1846-1916). In addition to the Neapolitan songs Marechiare and 'A
Vucchella (which he usually sang in concert), he recorded five
other Tosti numbers in June 1959 for his Caruso Favorites album:
-Luna d'Estate (in Italian)
-L'Alba Separa dalla Luce l'Ombra (in Italian)
-Pour un Baiser (in French)
-La Mia Canzone (in Italian)
-Ideale (in Italian)
Lyrics and translations for all five are available here:
http://www.mariolanzatenor.com/caruso-favorites-lyrics-and-english-translations.html
Yesterday, Jan and I were expressing our love of Lanza's Ideale. There
are some other fine performances here too - and no duds as far as I'm
concerned (though Mario is struggling somewhat on the second half of
La Mia Canzone). Actually, I've often wished that, like Carreras,
Lanza had recorded an all-Tosti album - say, one with Ferrara around
the time of the 1958 "Mario!" album. While I'm less fond of *some* of
the perennial Tosti favourites such as Goodbye, L'Utima Canzone and
Serenata, I love many of this composer's more reflective songs as
Malia, Non T'amo Piu' and Chanson de l'Adieu - all of which would have
suited Lanza, I feel. But of the Tosti numbers that he *did* record,
it would be interesting to read members' opinions. (I'll share mine a
little later on.)
am...@ruc.dk
ordered it today, so I'll get it soon, I hope. But I heard Mario's
'Ideale' on Grandi Tenori and his 'L'alba separa dalla luce l'ombra'
on Youtube. Both songs are very beautiful, and I like them very much.
But I do think 'L'alba separa dalla luce l'ombra' suits Mario's
singing stile a little better than 'Ideale'. I have only known
'Ideale' for about two month, so I don't know how it 'should' be sung,
but I think the way Jussi Björling sang it (more soft and calmly,
almost 'dreamy'-like, especially in his 1960 concert rendition) suits
the sentiment of the song better. I think Mario gives it a little too
much force, but never the less it's fabulous, just not to 'dot the i',
imo.
Looking forward to receiveing the CD and hearing the other songs too.
Ann-Mai
On 29 Okt., 02:35, "Derek McGovern" <derek.mcgov...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Recently, on the Neapolitan Song thread, I mentioned Lanza's memorable
> affinity with the music of De Curtis. Another Italian composer to whom
> Mario often returned was, of course, Francesco Paolo Tosti
> (1846-1916). In addition to the Neapolitan songs Marechiare and 'A
> Vucchella (which Lanza usually sang in concert), he recorded five
> other Tosti numbers in June 1959 for his Caruso Favorites album:
>
> -Luna d'Estate (in Italian)
> -L'Alba Separa dalla Luce l'Ombra (in Italian)
> -Pour un Baiser (in French)
> -La Mia Canzone (in Italian)
> -Ideale (in Italian)
>
> (Lyrics and translations for all five are in our Pages section under
> "Caruso Favorites".)
Derek McGovern
undoubtedly suited him, I find Lanza's rendition more haunting, and if
you can get your hands on the sheet music, you'll find that he sings
it (for once!) exactly as written. Mario's voice has been described as
"ethereal" here, and of course the fact that he had only four months
to live makes this rendition all the more poignant. (Though you could
say the same thing about Bjorling's 1960 version too, I guess.) I'll
come back to this recording when I have more time!
By the way, good to hear that you're buying the Caruso Favorites
album! It's not quite in the same class as the Mario! album, but it's
a very fine collection nonetheless.
am...@ruc.dk
I didn't know 'Ideale' actually was written the way Mario sang it -
interesting!
Another thing I came to think of: maybe I really can't compare Mario's
and Björling's renditions, in that their timbre was so different.
Björling's voice was lighter and more 'delicate' than the darker and
more powerful voice of Mario, right? So, naturally the results would
be somewhat different - and of cause both are wonderful in their own
ways. And, 'Idelale' is a beautifully written song.
Ann-Mai
Ps. I have just noticed that I misspelled the word 'style' in my
previous post, but it looks like you got my meaning anyway. :-)
Jan Hodges
|
I have not heard Bjorling's Ideale so I can't compare his version with Mario's version but this song is one of my favourites. Firstly there is the beautiful orchestral accompaniment and then there is Mario's very restrained and gentle singing which shows off the beauty of his later voice with its velvety dark coloured tones. There is no "over the top" singing and no "Marioisms"...just the expression of a gentle heartfelt longing. Then there is the beautiful diminuendo on the last phrase ,particularly the last "Torna" Sighhhhhhh!!! I just melts my heart.
Jan
PS Did I do this post right Derek? Huh ?Did it go to the right thread???? LOL | |||
|
|
Derek McGovern
that your post came through on the right thread this time! Well done!
:-))
I think this might be a good time to reproduce the lyrics of this great song:
Io ti seguii come'iride di pace
Lungo le vie del cielo;
Io ti seguii come un'amica face
De la notte nel velo.
E ti senti ne la luce, ne l'aria,
Nel profumo dei fiori;
E fu piena la stanza solitaria di te,
dei tuoi splendori.
In te rapito,
al suon de la tua voce
Lungamente sognai,
E de la terra ogni affanno, ogni croce
In quel giorno scordai.
Torna, caro ideal,
torna un istante
A sorridermi ancora,
E a me risplenderà nel tuo sembiante
Una novell'aurora.
... una novell'aurora.
Torna, caro ideal, torna, torna!
I followed you like a rainbow of peace
along the paths of heaven;
I followed you like a friendly torch
in the veil of night,
and I sensed you in the light, in the air,
in the perfume of the flowers,
and the lonely room was filled with
with your radiance.
Captivated by you
For a long time I dreamt
of the sound of your voice,
and the earth's every anxiety, every torment
I forgot that day.
Come back, dear ideal,
for an instant
to smile at me again,
and in your face will shine for me
a new dawn.
...a new dawn
Come back, dear ideal, come back, come back!
Exquisite words, aren't they?
Ann-Mai's right about the difficulty in comparing Bjorling's version
with that of Lanza. It's not just that their respective timbres are so
different - Mario also sings this in a lower key. (In fact, it's the
only time he ever sang a song transposed *down*; in his earlier days,
in particular, it was often the opposite case.) He's in true baritone
territory here, and yet - surprisingly - he chooses not to take the
optional high note (only an F sharp, I think - Armando will correct me
if I'm wrong) on the first "aurora". I wonder why that was? The note
would have been a cinch for him compared with all the As and B-flats
elsewhere on the album (most of which he sings impressively), so he
obviously didn't omit it because of any difficulty with his upper
register that day. My hunch is that he simply decided that the high
note wouldn't add anything to the song.
In any case, the baritonal depth in his voice is stunning - and so
appropriate in the line "De la notte nel velo" (in the veil of night).
Few tenors have sounded as impressive in their lower registers as
Lanza does here. Other memorable moments for me are the sensitivity
with which he takes the lines "Torna, caro ideal, torna un istante/A
sorridermi ancora" and the very musical way he sings the second "una
novell'aurora". Equally impressive is the ending, where again he
follows Tosti's instructions to the letter with his "quasi parlando"
(almost speaking) "Torna...torna" (Come back..come back). Magical
stuff.
Interestingly, when Caruso Favorites was reissued in Italy in the
1980s, it was with the title Torna, Caro Ideal. (And the Mario! album
was reissued as Celebri Canzoni Napoletane.) Perhaps the person
responsible for renaming it appreciated the fact that Ideale was one
of the indisputable highlights of this disc? Whatever the reason, it's
a most appropriate title for Lanza's most haunting album.
Muriel
shall call a feast of Lanza/Tosti Treats! Oh, I stopped to include a
few rounds of Bjorling's Carnegie Hall concert, singing, Ideale and
L'Alba Separa Dalla Luce L'Ombra as well. It is difficult to compare
Jussi's live concert with Mario's recording studio work, and, perhaps,
not fair as well.
After a couple of times hearing the Bjorling songs, I have no desire
to revisit them. His voice is wonderful, but I think he is just
singing the songs and, at times, seems to be rushing through to get on
to the next piece. His legato is definitely not seamless, especially
in Ideale, which is distracting to me. Hmmm, his Italian isn't the
most convincing either - am I spoiled? I'll leave him alone now...
Mario's reading of this song shows he doesn't have to prove anything
to anyone. His phrasing, his superb breath control, his natural
sensitivity to the lyrics, all are wonderfully combined with his now
mostly baritonal tone to make this a classic recording. Mario doesn't
just sing, he *inhabits* it from start to finish.
Yes, the lyrics are exquisite, Derek. I agree with your highlighted
passages too. I would also like to bring attention to these lines: "E
ti senti ne la luce, ne l'aria, nel profumo dei fiori; E fu piena la
stanza solitaria di te, dei tuoi splendori." Without becoming overly
loud, he crescendos effectively punctuating an important idea and then
returns to his original softer sound. He's saying, "...and I sensed you
in the light, in the air, in the perfume of the flowers, and the
lonely room was filled with your radiance." You can very well hear
how he makes these words come alive, how his mood is elevated at the
memory of his love's presence in the room. Now, do you see why I
love his eloquent interpretations? If this isn't touching, then I am
lost to find a better example!
