Gramophone Notes
New Records
DuaiNo the past season various types of audience have paid homage to three distinguished visitors, a German tenor, a Spanish dancer and a Spanish mezzo-soprano. Not everybody who liked La Argentina liked Conchita Supervia and not everybody who liked Richard Tauber liked either of the other two ; but the three together must have given pleasure to many thousands.
Herr Tauber is being compared with Caruso by many people who, like the present writer, never heard Caruso in the flesh ; but there is no need to go into this question. It is certain that Tauber's popularity is based upon certain valuable qualities. His gramophone records are published by Parlophone and include a set of Schubert's Winterreise, which is excellent. It is a pity if Tauber's popularity in light opera is going to prevent him from contributing further to the small store of well-sung lieder discs and I recommend this song cycle especially to all lovers of Schubert's songs. Parlophone publish an ever-increasing list of Tauber in his lighter moods, all of which are on an equal level of achieve- ment. Probably R020107, two songs from Lehar's Land of Laughter, R20143, two songs by Fritz Rotter, R20101, two songs from Lohner's Friederike, are as good as the rest. Certainly it is absurd to buy anyone else's versions of these things when we can have Tauber. Also he has done Toselli's Serenata and Leoncavallo's Mattinata as they should be done on R020135.
Conchita Supervia has done three records for Parlophone which I have no hesitation in recommending strongly. They are of the da Falla settings of seven Spanish popular songs. The authenticity of Spanish folk music has been caught by singer and composer alike. If one has to be chosen before the other two, it must beR020117, " El Paiio Moruno " and " Segni- dilla Murciana " ; the first of these songs is one of the most superb in the whole field of folk music. R020118 contains the " Asturiana " and " Iota," while R020119 has " Nana," " Cancion" and "Polo." Incidentally, H.M.V. have recently published an excellent disc of Kreisler playing a version of the " Iota " which will please some people as much as Supervia's. It is " backed " by Kreisler in a Glazounov "Spanish Serenade," which is useful as an object lesson of the difference between the true and false Spanish idiom. We many of us began our acquaintance with " Spanish " music with Bizet and Rimsky-Korsakov and other Russians, and the more authentic thing came as rather a shock to us.
Supervia, has also produced a good version of Rossini's " La Cenerentola " for those who would prefer to hear a good voice in songs from the cosmopolitan repertory. Of its sort this disc (R20140) is excellent, but the da Falla series offers more to the adventurous listener.
La Argentina I have already insisted upon more than once in these notes. To her earlier records can now be added on Parlophone R921, a dance from da Falla's " La Vida Rueve" and "Albeniz " Cordoba; and on R933 Granados' " Iota Valencina " and a " Tange Andalou," which has the great attraction of being accompanied by the superb guitarist Carlos Montoya. Spanish dancing belongs to the type of music for which atmosphere is everything and La Argentina to the best orchestra is below the best, while with a piano she is not worth seeing at all. The castanets and the guitar on this disc have an amazing evocatory power to one who has seen much of this dancing in the flesh, though what the
effect would be upon a listener who has not had this experience I cannot say. But I feel that one La Argentina disc should be in every collection and I am still inclined to think it should be the one with Malats' ." Serenata " and Ivadier's " Speaking of Boleros reminds me that Columbia have "got Mr. Jack Payne and his B.B.C. Dance Orchestra to play Ravel's " Bolero " in a jazzed version. It has the advantage of being on one side only, which is enough for most people after having heard the original piece, shall we say, five times. And in passing I would like to mention that on the back of the third side of Koussevitsky's version of the " Bolero," published by H.M.V., there is one of the few pieces of Erik Satie which has been recorded. Satie was not a great composer, but the arrangement by Debussy of his " Gymnopedie No. 1 7 as conducted by Koussevitsky has merit. The disc number is D1860.
Returning to more orthodox fields, there is an H.M.V. record of Casals recently published which should not be missed. The great 'cellist plays a Bach Musette arranged by Pollain, and although the back contains the seemingly inevitable piece by Popper this should be bought by anyone who has a friend who " can't understand Bach." The number is DA1030. But the first Bach record to be bought by anyone remains, in my opinion, the remarkable guitar record by Andre Segovia of a well-known Courante. It is H.M.V. FA75, and I notice that Mr. Rutland Boughton in his recent book on Bach mentions it as containing more of the Bach spirit than most orthodox performances.
JOHN LANGDON-DAYI
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