5 JANUARY 1951, Page 18

Vocat..—For H.M.V. Gigli has recorded twelve Italian arias of the

seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, most beautiful singing only marred by very few feature.; of questionable taste. Mascia Predit's Mussorgsky songs 1 found disappointing, both in line and intona- tion. Columbia's only vocal issue is the Bach solo cantata, Jauchzet Gott, with Elizabeth Schwarzropf duly " starring." For Decca Ellabelle Davis has recorded two Strauss songs which reveal an attractive though not perfectly formed voice. Guiseppe Valdengo, who sings Gounod and Thomas, has a magnificent baritone, though his taste is occasionally questionable. Parlophone issues two records by tried singers of an older generation, Lina Pagliughi and Ebe Stignani ; but the Mozart aria (from Entfiihrung) does not suit the former, and Mignon and Amico Fritz do not provide great musical interest.