I also love the way he doesn't rush on both "aurora"s. They are
beautifully articulated and molto dolce. I wouldn't change the last
line at all, as its quiet appeal is most effectively conveyed by the
half-spoken fading on "torna, torna".. I have to pause a moment
before I can breathe again.
This song is best heard on the Encore 2 CD set - terrific sound!!
Armando
What a magnificent description you gave of Ideale!
I'm very familiar with this song as it's one of the very first that I
learned when I was studying singing and have sung it a number of
times. Believe it or not Lanza sings it in the same key that I used to
sing it in, G, and exactly as written.
He sings an E on 'aurora' instead of the optional G.
Derek McGovern
hear you sing this song!
Muriella: I couldn't agree more about the way Mario takes the line "E
ti senti ne la luce, ne l'aria, nel profumo dei fiori". This part
*should* be "elevated", as you say - in fact, from memory (and it's
been years since I last looked at the sheet music), I think Tosti had
written "affrettando" (hurrying) at this point, or something similar.
A couple of other things: I love the way Mario lightens his voice on
the first "torna" - it's a very wistful effect. Then there's the
beautiful diminuendo on "ideal" in the same line. And we shouldn't
forget to praise the arranger on this song (possibly Baron) or the
orchestra, for that matter - and, yes, Baron himself. There's a very
nice horn solo in the middle that provides a nice contrast to the
violins, and the orchestra gives good support to Lanza with their
appropriately hushed playing during the final phrases.
Armando
is marked crescendo and switches to affrettando from 'luce nell'aria"
Then, con anima from "E fu piena."
The first "torna", where he lightens, is marked pianissimo and he
finishes with "torna. torna" parlato, just as in the score.
There's no arrangements for Ideale, Santa Lucia, Musica Proibita, and
Lolita. The remaining songs were arranged by either Baron, or
Morricone, Pour un basier by Nadin.
I love both the conducting and orchestra on these songs, and although
Lanza sounds heavy and even coarse at times due to his physical
condition, the artist singing here has come a long way compared to the
one on the overblown CC sessions.
It really boils down to working in the right artistic environment,
learning the pieces properly, rehearsing, and most importantly, having
a competent conductor in charge of the proceedings.
As for hearing me sing Ideale, Derek, I'd be lucky if I can reach E
these days, let alone G!
Lover of Grand Voices
which are beautiful and show the evolution of Mario's voice that you
have written about. Imagine if he began a new series of recordings
with this darker, richer and more interesting voice that seemed so
mellow and passionate. It had the sharpness of his past with the warm
maturity of a tenor who had perfected his delivery and control.
Armando and you have both analyzed this and we could all benefit from
your wisdom.
I would also like to open a new thread of thought about one of my
favorite pieces of Mario's Neapolitan repertoir. I believe he first
recorded "Core n'grato" at the Hollywood Bowl. I believe the
recording is dramatic and wonderful. You may not agree with me about
this and our friends may have another view but his second vocalization
of "core n'grato" in this song I believe is the most passionate I have
ever heard. Please comment.
Regards
Emilio
Derek McGovern
actually been discussed here quite recently, but on a different thread
("Mario's boo-boos"). Lanza's earlier recording of this song is not
from the Hollywood Bowl - it's actually from his first commercial
recording session in May 1949. You'll find comments on that version in
the "Great Neapolitan Song Thread". I much prefer the 1949 rendition,
though I agree with you that the 1952 version is certainly passionate!
Since the current discussion thread relates to Mario's Tosti
recordings, I suggest you post any comments about the 1952 Core
'Ngrato under the "Mario's Boo-Boos" thread instead. Lou and others
have written some interesting comments there about this recording.
Derek McGovern
"I love both the conducting and orchestra on these songs, and although
Lanza sounds heavy and even coarse at times due to his physical
condition, the artist singing here has come a long way compared to the
one on the overblown CC sessions."
Caro Armando: Yes, there is an element of coarseness in Lanza's timbre
on some of the Caruso Favorites - L'Alba Separa dalla Luce l'Ombra and
Lolita, for example. (I have a hunch these were both recorded on the
same day, incidentally.) But I wonder to what extent this is
exaggerated by the poor recording quality? On the best-recorded tracks
on this album (Pour un Baiser, Vaghissima Sembianza, Ideale, etc),
Mario may still sound a little heavy, but the coarseness is
essentially absent.
Curiously, in fact, it's really only the Baron-conducted recordings of
1959 that feature that coarseness. If you go straight from something
like Thoughts Will Come To Me, which is one of the highlights of The
Student Prince of April 1959, to Mario's One Alone from his session
with Callinicos of four months later, the difference in Lanza's timbre
is quite startling. The bloom is back in Mario's voice on the latter.
But significantly perhaps, the sound quality itself is also much
better.
I do wish that the 2-CD Encore set, which boasts superior sound on all
five of the Caruso Favorites that it includes (Ideale - as Muriella
has mentioned - plus Vieni Sul Mar, Musica Proibita, Santa Lucia, and
Serenata) had also featured L'Alba Separa.
Armando
recording quality of Mario's final recordings, however as I have
stated a number of times in the past, the heaviness of the voice was
not due to a natural darkening which comes with aging and with
constant singing. Mario was only 37/38 and prior to the 1958 concert
tour had not sung regularly on the stage for 7 years.
In other words it was not a gradual process of the voice maturing, but
rather the result of the punishment its owner was inflicting on his
body. A voice cannot change dramatically in the course of a mere six
months as Mario's did from June 1957, when he recorded the SHOR
soundtrack, to that of the January 1958 London concert, nor can it
become lighter again as it does on the Desert Song numbers recorded in
August 1959.
I can go back further, to 1955 and the recordings for Serenade made
after 3 years of almost total inactivity and bouts of heavy drinking.
As much as we like the darker sound and superior singing of, say, the
Otello Monologue, the voice is much too dark for things like the
Arlesiana aria, magnificently sung by the way, and even Nessun Dorma,
not so magnificently sung. Nowhere is the heaviness more evident than
in the released take of the title song with the out of focus final
high C, which I am convinced a more lyric Lanza could have handled
with ease.
A mere 14 months later the voice is considerably lighter as witnessed
in the Cavalcade selections.
A voice, like a violin or a piano, is an instrument and it needs the
best possible encasing in order to produce the best sound. The
encasing for a singer is the body, which has to be in optimal
condition or else there will be serious repercussions on the voice.
In Mario's case the vocal changes parallel the crises and traumatic
moments that were afflicting him in his later years.
I am totally convinced that had he pulled himself together and
restored his health, the voice we would have heard in 1960 would have
been closer to that of the Cavalcade album in 1956. After all, the
voice was not damaged. Unlike Callas, just to cite an example, Lanza
had not done enough singing to damage it but, as we all know, his
physical condition was another matter.
> On 11/2/07, Derek McGovern <derek.mcgov...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Buon giorno, Emilio: the 1952 (Coca-Cola Radio Show) Core 'Ngrato has
> > actually been discussed here quite recently, but on a different thread
> > ("Mario's boo-boos"). Lanza's earlier recording of this song is not
> > from the Hollywood Bowl - it's actually from his first commercial
> > recording session in May 1949. You'll find comments on that version in
> > the "Great Neapolitan Song Thread". I much prefer the 1949 rendition,
> > though I agree with you that the 1952 version is certainly passionate!
>
> > Since the current discussion thread relates to Mario's Tosti
> > recordings, I suggest you post any comments about the 1952 Core
> > 'Ngrato under the "Mario's Boo-Boos" thread instead. Lou and others
> > have written some interesting comments there about this recording.
>
Derek McGovern
that the premature darkening of Mario's voice (off and on from 1955
onwards) was largely - if not completely - due to his erratic
lifestyle. And as you point out, it was not a permanent darkening.
There were periods when Lanza could still sound relatively lyric,
e.g., for example, on the November 1957 Rome sessions and at London
Palladium later that month. But I do find it strange that he sounds
more lyric in August 1959 than at any other time that year; after all,
he was recovering from pneumonia at the time & he was arguably in the
worst physical shape of his life. On that basis, you'd expect him to
sound very dark here. And yet his timbre on many of The Desert Song
tracks is more akin to the Mario of yore. Yes, he's undeniably tired
most of the time, but there are still hints of the old magic.
Then again, if the occasional harshness (or raspiness) we hear in 1959
was due not so much to health problems as it was to sustained periods
of heavy drinking, then possibly Mario wasn't imbibing as much around
July-August as he had been earlier that year during the sessions with
Baron. That would then explain the lighter timbre.
In any event, it's fascinating to hypothesize about these things!
Yes, you're probably right that had Mario been able to pull himself
together both physically and mentally, in 1960 he might well have
sounded as he does on the 1956 Cavalcade album. A richer, fuller voice
than during the Coke period, but still with the bloom and that
brilliant top. I've always thought that one of the glories of the
Cavalcade album is that he sounds as though none of the excesses and
heartbreaks of his MGM bust-up and other setbacks had ever happened.
It's simply Lanza four years on from the soundtrack of The Student
Prince - and indeed *sounding* no more than four years older! He's in
glorious vocal shape. But with Caruso Favorites, on the other hand, he
sounds significantly older than his years. That doesn't take anything
away from his great achievements on this album, of course.
