Dear Denise,
Yes of course, you're quite right. Moreschi did indeed record at the begining of the 20th Century. However, I do not agree that you can say that we can have an idea of how he sounded from those old recordings. I am an avid collector on shellac, vinyl, and cd, but they have no way of being any sort of representation of how he would have sounded live as a young man for instance. This is of course to do with the primitive recording techniques, and because he was an elderly man well past his prime.
There are two reasons for my argument on this subject. One is that my first singing teacher heard many of the greats: Melba, Tetrazzini, Caruso, Ponselle et al, and, for instance of Melba, she said that the white screeching on the 78's was completely unrecognisable to her as the astounding vocalist she heard in the auditorium. She said it was merely a thin shred of what you actually heard. Second, is that I myself had the opportunity to make a wax cylider record some years ago. I sang We'll Gather Lilacs by Ivor Novello and I have to say, when played back, I could only recognise my own voice on one particular note (a C) which was obviously the right resonance for the horn and needle. It was fascinating to do of course! Actually, third (although there wasn't going to be one!) Birgit Nilsson did much the same thing in an interview. When played back, the 'experts' (I use the word advisedly) had no idea it was Madame Nilsson, and said it was obviously some house singer of no particular distinction! Needless to say, they were dealt with by the Diva!
I do not have a copy of the Moreschi CD and I haven't seen it for ages. I'll bet somebody on this list knows where I can obtain one though!
Best wishes,
Ian Belsey. Voice technician. Bromley, Kent, England
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