Judge — November 29, 1919 — page 24: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

Drawn by HERMAN PALMER Best of New Disco's Phonograph Records SELECTION the and his art has a cosmopolitan pol- eekly head~ ish. If he has not the temperament of certain spaghetti-fed tenors, he has Dear Disco: en cert,” and “Op. a delightful, admirably trained voice In the last issue of JUDGE you say appear regularly in JUDGE and brains to use it. He might be you would welcome any information He makes a careful study of all called the American Bonci. The from a reader as to what is the best the standard records as issued, and two records by him in this wei record in the world. Having had con- from these chooses the few which list. mark his début in discdom. siderable experience with phonographs he considers most desirable. This This brilliantly florid serenade puts (not my own), I think perhaps I can week he selects from the month's his art to an exacting test, and he be_of some slight assistance. Opera records. acquits himself with finish and The best record in the world has not Disco gladly answers questions chara, yet been made, when it ds it wilt be one regarding phon ographs and La Boneme: “Che gelida manina” of the greatest boons which has ever 1 He will tell you which (Puccini) vag iby Chatles Hock: been conferred upon _long-sufferi vecirded soe Puccini). | Sung by jes Hac mankind. It will be a record perfectly Shichvéompante ett, Columbia 49645, 7 smooth on both sides, with a case-har- Garepiingrencioie delf- Thy little hand is cold.” De- dened surface which no recording needle elope for reply. Cidedly a psyebological jistarting nvelope for reply. point for a romance. At any rate, ble t enetrate! will be able to penetrate Rudolph and Mumi thought so, and, Think of the exquisite silence such a ‘ ; 4 ; a record would produce when placed on ee 5 judging from the popularity of this y ARO. NEY SCRECEs aria, millions of music lovers have a phonograph at cleven-thirty P. M. i rs hi Think of what relief it would bring to agreed with them. Hackett’s sing- weary sufferers tossing on sleepless ing and the rendering of the accom- beds, who had been listening for four paniment are both excellent. hours to everything from jazz to grand La Boneme: “Che gelida manina” (Puccini). pound by Tito Schipa. 54 Anp Yet He Reaps Us Under the consecutic ings: “Vaudeville,” Disco's lists Charles (alias Carlo) Hackett reached the Metro- politan via Italy and Buenos Aires opera. There are thousands of people who would gladly give a dozen such 1 Pathé records as Christmas presents to each A dictoraiahed Italian rival for of their neighbors having a phonograph. the lady’s hand. Schipa’s voice is Of course, such a record could hardly mellifluous beyond the shadow of a be said to contribute to the advancement strain, and yet he hits the high of music in the home, but think of its notes with fine abandon. If he is possibilities in other ways. slightly less intellectual than Hack- Yours for the perfect record, ett, he is a bit more spontaneous. C. A. Burterworti. He deserves a better orchestra ac Keene, N. H., 6 November, 1919. companiment. Oras La Bonewe: “Testa adorata” (Leon- Vocal S ls 1g by Giulio Crimi. Ara: “O patria mia” (Verdi). Sung : by Rosa Ponselle. Columbia 49557. It is moonlight. Waiting timor- ously by the Temple of Isis on the No, the composer’s name is not. a mistake. Leoncavallo did write a “Bohéme,” even if Puccini's, which bank of the Nile, the captive prin- cess, Aida, has come to keep a tryst with her lover, Kadames, which she fears may be a last farewell. If it be so, she will fling herself into the river. Forlorn and frightened, she thinks longingly of the land of her birth, the land she will never see again. An aria of rare beauty and moonlight shimmer, Ponselle’s sing- ing of it is enthrallingly perfect Barorere pt Srvictia: “Ecco ridente in cielo” (Rossini). Sung by Charles Hackett, Columbia 49604, American-born grand-opera tenors Avnert Spatoinc V Win a Hick ery came out a year earlier, took the wind out of his sails—causing him to be peeved at Puccini tillthe end of his days. Leoncavallo used to write his own libretti and took pride in them, and he claimed that the book of his opera was much truer to Mur- ger’s “Scénes de la Vie de Bohéme” (from which both operas were taken) than Puccini's. At alll events, the “Pagliacci” man’s “Bohéme” is interesting. Here is one of the most striking arias, Crimi sings it effectively. (Continued on page 31) comichooks.