Armando
But I do find it strange that he sounds
more lyric in August 1959 than at any other time that year; after all,
he was recovering from pneumonia at the time & he was arguably in the
worst physical shape of his life. On that basis, you'd expect him to
sound very dark here. And yet his timbre on many of The Desert Song
tracks is more akin to the Mario of yore. Yes, he's undeniably tired
most of the time, but there are still hints of the old magic.
I can understand your being puzzled, Derek, as indeed am I since
according to old "reliable" Callinicos Mario was drinking heavily at
the time of the Desert Song recording sessions. However, even under
normal circumstances the voice can sometime undergo changes.
The one exception seems to have been Bjorling, whose voice didn't
alter noticeably throughout his career regardless of the fact that he
was an alcoholic.
Balletamie
you that in both The Desert Songs and the J. Bjorling situation. Now-a-
days no many people refer to him as a heavy drinker he was, but all
over internet we can find references about Mr. Lanza to be one: who
can bear all the heavy situations that faced Mario in the US! I deeply
believe that his emotional problems should be completely finished and
forgotten as soon as he would finally became a tenor under contract in
an Opera House with a more peaceful stile of life.
Don't you think that in deed he loved to perform those recording
sessions? As they were more than "songs" but part of an operetta, so
it was a character to be played, a common "leitmotiv" to develop? Also
a whole musical production shared with "other" professionals singers
as him: Judith Ruskin, Donald Arthur, and Raymond Murcell. Some how I
feel that encouraged and gave hope to his "opera" soul to be PART of
the session and not only HE and his talent to face it all. In the
other hand those same operettas - The Desert Song(1953) & The Vagabond
King (1955) - were performed in screen-movie by we know who, then a
double challenge to overcome and the "hints of the old magic" needed
to appear, as the big artist be was.
(Hope to be well understood and nothing but my heart speaking, I am
not a professional on the voice fields)
Regards, Graciela Dal Zovo.
Armando
existence had he been under contract with an opera house is well
made.
Mario Lanza longed to be recognised as a legitimate opera singer. His
dream and greatest ambition was to perform in all the major theatres.
But it's extremely difficult once you are world famous to start not
only a new career, but also an entirely different life regime. Because
of his enormous fame and controversial film career he would have been
under gigantic scrutiny from the media, critics, and section of the
public alike, just waiting for his smallest mistake in order to shoot
him down in flames. However, I believe that such was the magnitude of
his talent that had he pulled himself together, stopped drinking, and
prepared thoroughly whatever role he was going to sing in an opera
house, he would have been sensational. But let's not forget that Mario
was oversensitive and easily hurt. The mere thought of not living up
to expectations would have destroyed him. And herein laid his dilemma,
wanting desperately to be accepted as a great opera singer, while at
the same time being afraid of taking that first step.
Had Hollywood not intervened he would have gone on to fulfil his
destiny and become one of the greatest singers in the annals of opera.
I have no doubt whatsoever about it.
His erratic lifestyle and heavy drinking were simply the result of his
great ambition remaining unfulfilled, his way of escaping from the sad
reality of the moment.
It is difficult enough to perform on the stage when you are relatively
unknown. Stage fright is pretty much universal, the more famous one
becomes the bigger the pressure to continue performing at a high
level, hence the drinking, as in the case of Bjorling and many, many,
others.
Graciela, you have an Italian surname, where are your parents
originally from?
> > > away from his great achievements on this album, of course.- Hide quoted text -
>
> > - Show quoted text -
Derek McGovern
favourite songs by this composer: Pour un Baiser (For a Kiss).
Pour un baiser sur ta peau parfumee,
pour un baiser dans l'or de tes cheveux
recois mon ame toute, o bien-aimee!
Tu comblerais l'infini de mes voeux...
Par un baiser!
Pour un baiser distille dans tes levres,
profond, tenace et lent comme un adieu,
souffrir le mal d'amour, et de ses fievres bruler,
languir et mourir peu a peu...
dans un baiser!
For a kiss on your scented skin,
for a kiss amidst the gold of your hair,
accept my whole soul, oh beloved!
You would fill the infinity of my wishes...
with a kiss!
For a pure kiss in your lips,
deep, tenacious and slow like an adieu,
to suffer love-sickness and to burn with its fever,
to languish and to die, little by little...
in a kiss!
I find Lanza's recording of this song almost as memorable as his
Ideale. Of course, both renditions feature that same astonishing
baritonal depth - that "other-wordly" quality, as a friend once
described it. It's a burnished sound that somehow manages to be both
haunting and immensely satisfying at the same time. Given the vocal
similarity between Pour Un Baiser and Ideale - not to mention the fact
that they're almost the only reasonably well-recorded tracks on the
entire Caruso Favorites album - I say "reasonably" because there's
still distortion present - it's a fair guess that they both date from
the same session. It'd be nice to know for sure, though, just as it
would be nice to know the order in which the other Caruso Favorites -
and the Mario! album tracks, for that matter - were recorded. (Why are
the recording details for all of Lanza's Italian recordings so
sketchy?!)
I was jolted by the baritonal quality on Pour un Baiser recently when
I happened to turn on my car stereo and this was the first song that
came on. Heard in isolation like that, the depth in Mario's middle and
lower registers here is really quite startling.
But what of his singing? Well, in the first instance, this is an
unusually restrained Lanza. Perhaps hampered by the fact that he's
clearly not very comfortable with French, his phrasing isn't as good
here as it is on Ideale. There's not quite the same attention to
detail. In fact, I'd have to concede that, overall, he's slightly
pedestrian (by his standards) in his approach. That is until "dans un
baiser", which is simply one of Lanza's loveliest endings to a song in
his entire recorded legacy. The way that he "floats" the phrase so
delicately recalls the voice of the much-younger Mario. I find this
very moving: it's like the vocal equivalent of the slow movement in
Elgar's Cello Concerto when for just a moment time seems to stand
still.
Lou
waits in vain for the visceral punch one has come to expect from a
Lanza rendition of a love song as overtly passionate as Pour un
baiser. Perhaps Mario decided this time that an intensely emotional
delivery, combined with the somewhat over-the-top lyrics (the singer
aspires to die while kissing his beloved!), would translate to a
schmaltzy performance. At any rate, I agree that his exquisite,
airborne "dans un baiser" at the end of the song is (no pun intended)
to die for.
Derek McGovern
Balletamie) and is in response to Armando's comments (below).
The surname sure is Italian, from the very same
town north Italy Zovo, between Gambugliano and Costabissara, coming
from
Verona just next to Vicenza, nearest known cities are Padova and of
course Venezia by the Adriatic Sea.
Yes Armando I'm with you about that first step,
at that time in his life would be a great fire probe, and
expectations would be well achieve, if health reestablished. I know we
should be speaking about Tosti, (I will participate on that treat,
too)
but let me tell you this: we all know he could "bring down the
house", or the theatre. Probably some Hollywood press would make
critic
statements but as far as I read he seemed to be most beloved in Italy.
There's a New York Times good review of his last
film, I'll upload if it's of any use. (I need to buy a biographic book
immediate.) There was a TV broadcast by Ed Sullivan where Mario did
speak out those engagements for season '60-61? Could you send me
advice mail with name of book convenience to get. Thanks so much!
> > > - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -
Armando
Beautiful song, beautifully sung.
I don't find anything wrong with the phrasing, restrained, yes, but
appropriately so. As for Lanza's French, it's no worse than Caruso's,
who's French wasn't at all bad, and a lot better than either Del
Monaco or Corelli.
The ending, as Derek pointed out, is sublime!
For me this is Lanza at his best, artistically and vocally.
Derek McGovern
the song that I find Mario's phrasing slightly pedestrian compared
with his usual standard. I realise that the piece calls for a
restrained approach, but to me he's just a little too "straight-faced"
on, say, "sur ta peau parfumee" ("on your scented skin") and "Tu
comblerais l'infini de mes voeux" ("You would fill the infinity of my
wishes"). It would be hard to imagine him singing such poetic lines in
English or Italian, and not employing his customary magic on their
phrasing. But again I emphasise that I'm only comparing Mario with
himself - or a Lanza in healthier times.
You won't find me quibbling over the second half of the song, though.
I forgot to mention in my earlier post how much I love his handling of
"souffrir le mal d'amour" ("to suffer lovesickness") and the touching
melancholy in the way he sings "profond, tenace et lent comme un
adieu".
And on a note of trivia:
I've always been aware of what sounds like a splice after "par un
baiser" at the end of the first half. Have other members noticed this?
It makes me wonder if Mario redid the second half because he wasn't
happy with his original ending. If so, we're lucky that he did! But
given how short the song is, it's odd that he didn't simply start
over. A similar thing happens on Lolita from the same album: there's
an edit just before the first "Ah Vien", near the beginning of the
song. Or perhaps it merely sounds that way! One can never be sure of
*anything* with the technical aspects of Lanza's 1959 recordings,
given the weird echo on some tracks, bizarre boxed-in sound on things
like Gaudeamus Igitur, and other strange goings-on on the part of the
Cinecitta' studio engineers. On my stereo LP (not the CD) of Caruso
Favorites, there's even a cut-off voice at the end of Ideale (very
audible on headphones) that may have been Mario's. (It sounds like a
"Yep".) Bizarre!
Armando
he had employed the same restraint on some of the overblown CC
numbers!
Must listen to those splices when I get a chance.
am...@ruc.dk
and I've spent the better part of the evening listening to it.
Oh my! I got the infamous 'Pineapple Pickers' lol. But it is not as
bad as the word has it, although not quite Mario's genre.
Anyway, I'm glad I bought it - it's a great album. Of the Caruso
Favourites, my favourite is still 'L'Alba Separa Dalla Luce L'Ombra',
but I also liked the other ones, 'Luna D'Estate' in particular. It's a
very good song and the ending is wonderful. In the first verse
however, it sounds like Mario is a little short of breath now and
then. Is this right or are my ears deluding me?
Derek, the splice you are talking about in 'Pour un baiser' is in the
orchestra part, right? If yes, then I hear it clearly. The clarinet
(?) seems to be cut of a note, right?
But I don't hear anything out of the ordinary in Lolita. Well, there
seems to be a second of silence before the first 'Ah Vien', but it is
so short that it could pass as a natural pause, I think. Speaking of
Lolita - it is great, but I like the '7 Hills' rendition a little
better. The pauses he is doing here in the line 'come fai (pause)
Lolita?' and again in 'Ti vo' baciar, (pause) baciar' has a fantastic
effect.
Ann-Mai
> > > still.- Skjul tekst i anførselstegn -
>
> - Vis tekst i anførselstegn -
Derek McGovern
audio quality on the For the First Time selections is somewhat "sandy"
- particularly on Vesti la Giubba and O Sole Mio, both of which suffer
in comparison with the much richer sound we hear in the actual film.
(Speaking of which, do you have this movie on video?)
I don't mind Pineapple Pickers in the context of the movie (great
B-flat at the end too!), but it's an odd thing to have sitting
alongside Vesti la Giubba or the Otello Death Scene :-) It's
interesting that the English release of the original For the First
Time LP omitted Pineapple Pickers (perhaps because it was too trite
for English tastes in the opinion of RCA UK?), replacing it with the
rather laboured La Donna e' Mobile, which as never released on LP in
the US (or on CD anywhere). But a far more sensible idea would have
been for RCA to forget about both La Donna e' Mobile *and* Pineapple
Pickers, and release the magnificent little trio from Cosi' Fan Tutte
- E Voi Ridete - instead.
Of the Caruso Favorites, I like Luna d'Estate, though not as much as
some of the other selections. I find his voice just little too heavy
here for such a light little number; to me, this song cries out for a
more lyric, youthful sound. He sings it well, though. As for his being
a little short of breath here, I actually find it's only near the end
of the song where this seems to happen (at the end of the second Luna
d'Estate). But it's only a small thing.
Yes, the splice I'm talking about on Pour un Baiser is the clumsy edit
we hear in the orchestral bit between verses. Of course, it may have
been the orchestra - not Mario - who goofed here and required a
retake!
As for the splice on Lolita, next time you listen to the beginning,
take note of how the sound changes abruptly after the edit. It begins
as if Lanza is muffled by lots of cotton wool - he's all blocked up -
then suddenly the wool is removed. I'm sure it's an edit, but if I'm
right. they should have simply gone back to the beginning and redone
the whole number. What a racket the orchestra makes on this song, by
the way! They're particularly noisy at the end: too much so for my
ears :-)
Although Mario's a little tired here (noticeably on the high note,
which he finishes as quickly as he can), I still prefer this rendition
to the one he recorded for Seven Hills of Rome two years earlier. But
Lanza's best Lolita (of the four that he recorded), for me, is
definitely his 1949 version.
When I have more time, I'd love to discuss L'Alba Separa with you.
am...@ruc.dk
before when I saw the film, but like you said, it somehow fits fine in
the picture, so I didn't notice it that much until I heard it on the
CD. Here it does make somewhat of a funny contrast to the following
arias. And I agree with you, that the sound quality of the CD isn't
that good. I had to turn down the volume the first time I listened to
it.
I did notice the suddenly clearer sound in Lolita, but I thought it
was only bad sound engineering as the quality is a bit uneven
throughout the CD, but maybe you are right in thinking it's a splice.
And yes, it is a very noisy orchestra lol.
There are 4 versions of this song? I think I have only heard the two I
have mentioned here.
Regarding 'Luna d'Estate', I am not very good at imagine how other
voice types would fit a song, if I have not heard it, but I do
recognize the song from somewhere else, but I don't recall from where
or whom I could have heard sing it besides Mario. Hmm, it is bit early
for a weak memory, isn't it? Lol.
What I meant by Mario sounding short of breath was, that he takes a
breath in the middle of a sentence, between the words 'cantando' and
'tutta' and again between 'mia' and 'febbre' in the first verse. I
don't know much about breathing techniques but it sounds a bit abrupt
to me. But of cause, he maybe did it intentionally. Maybe it has some
effect I'm not getting?
Ann-Mai
> ...
>
> læs mere »- Skjul tekst i anførselstegn -
Derek McGovern
Yes, it's curious that Mario breathes in the middle of two of the
lines in the first verse of Luna d'Estate. On some of his Coke
recordings, he did this too - not because he was short of breath
(after all, he had terrific breath control) - but because he wanted to
give emphasis to a particular phrase. Then there were times - such as
on the otherwise beautiful *alternate* take of Look for the Silver
Lining (featured on the CD You'll Never Walk Alone) - where he was
simply being a bit sloppy with his breathing.
But his breathing doesn't bother me on Luna d'Estate. Perhaps Armando
will want to add something here...?
> ...
>
> read more »- Hide quoted text -
Derek McGovern
Luna d'Estate on the way to work this morning. Naturally, I paid
particular attention to Mario's breathing on this song :-)
Yes, it's really only just near the end, when he takes a breath before
repeating the phrase "Luna d'Estate" (which he doesn't do in the first
half of the song), that I feel he slightly breaks the line. The final
"Luna d'Estate" itself sounds a little breathless. When he does take a
breath between "cantando" and "tutta la notte" in the first verse, he
does it so seamlessly that most people would never even notice. (Which
is why I praised your hearing!)
Actually, that aspect of Mario's breathing technique - the
almost-inaudible way that he usually takes his breaths - is something
that he's seldom been given credit for. Not all great singers are as
skillful in this respect. Dmitri Hvorostovsky, for example - although
rightly praised for his ability to sing incredibly long phrases - is
notorious for his very noisy intakes of breath!
am...@ruc.dk
Otherwise I would probably not have heard it. But of cause it doesn't
take anything away from the song. It just made me curious. Like you
said; Mario in general had a very impressive breath control, not only
breathing silently and at times holding his breath at length, but he
also usually breathe in 'the right/most natural' places. That is why
this 'out of the ordinary breaths' in this verse got me to wonder.
Like you mentioned; in many other singers' performances we can often
hear more or less heavy and noisy breathing. Especially when the
singer has been holding his/hers breath for a long time, it sometimes
results in a very deep and loudly inhale (no wonder of cause!).
Thank you for taking the time to go in to this. I know it may seem as
a bit silly matter, but I couldn't help wonder, especially because I
otherwise seldom notice his breathing, seamlessly as it usually is.
Ann-Mai
On 8 Nov., 21:31, "Derek McGovern" <derek.mcgov...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Just a quick PS to the above, Ann-Mai. Your post inspired me to play
> Luna d'Estate on the way to work this morning. Naturally, I paid
> particular attention to Mario's breathing on this song :-)
>
> Yes, it's really only just near the end, when he takes a breath before
> repeating the phrase "Luna d'Estate" (which he doesn't do in the first
> half of the song), that I feel he slightly breaks the line. The final
> "Luna d'Estate" itself sounds a little breathless. When he does take a
> breath between "cantando" and "tutta la notte" in the first verse, he
> does it so seamlessly that most people would never even notice. (Which
> is why I praised your hearing!)
>
> Actually, that aspect of Mario's breathing technique - the
> almost-inaudible way that he usually takes his breaths - is something
> that he's seldom been given credit for. Not all great singers are as
> skillful in this respect. Dmitri Hvorostovsky, for example - although
> rightly praised for his ability to sing incredibly long phrases - is
> notorious for his very noisy intakes of breath!
>
Derek McGovern
of singing, and I'm glad you brought it up. It's also something that
Lanza has been criticised for at times. On some of the Coke numbers,
for example, he will often *not* take a breath at the end of a line
when a rest is clearly indicated in the score, instead continuing into
the next line before - halfway through - he's finally obliged to take
in some air. Two lines in Without a Song come to mind:
I'll get along as long as a song is strong in my soul/
I'll never know what makes the rain to fall
He sings "I'll get along as long as a song is strong in my soul," and
then holds on to "soul" (thrillingly) as he goes into the next line:
"I'll never know...". At this point, he takes a quick breath. Now a
purist would undoubtedly quibble at this and say that he shouldn't
have broken the line ("I'll never know what makes the rain to fall").
But it *is* undeniably exciting, edge-of-the-seat stuff!
Lou
>Of the Caruso Favorites, I like Luna d'Estate, though not as much as
>some of the other selections. I find his voice just little too heavy
>here for such a light little number; to me, this song cries out for a
>more lyric, youthful sound. He sings it well, though. As for his being
>a little short of breath here, I actually find it's only near the end
>of the song where this seems to happen (at the end of the second Luna
>d'Estate). But it's only a small thing.
I, too, think that Mario's voice is a bit too muscular for this piece.
For me, the sound of his Coke period would have been perfect. But
then, the voice of Caruso himself has a similar baritonal heft in his
1916 recording of this song.
Unlike Ann-Mai's, my untrained ears haven't picked up the signs of
shortness of breath that she noted. I think, as you do, that he seems
about to run out of steam at the end of the second Luna d'Estate, but
doesn't he make up for this with the melismatic flourish that
follows? The final note of "Ah", delivered in a relatively long-
breathed, floating mezza voce takes my breath away. I definitely
prefer it to Caruso's full-voiced finish.
Armando
apart from the written pauses between -mare and mi son fermato - and -
fiore and ove son due- Mario breathes after - cantando, mia,
affatturate, guarda, and amore - exactly like Caruso.
In the second verse, unlike Caruso, he breathes between the first Luna
d'estate and amore, and like Caruso, after addormentate, occhi, and
cuore, - as well as the written pauses which are between -posa and ma
solamente- mare and per quelle. All this is perfectly OK.
He also takes a breath after the penultimate Luna 'estate which is
not so OK as it breaks the line.
All in all a pretty good performance superior to Di Stefano's who
takes the least breaths of all (only six) but spoils it by singing it
too fast.
am...@ruc.dk
breathing. I find it fascinating learning about these things. I
listened to the song again with your 'marks' for the breaths inserted
to the lyrics. I also listened to Di Stefano's rendition and you are
right, it is fast. I too prefer Mario's version. :-)
Just a few clearing questions: does a sheet of music explicit say
where to breathe, or does the singer go from what he has learned plus
what he think would be best? Like you said; Di Stefano breaths in
different places than Mario does, but I get the impression that there
are some rules that must be followed (to some extent), which I presume
would be not to break the lines (phrases) too obviously. But, some of
your marks for Mario's and Caruso's breathing is right in the middle
of a line. Do the written lines, as in the lyrics only, differ from
the music sheet lines? Perhaps the rhythm of the song is to be
considered too?
I hope all my questioning is not too annoying? Otherwise just tell me,
and I'll turn down my 'inquiry button'. :-))
Ann-Mai
> On Nov 9, 7:31 am, "Derek McGovern" <derek.mcgov...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> > Just a quick PS to the above, Ann-Mai. Your post inspired me to play
> > Luna d'Estate on the way to work this morning. Naturally, I paid
> > particular attention to Mario's breathing on this song :-)
>
> > Yes, it's really only just near the end, when he takes a breath before
> > repeating the phrase "Luna d'Estate" (which he doesn't do in the first
> > half of the song), that I feel he slightly breaks the line. The final
> > "Luna d'Estate" itself sounds a little breathless. When he does take a
> > breath between "cantando" and "tutta la notte" in the first verse, he
> > does it so seamlessly that most people would never even notice. (Which
> > is why I praised your hearing!)
>
> > Actually, that aspect of Mario's breathing technique - the
> > almost-inaudible way that he usually takes his breaths - is something
> > that he's seldom been given credit for. Not all great singers are as
> > skillful in this respect. Dmitri Hvorostovsky, for example - although
> > rightly praised for his ability to sing incredibly long phrases - is
> > notorious for his very noisy intakes of breath!
>
am...@ruc.dk
I think I understand the breathing techniques a little better now. My
mom explained it to me, so please; just ignore my questions in my
previous post.
I am sorry for the 'nitpicking', but I just didn't quite understand
how it worked at the time, but now I do. I should have asked her first
before I troubled you with my silly questions.
Ann-Mai
Derek McGovern
interesting when discussing a particular rendition to know if the
singer has taken liberty with the composer's instructions, e.g., by
ignoring a rest or by inserting one! For instance, on two of Mario's
renditions of the Lamento di Federico (the 1955 & 1958 versions), he
breaks the line "vorrei poter tutto scordar!" by drawing breath
between "tutto" and "scordar". Was he was just being careless or did
he do this deliberately to give emphasis to "scordar" ("to forget")?
It's hard to say.
Armando
Forum is for!
In music there are signs that represent both note values and silence.
Silence pauses are pretty much mandatory, and obviously give the
singer a chance to breathe.
However, since there are long phrases in arias and songs where it's
also necessary to take extra breaths, these are inserted in strategic
points.
Correct, or ideal phrasing ,consists in not breaking the vocal line by
taking a breath. This is easier said than done, and there are
countless examples of great singers breaking the vocal line at times,
although some breaks are more intrusive than others.
Since Derek mentioned the Arlesiana aria, I'll give you some examples
of where the line is broken in this particular aria.
Bjorling breathes exactly in the right places, followed closely by
Lanza in the 1952 version (breaks the line only between vision and mi
lascia) and Di Stefano who breaks it between sempre and di lei.
Gigli breaks it between poter and tutto scordar, deggio and tanto
scordar, vision and mi lascia.
As Derek pointed out in the 1955 version Lanza breaks between tutto
and scordar, ( barely noticeable) also between davanti and ho sempre
di lei, and vision and mi lascia. There's even a few more breaks in
the Lanza 48 and 58 versions, but having said this, there is more to
singing than simply keeping the vocal line. Such things as
musicality, style, and taste in interpreting come into it. So,
although the 1952 Lanza Lamento is virtually flawless line wise, his
interpretation of the aria is overemphatic, and stylistically dubious.
Both the 1948 and 1955 are superior if measured against the above
criteria regardless of the extra breaths taken, which are pretty well
handled anyway.
His 1958 Lamento is another story. There are more breaks in this one
and the voice is very heavy for the aria which makes it doubly
difficult to sing since it's really written for a light lyric voice
and someone with the spinto sound that Lanza had at this stage could
easily have fallen flat on his face attempting to sing it with the
vocal heft he possessed at the time.
But so phenomenal was the instrument that regardless of the
unsuitability of the aria he succeeds in carrying it off !
It may not be a perfect rendition of the Lamento, but one thing I am
certain of ,anyone present at the concert would have been blown away
by it!
> ...
>
> read more »
am...@ruc.dk
discuss and explain these matters to me. I really appreciate your use
of concrete examples which makes the points more clearly to me.
I never really thought much about singer's breathing before, except
for the more obvious examples where I would go "Wow, he sure holds his
breath for a long time" or "Wow, what an effective inhale." - like
when Scotto in Madame Butterfly (1978, CBS) takes in a breath and at
the same time very loudly sinks mouth water, between 'Ah!' and 'm'ha
scordata?' (Ah! Has he forgotten me?), which have an absolutely
stunning emotional effect. But, whether this was deliberately or not,
I have no idea, but the effect is remarkable!
Anyway, now that I have become more aware of the importance of
breathing, and the other technical details of singing you have
mentioned, I find it very interesting and fun to get more knowledge
about it. It adds new dimensions when listening to music. And just as
important: it makes it much easier to talk about renditions when one
knows and understands the technical terms and their functions. :-)
Ann-Mai
Derek McGovern
Caruso's less subtle handling of it. In other respects, though, their
versions are quite similar. Caruso holds on longer to the last
syllable in "d'Estate" each time and isn't as emphatic as Lanza in a
couple of places. But otherwise there isn't much between them!
Actually, it'd be interesting sometime to compare all of Lanza's
renditions on the Caruso Favorites album with those of Caruso
himself.
Derek McGovern
I find the song itself pleasant enough, but as a composition it's certainly not on the same level as the likes of Ideale, 'A Vucchella, etc. Melodically, it's actually quite similar to Tosti's famous Serenata - which, of course, Lanza never recorded - a song that has always struck me as slightly dull. (Though I'm willing to bet that Mario could have breathed new life into it!)
But getting back to La Mia Canzone, this is one instance on the Lanza Sings Caruso Favorites album in which I'm willing to bet that Caruso's rendition - which I've never heard - easily surpasses that of Lanza. It's not that Mario's singing is bad here; it's simply a bit lacklustre. He begins the song sounding fairly fresh-voiced, but the overall impression I get is that he's not sufficiently familiar with the number. In fact, the second half sounds almost as if he's encountering it for the first time (he seems uncertain on the line "Ogni affetto sopito entro il tuo cuore"). Vocally too, he runs into difficulty in the second half, with his production sounding somewhat "blocked up" or constrained from "Ma, disfidando il gelo e il tenebrore" onwards, and with an uncharacteristic wobble of sorts (which I don't think was intentional) on the last line: "La mia canzone è un fremito d'amore!"
So while La Mia Canzone is by no means a write-off, to me it's not one of the highlights of the Caruso Favorites album. Perhaps it came at the end of a long and tiring session?
Anyway, as always, I'd be very interested in knowing others' thoughts. And here are the words - minus the English translation this time (sorry!):
La Mia Canzone (My Song)
La mia canzone è un dolce mormorio
Che sino a te, nell'aria fredda, sale;
E, se ti parla ancor dell'amor mio,
Cara fanciulla, non ti vuol far male;
Vagando sul tuo candido guanciale,
Essa vuol dirti un ultimo desio:
Su la tua bianca fronte verginale.
La mia canzone è il bacio dell'addio
il baccio dell'addio.
La mia canzone sospirando muore
Lieve nell'aria su la tua vetrata;
Ma, disfidando il gelo e il tenebrore,
Reca il desio d'un'anima agitata;
E vuol destar ogn'ansia a te più grata,
Ogni affetto sopito entro il tuo cuore:
Ora che tu sei sola, addormentata,
La mia canzone è un fremito d'amore!
am...@ruc.dk
his great splendor here, but I think he does a fairly good job at it
anyway. I like the way he handles the word 'Vagando' in the first
verse, and the line 'La mia canzone è il bacio dell'addio' - the last
word(s?) in particular: 'dell'ADDIO'. But, like you said, Derek, the
second verse is a bit vague. He does seem a little uncertain on the
line 'Ogni affetto sopito entro il tuo cuore'. For a second it sounds
as if he is going to 'trip' on the words 'il tuo cuore'. And the
ending may be a little 'wobble-ish', but I find it very refreshing
that he for once did not do a high note at the end.
By the way, I just came across this website with E. Caruso songs and
arias. Here most of the Neapolitan songs can be heard, La mia canzone
too.
http://www.archive.org/details/Caruso_part1
Ann-Mai
Derek McGovern
Mia Canzone, as well as reacquainting myself with his Pour un Baiser.
(I'd forgotten the latter was so slow!)
Actually, Mario fares quite well alongside Caruso's rendition. I
prefer his singing of the four lines from "Vagando sul tuo candido
guanciale" to "il bacio dell'addio" in the first half, and I like the
fact that he doesn't take the high note on "fremito", which I didn't
enjoy at all in Caruso's rendition. (I bet that note wasn't written
either!)
Derek McGovern
I came across this beautifully written description of Lanza's recording of Ideale today by Marcel Azencot. It's from an article entitled "The Style of the Man," and in it Azencot compares various tenors' versions of Ideale. Here's what he writes about Lanza's recording:
"Then came Lanza, with a slightly slower tempo, and then came the dark medium voice singing in dark tones and mood, and it was another world: again it was no more a love song but a dramatic poem on absence and yearning for the soul mate (“Io ti seguii come iride di pace, lungo le vie del cielo/ io ti seguii come un amica face della notte nel velo” - I followed you like a rainbow, on the paths of the sky/ I followed you like like a friendly face, in the veil of the night)-); and like a prayer, “Tooorna, caro ideal, torna ogni istante a soridermi ancora” / e a me risplendera nel tuo sembiante una novella aurora, una novella aurora”. (Come back, dear ideal, come back at once and smile to me again/ and to me, on your face will shine a new dawn, a new dawn).
"Lanza had instinctively understood that the beautifully simple melody was more than a love song and that the words and the sort of majesty of the music contained something deep that needed a treatment of restraint and simplicity, not a voice competition on who is going to ring better on a high B.
"In that regard, only Mario Lanza respects the composer on the finale “una novella aurora”, that all tenors, as a tradition, take with a bright and valiant high B on “Aurora“. Not Lanza, who stands on the medium line that Tosti wanted and this respect for the opus gives the aria the serenity of a prayer, with the help of the slow tempo, the rich and colorful wonderful medium and the astonishingly clear diction, each letter of the alphabet pronounced so perfectly that you seem to see the lips shaping the words.
"Emotion flows pure, no display nor vulgar show, but restraint and density, and the final “aurora” (dawn) is strangely outbreathed by emotion, and sounds like the word “parola” (word), which is quite a symbol of Lanza’s love for the words, words of love, words of peace. Listen to "Ideale" sung by Mario Lanza." [Here, unfortunately, he provides a link to a rather poorly reproduced version on YouTube; this alternative link will take you to a much better source -- arguably the best we're likely to hear: http://www.4shared.com/audio/vrpblrcn/Ideale_2.html]
Bravo, Monsieur Azencot!!
Article link:
http://www.operaclubdeparis-mariolanza.fr/ctn/wordpress/read-in-english/the-style-is-the-man/
Jan Hodges
|
What a wonderful description of this one of my favourite Lanza songs. Mario at his interpretive best. I have always loved the darker tones of his voice which I think suits this song perfectly,
Thanks for posting that Derek
Jan | ||
|
|
Derek McGovern
Yes, this is certainly one of Mario's best recordings -- not just from
1959, but of his entire discography. Everything's right about it: the
voice, the interpretation, the conducting -- even the French horn
player is top-notch!
My favourite Lanza moments on this recording: the delicacy of his
first "Torna caro ideal" (I love the way he softly sings "Torna" and
then lets his voice die away on "ideal") and his second "Una novella
aurora."
Then there's that gloriously quiet (but devastating) ending! We should
really send this recording to Andre Previn; after all, he's the
luminary who claimed that Mario only possessed a loud pedal :)
Tonytenor
"Ideale." I second Derek's request Armando, I would love to hear you
sing it!
After reading the first part ofr the "Ideale" thread last night, I
rushed down and got a collection of Bjoerling and asked my wife just
to simply listen and I played Jussi's and Mario's recordings of
"Ideale" in that order. After Mario's was done Kristi had tears in
her eyes. She said, oh Tony, they are two different songs. The first
tenor has a beautiful voice but knows nothing of the tale that is
being told. As soon as Mario began to sing, I was with him - anywhere
his voice went I went also. And the way he ended the song, so softly
so emotionally.
See, I think that's the amazing thing! Mario didn't have to be
screaming his lungs out to be emotional. He didn't have to sing a
high note. My wife, who admittedly loves Mario but knows little or
nothing about Tosti's work much less "Ideale," was in the thrall of
the emotion that Mario could cast even at his softest. Piano yes, but
also still very intense. Armando, you are so right in what you say
about Mario's ability to maintain the emotional line-through of a
work. I really do think that this is, in essence, an innate thing.
Ciao, Tony
Derek McGovern
be effective -- or moving. Think of his tender LP version of My
Romance or the infinite sweetness of his Ave Maria in Serenade (with
that touching "Jesus...Ave Maria" at the end; just listen to the
emotion in his voice under the last note). Not a high note in sight!
Thoughts Will Come to Me is another, and usually has the same effect
on me as Ideale.
I dearly wish I could have asked Paul Baron about the Ideale, but the
guy was so intent on pushing me out the door that I never got to ask
him any specific questions about recordings. What I would love to have
found out was the rationale behind Mario's decision to sing it in such
a low key -- and, of course, why he avoided the optional high note
(which would only have been a G in this key -- a real cinch, in other
words). Was it because, in the first instance, he wanted to show off
his lower register, and, in the latter, that he felt the song would be
more effective without the high note? Or was it, as Lindsay Perigo has
suggested, that Mario was "so stuffed" by the time he got to Ideale
that he ended up "making a virtue out of necessity" and "thereby
fluked one of his greatest recordings"? (Perigo was assuming that the
Caruso Favorites songs were recorded in the same order as they appear
on the LP and CD, with Ideale being the penultimate track.)
What we do know is that Mario worked on the Caruso Favorites songs
with Franco Zauli, a renowned vocal coach (and pianist). Perhaps
during their rehearsals together, Zauli -- who, had nothing but the
highest praise for Lanza both as a singer and as a person -- suggested
that they try Ideale in a lower key? We'll never know, of course, but,
oh, it's fun to speculate :)
Thanks for reminding me about Armando's experience in singing Ideale.
I can't believe I've visited him twice since he wrote that post, and
on both occasions I completely forgot to ask him to sing it for me!!
He won't get away so easily next time :)
http://www.4shared.com/account/audio/TYMvpJgZ/My_Romance__LP_version_.html
(My Romance)
http://www.4shared.com/account/audio/qoPhBhB2/Ave_Maria__1955_.html
(Ave Maria)
Cheers
Derek
leeann
more than a love song and that the words and the sort of majesty of
the
music contained something deep that needed a treatment of restraint
and
With Ideale, as with L'Alba Separa, Lanza does take us into abstract,
more profound sense of meaning, and it's haunting. Not sadness
exactly, but maybe consciousness of both loss and of hope. And it is
amazing that he does this with such understatement.
Strange coincidence, Tony. I had just heard the Bjoerling as part of
an album of Italian and Neapolitan songs by Schmidt, Bjoerling, and
Gigli with a little Di Stefano and one later Luigi Infantino mixed in.
Most were recorded in the 1930s, and while the voices are amazing, of
course, the orchestration or style of presentation seems to override
interpretation, if that makes sense, and I so agree with your wife
about the Bjoerling. In many selections on this particular album, the
tenors seemed caught in the time period in which they were recorded.
Lanza's rendition is not.
I ran into a great quote from di Stefano, in an Amazon review
actually, so I'll take it on faith: "I sing
with 80 percent instinct, and 20 percent brain, critics do not
understand instinct." It might not be a stretch to apply this quote to
Lanza, and yet, it would seem to me, as a non-musician, that a great
deal of intelligence goes into arriving at the 80 percent instinct, or
innate interpretive capability that you've explained so well. Best,
Lee Ann
Derek McGovern
"I ran into a great quote from di Stefano, in an Amazon review actually, so I'll take it on faith: "I sing with 80 percent instinct, and 20 percent brain, critics do not understand instinct." It might not be a stretch to apply this quote to Lanza, and yet, it would seem to me, as a non-musician, that a great deal of intelligence goes into arriving at the 80 percent instinct, or innate interpretive capability that you've explained so well. Best, Lee Ann."Hi Lee Ann: I was just re-reading this thread (one of my favourites!), and was struck by your comments above.
I honestly feel that the intelligence of Lanza's singing is his most underrated quality. So often we're told that he was a mere "bull in a china shop" who didn't have a musical brain. That and the absurd (but equally often stated) claim that he really wasn't very bright. And remember British critic Leslie Mallory's infamous putdown a few days after Lanza's death: "From any musical standpoint, Mario Lanza never sang -- he shouted." I've met orchestral musicians who've said much the same thing.
But when you dig a little deeper, it turns out that none of these people has ever sat down and truly listened to Lanza -- and certainly not to his better recordings. For on something like Ideale, or L'Alba Separa dalla Luce l'Ombra (just to give two examples from this thread), it's overwhelmingly obvious that the man is fully attuned to the words and their meaning, and is interpreting them as if they were wrenched from his own soul. Brain or instinct: that's good enough for me! :)
Cheers
Derek
Derek McGovern
Savage
Derek,
The recording of Ideale by young DiStefano is my favorite. It is simply beautiful and even inspires me to sing along occasionally. Mario's rendition comes in a close second.
Among the Tosti songs, "L'Alba" comes to mind immediately. (Sorry. Couldn't resist the temptation). There are three great renditions worth a listen:
- Caruso's recording
- Bjoerling's Carnegie Hall rendition
- The CarusoFavorites recording by Lanza
All three are magnificent. Bjoerling's recording is particularly interesting, since he reportedly used Caruso's record as a model. This is particularly evident at the end where he drops from the climactic high note to the amost baritonal final note. Mario's version, however, is the most thrilling of the three. I only wish the recording quality were better.
David
Derek McGovern
leeann
Tosti, a few things came to mind. Tosti--what a fascinating man--not only
because of his musical legacy, but the literary, musical, and royal circles
in which he lived and worked. I wish his life story were a bit more
accessible--at least in English.
Lanza was the first tenor I'd heard singing Ideale and it remains the most
moving to me; Di Stefano, the second (1945), and then Carreras (1979). It was such a surprise to hear
their endings after Lanza's despite the beauty of their singing, and it raised the question of why; the
lower notes, the muted voice seem so interpretively consistent with the
whole D'Annunzio poem. But it must indeed be very rare to find adherence to
the "almost spoken" ending. Interestingly, Marcelo Alvarez does so in a very thoughtful, almost understated version without moving to the high
note.
Even Caruso's recordings move to the upper register! But I wonder if Caruso
doesn't offer one of the most unique performance narratives for the song. I'm only familiar with a couple of Caruso biographies, so I'm not sure where else this story might be told.
But, in 1913, a melodramatic article in The New York Times informs that "Enrico
Caruso unloosed the suppressed emotion of long and heart-hardening years and
lifted the floodgates of the pent-up tears of a lifetime for 1,000 men..."
when he sang Ideale and the "sob song" from Pagliacci at a federal prison in
Atlanta. "As the melting notes of the master singer reverberated...they
conjured forth in the minds of the prisoners pictures of home and loved
ones, untold scenes of the old and innocent days...shrivelled memories which
they had thought as utterly dead as the snows of yesterday reviving bitter
regret for deeds which only they know..."
incarcerated in the jail presented him with two enormous bouquets of roses.
Best, Lee Ann
PS. Thank you as always to Mike for the sound he gives us!
Savage
Thanks, Derek, for the info and especially for the link to Mike's version.
Derek McGovern
Thanks also for the Álvarez "Ideale" link. That's a very nice performance.
As for Tosti, yes, what a fascinating man! Loved by royalty and the general public alike. How many other songwriters who were popular with fashionable drawing rooms in Victorian England are still revered today?! There's a 2005 book in English available on his life and music that I'd love to read: The Song of a Life: Francesco Paolo Tosti, by Francesco Sanvitale, but at US$140, it's a bit beyond my modest means :( But extracts can be read online. This description of the youthful Tosti caught my eye: "[He was] so full of animation with splendidly shining eyes radiating all his goodness and intelligence . . . [and] full of restless energy, vigour and verve . . .". Remind you of a certain tenor, Lee Ann? (Of course, if you're Lanza biographer Roland Bessette, "shining eyes" are a dead giveaway for bipolar disorder :))
Interestingly, the young Tosti was a tenor himself, with reportedly a very sweet voice. That would surely explain why, above all, his songs are just so wonderfully singable.
Cheers
Derek
leeann
One of the many, many facts I didn't know about Tosti is that the pre-eminent Italian musical publishing house, Riccordi, kept him on a weekly retainer of 100 pounds in return for his writing one song per month. The end result--400 songs of varying merit, some clearly more commercial than others. (Shades of Charles Dickens who was paid by the word!)
Interestingly, it's possible to draw parallels between Lanza and Tosti--seeing both of them as cultural bridges, transition figures in musical history. While Tosti mingled with Puccini and Leoncavallo, classical composers, in royal courts, while the voices of opera (not only Caruso) performed his work, while his international popularity spanned continents--critics often damned him with faint praise, admiring his work on one hand, but excoriating a lack of artistic depth. He was accused of being lazy, for not expanding and varying his musical techniques, for adapting himself to the tastes of the masses.
It's a complex story of where music was when Tosti came along, the tug between formal composition and folk music, and standards for new musical directions.
But, "Tosti is very far from the great composers of the golden age of Italian music and among his contemporaries," wrote one critic a year after Tosti's death in 1916. "[But] Tosti, in following the way of his art, exercised a beneficial influence on our public with refinement of taste, and by rendering them more and more able to appreciate...the creations of the great composers..." Criticisms of Lanza certainly seem to echo the essence of that assessment.
What seems important is that his music seems to be quietly in service of the poetry, the words of the authors with whom he composed. But more than that, it doesn't seem to compete with the singer, but to give supremacy to the magnificent voices and their interpretations that just keep coming of both his romanze and his "folk songs." Maybe that's among the reasons it endures, and that great voices keep singing his compositions.
"Marechiare," though, is one song that perplexes me. For some reason it sounds quite difficult to sing--although the range doesn't appear awful. Although there's a discussion about
Lanza's problematic Albert Hall rendition here, for any singer, moving successfully (although I'm not sure what would be the ultimate performance) across the syllables of "l'amore", culoreeee, Marechiare, etcetera--the endings of verses--with a demanding rhythm seems awfully challenging. Best, Lee Ann
Derek McGovern
Yes, I do see a parallel between the criticisms of Tosti and those of Lanza, both of whom committed the cardinal sin of being enormously popular. And no doubt they would have enjoyed each other's company (from what I know of the fun-loving Tosti)!
I know what you mean about "Marechiare"---and I've never heard a version of this song that I'd consider definitive. Di Stefano comes close on a commercial recording I have of him, but vocally he's a little strained here and there. Lanza's commercial recording is good, but, as I've written on other occasions, he really deserved a smack on the hand for not bothering to do the second verse. Without it, the song feels incomplete. He's also a bit rough in places---a quality that seemed to worsen every time he sang it thereafter (on the Coke Show and then the two live versions from 1958). This is yet another song that I wish he'd recorded under Ferrara, as I'm sure that great conductor could have coaxed a better rendition from him---and both verses as well!
Actually, by singing only the first verse, Lanza made things difficult for himself, as the climax of the song consequently falls on an awkward vowel sound: the "ne" in "fenesta". It's a wonder he makes it sound as good as he does! But if he'd sung the second verse, the climax would have fallen on a much easier syllable and more beautiful vowel: the "do" in "doce." In fact, that's the best part of Pavarotti's otherwise dull-as-ditchwater and mechanical 1988 rendition with James Levine on piano:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxhvfJCVN9A
To be honest, rough as old boots though it is (and appallingly recorded), I'd still rather listen to Lanza's 1958 Saturday Spectacular live performance of this song than Pavarotti's grim version. Lanza's singing is barely an improvement on his (frankly God-awful) Albert Hall rendition, but at least the final note (the "sta" on "Fenesta") isn't as bad here---and, more importantly, he at least seems to be having a good time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jO7UZCH2uW8
Incidentally, I wonder what on earth Mario's referring to when he says at the beginning (something like), "See if he doesn't need to give me a chance to knock the song." Clearly, the audience doesn't get it either!
Cheers
Derek
Tony Partington
Derek McGovern
Yes, on the Albert Hall recording of the line "A Marechiare nce sta na fenesta," Mario produces a gnarly sound on the "na." Not one of his finest moments (and he goes sharp on the note on another version---the Coke, I think), though of course it's only one of many problems with the Albert Hall version.
Actually, Mario's singing is below par on all three Neapolitan songs that he sings at Albert Hall. Marechiare's the worst of the group, but Mamma Mia, Che Vo' Sape is spotty (apart from that brilliant ending) and 'A Vucchella, though probably the best-sung of the three, doesn't quite come off. It's such a shame, especially considering his affinity for Neapolitan songs. Happily, though, some of his best work in that genre was still to come.
Cheers
Derek
Tony Partington
Hi Derek, hi Leeann. This is a wonderful topic and two top-notch posts. Leeann, I absolutely agree with Derek, your's is a wonderfully erudite and insightful post. Toshiba has been a favorite of mine since first I heard his music and that was courtesy of our boy Mario's sweet and lyrical recording of "A vuchella." Following that I graduated to the later more introspective Lanza voice heard in "Ideale" and then the soul plumbed passion of "L'alba separa dalla luce lombra" (sp? - I'm at work on a break so can't check accuracy). This was Mario, IMO, truly connected and - as he was so fond of saying - living the music, the story. Derek, you and I are in complete agreement when it comes to "Marechiare." Personally, I think it a good Tosti song not one of his greats. It's fun to sing I can tell you that as I have included a number of times in recital and concert programs. It's infectious and the audience wants to tap their toes or beat along. I most definitely would never consider it a high point or one of the finest things I've ever done in performance. But it served its purpose and, as I say, it is fun to sing. Derek, you noted something in your post which I'd like to expand on for just a moment. The spot in the bridge: "Ah Marechiare 'n gesta na..." (again, sorry about th lyric misspelling) when it goes up to, I think an F#, Mario sings that line, the first time through with an open vocal placement and it is, essentially, just fine. The second time he sings it, for some odd reason, he sings the note fully covered and it sounds pretty awful. Now granted, an F# is the beginning of the passagio
Dammit, my "smart" phone just got very dumb and locked up in middle of posting this reply soooo, now that I'm home, I'll finish on the good old, tried and true laptop.As I was saying, an F# is into the passagio and while on some vowels, certain phrases and, depending on where the line is going, a tenor may indeed choose to cover or "turn the tone over." In this particular case however, Mario's choice to cover that note when he reprised the first verse of "Marechiare" - be it conscious or subconscious - was, as the professionally engineered recording shows, a poor one.
Tony Partington
leeann
Thank you so much for talking more about "Marechiare." Tosti continues to fascinate--and as I've probably mentioned, information about this path-breaking guy is hard to come by in English. There is, however a massive, extensive volume that Derek's pointed out that covers his life and is quite detailed about his music, The Song of A Life: Francesco Paolo Tosti (1846-1916) which fortunately is available in preview version online (and, I'm glad to say, through my university library).
As a listener, not a musician, it just seems that you all (and Lanza on the Saturday Spectacular) make it quite clear, this is a song to have fun with. (I'd love to be in your audience, Tony!) Better to belt it out and draw in the audience than to stick to form. I have to agree, Derek. Pavarotti seemed dull, my mind wandered, and I had to wonder if it was the tension between just letting go and sticking to technique (although that could be a little patronizing of me, given that Pavarotti and technique are in better synch than say, Pavarotti and acting).
So, I wondered what Tosti had in mind. Without reproducing what the authors of the Tosti book have written so splendidly--It does appear that this song sprang from Tosti's dedication to Italy's folk music, to what became the Neapolitan genre. He claimed the tune's inspiration was from an unknown strolling musician who used the version of the song that inspired Tosti as an audience warmup piece. (There's a great deal more information in this book.)
And one of Tosti's most critical reviewers said he'd exchange all Tosti's songs for "Marechiare" alone. "..a delightful melody, ...agile, dynamic..joyous, almost physical and spiritual expression of the enjoyment of life...a song of an ethnic, truly Italian artistic character that could never have been written in any other land..." (P. 149)
Which is one of great joys of listening to di Stefano do this song as well. He brings to it heart and sou!
But to a non-musician, it still seems awfully difficult to sing. Best, Lee Ann
Derek McGovern
If you haven't heard Pour un Baiser in a while, then you might just want to do yourself a favour and revel in a wonderful piece of singing.
Cheers
Derek
Barnabas Nemeth
Derek McGovern
It's a sad business, though, because---as anyone who appreciates fine singing will immediately recognize---Caruso Favorites is one of Lanza's best albums. And yet it's not even available on a conventional CD anymore (except from secondhand sellers). Sadder still, the even greater Mario! album is no longer available on SACD. I find it bizarre that Sony deleted that title from its catalogue while retaining the conventional CD, which isn't very good sonically.
Cheers
Derek
Barnabas Nemeth
Hi Barnabas: I think a SACD version of Caruso Favorites is unlikely for at least two reasons. Firstly, as I've mentioned before, it's Sony policy to release SACD versions of previous RCA Living Stereo CD releases only. Caruso Favorites was not released on RCA's Living Stereo CD series; instead it was released with the mono Great Caruso album. Another reason is that compiler Derek Mannering, whose musical tastes have dictated the contents of most of the Lanza Sony/BMG CDs for the last 18 years, has made it clear that Mario's "dreary" 1959 recordings are not a priority for him. In other words, I don't think he'll be pushing for a SACD of Caruso Favorites any time soon. And as long as Mr. Mannering retains his position of influence, there's little any of us can really do. If there is another Lanza compilation, we can be sure it will be yet another collection that emphasizes the lighter side of Lanza. (Little wonder that the non-aficionados have no idea that there is much more to Mario Lanza than just "Valencia," the million-selling singles and The Student Prince.)
Derek McGovern
Derek Mannering was not involved with the Encore CD-set, which was not an official BMG release (but rather a subsidiary label compilation), and has poked fun at those of us who have praised it.
The CD-set was deleted some years back, but is currently available secondhand through Amazon at a reasonable price:
http://www.amazon.com/Encore-Greatest-Arias-Operatic-Favorites/dp/B00000IYM6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1342012960&sr=8-2&keywords=Encore!+Mario+Lanza
Cheers
Derek
Barnabas Nemeth
Barnabas Nemeth
Tony Partington
Derek McGovern
As it stands right now, Lanza's discography is a mess, with many of his best CDs now deleted from Sony/BMG's catalogue, and numerous spotty compilations of (mainly) Coke Shows dominating the discs that are still in circulation. (A visiting Martian would probably assume that Lanza only recorded English love songs.) Caruso Favorites, as I mentioned a few posts back, is no longer available; other deleted items include the For the First Time soundtrack, the Albert Hall concert, the Great Caruso album (RCA), the Serenade soundtrack, and the Encore set. What this means is that many of Lanza's best operatic recordings are especially hard to come by.
Of course, it's possible to find some of the above through secondhand sellers---though often at a hefty price (the budget subsidiary label release For the First Time/Caruso Favorites CD, for example, is currently going for a ridiculous $US 60 via Amazon's marketplace sellers). Other sources? iTunes offers some material, though the quality is often dubious. YouTube also features Lanza recordings, of course, but the quality is almost always less than pristine---and quite a lot of it has been manipulated in some way (e.g. sped up a semitone).
So what are newcomers to Lanza to do? How are they supposed to find recordings of things like the Tosti songs we've been discussing, or some of the great operatic recordings that Mario made? In fact, how are they even expected to know that such recordings exist?
Well, they could visit our main site, where there is a complete discography, with CD recommendations and preferred versions noted, and also this overview of Lanza's recordings. But we're not exactly easy to find: do an internet search, and we seldom show up on the first page of results (unless, that is, one types "Mario Lanza tenor"). The monumentally messy & confusing Rense site is probably most newcomers' first port of call. But even if people read our discography and have their appetites whet, it doesn't change the fact that it's now quite difficult (and expensive) to legally buy many of Lanza's commercial recordings.
If I had my way, Sony would delete all of its substandard compilations and poor original album re-releases (e.g. the 1959 Christmas Carols), and start over---as they essentially did with Elvis Presley's catalogue some years back---issuing, say, two CDs of operatic material, two CDs of Italian and Neapolitan songs, and perhaps four CDs of English-language material. No repetitions, and all in the best-possible sound. In short, eight CDs to represent the best of Lanza's commercial recordings. And crucially, the material would have to be chosen by someone knowledgeable about singing. Armando would be my first choice.
I don't expect any of this to happen, of course. In fact, I'm not even sure that Sony will release any more Lanza compilations. But there will come a day when---even in the US, where recordings seem to be bound by copyright protection for an absurd amount of time---anyone who so chooses will be legally able to release Lanza CDs. Whether CDs will still exist by then is another matter!
Cheers
Derek
P.S. I just noticed Tony's post about Caruso Favorites. Hi Tony: Yes, I was aware that the album was released under RCA's "Living Stereo" banner (love the cover, by the way!). The problem is that it was never issued on CD as part of RCA's 1990s' "Living Stereo" series, and Sony has (or had) the crazy policy of only issuing SACD versions of existing Living Stereo CDs. It's a bugger, isn't it?
Barnabas Nemeth
Derek McGovern
Joseph Fagan
David Savage
Caruso Favorites was the first Lanza LP that I bought as a teenager.
What a rendition!
David