# Angela Gheorghiu sang to a phonograph cylinder



## OffPitchNeb (Jun 6, 2016)

She sang Caruso's hit "Musica Proibita".

Do you like the result? Like her voice or not, there is no doubt that her distinctive voice is pretty phonogenic!


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

It's interesting to hear this. I would have assumed she'd have either sounded noticeably worse or better than she does usually but she just sounds similar with worse quality. However, hearing her like this does make it clearer that, despite being perfectly serviceable on today's stages, she really doesn't stand up to those making records back then.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

I must disagree. I liked them all and particularly Melba's "Gualtier Malde trills at the end.
I have always been intrigued by the vulnerable quality of Gheorghiu's voice that is extremely appealing to me and places her with the golden age group in my eyes. Calling her voice "serviceable" seems to me to be a bit harsh.
But then that's why we all hear things differently with our aural instruments.


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

nina foresti said:


> I must disagree. I liked them all and particularly Melba's "Gualtier Malde trills at the end.
> I have always been intrigued by the vulnerable quality of Gheorghiu's voice that is extremely appealing to me and places her with the golden age group in my eyes. Calling her voice "serviceable" seems to me to be a bit harsh.
> But then that's why we all hear things differently with our aural instruments.


Yes, we all hear things differently. I find the timbre and acoustic properties of a voice more important than most maybe. I studied in composition and of all the modern 'schools' am most sympathetic with spectralism which focuses on acoustic makeup. Maybe it's due to this that I am more receptive to the overtones and resonance of a voice and while I understand those who like Gheorghiu, her timbre is pretty, I am put off by the lack of 'proper' resonance. I saw her in Tosca years ago and enjoyed it, though the voice is small for the role. Maybe serviceable was harsh, I might be less critical if she was not so acclaimed, but since she is seen as one of the most prominent sopranos of our times I feel more inclined, and justified in being more critical.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

I guess for me a more important factor in a voice is not so much involved with technical attributes like timbre and acoustics as it is in the uniqueness of a sound.
When I can identify a singer by the first few notes, I know that it is likely to be a special voice regardless of any technical qualities they may be lacking.
Just different strokes...


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## OffPitchNeb (Jun 6, 2016)

I am taking a middle road. Gheorghiu has one of the most distinctive soprano voices ever, but hers is a small voice and sometimes lacks the core. Melba in the above clip was not a big voice either, but she had a strong core and sounded remarkably consistent (indeed too consistent that it was almost like a "white" voice).


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

I'd rather hear Gheorghiu, in ancient or modern sound, than Destinn, whose whiny timbre and articulation and lazy, uneven vibrato annoy me greatly, or Melba, who is a perfect singing machine but musically unimaginative and boring. The selections chosen above, to my ear, illustrate all these negative traits clearly.

Not that Gheorghiu's "Musica Proibita" equals Caruso's, of course. I presume no one's ever will.


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

Woodduck said:


> I'd rather hear Gheorghiu, in ancient or modern sound, than Destinn, whose whiny timbre and articulation and lazy, uneven vibrato annoy me greatly, or Melba, who is a perfect singing machine but musically unimaginative and boring. The selections chosen above, to my ear, illustrate all these negative traits clearly.
> 
> Not that Gheorghiu's "Musica Proibita" equals Caruso's, of course. I presume no one's ever will.


I'm surprised by those criticisms of Destinn. Smaller voices do generally record better and I assume that would be even more true with older technology but I don't find her timbre whiny. I find the voice beautiful, evenly produced throughout register's, with wonderful diction. I can undersrand the criticism of Melba who is certainly not very imaginative but more used as a demonstration of another small voice but one with proper core to the sound.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Op.123 said:


> I'm surprised by those criticisms of Destinn. Smaller voices do generally record better and I assume that would be even more true with older technology but I don't find her timbre whiny. I find the voice beautiful, evenly produced throughout register's, with wonderful diction. I can undersrand the criticism of Melba who is certainly not very imaginative but more used as a demonstration of another small voice but one with proper core to the sound.


I grant you Melba's core.


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## ALT (Mar 1, 2021)

OffPitchNeb said:


> She sang Caruso's hit "Musica Proibita".
> 
> Do you like the result? Like her voice or not, there is no doubt that her distinctive voice is pretty phonogenic!


Thank you for posting this. As a long time and practically incurable Gheorghiu allergic, I approached this with trepidation but soon found myself charmed by the recording experiment. Would that more singers were recorded with this method, the better to dispel certain entrenched myths.


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## OffPitchNeb (Jun 6, 2016)

ALT said:


> Thank you for posting this. As a long time and practically incurable Gheorghiu allergic, I approached this with trepidation but soon found myself charmed by the recording experiment. Would that more singers were recorded with this method, the better to dispel certain entrenched myths.


You probably have heard about this, Nilsson did one too!


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

ALT said:


> Thank you for posting this. As a long time and practically incurable Gheorghiu allergic, I approached this with trepidation but soon found myself charmed by the recording experiment. Would that more singers were recorded with this method, the better to dispel certain entrenched myths.


It doesn't always work as well for others. I recall a tenor, maybe Villazon, who tried it and came out sounding far worse. I was quite surprised with how recognisable Gheorghiu was.

Edit: And above, I find a big voice like Nilsson's doesn't record as well as Gheorghiu like this.


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## OffPitchNeb (Jun 6, 2016)

Op.123 said:


> It doesn't always work as well for others. I recall a tenor, maybe Villazon, who tried it and came out sounding far worse. I was quite surprised with how recognisable Gheorghiu was.
> 
> Edit: And above, I find a big voice like Nilsson's doesn't record as well as Gheorghiu like this.


Maybe you were referring to Beczala.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

OffPitchNeb said:


> Maybe you were referring to Beczala.


Really? I think Beczala and Susan Phillps both did fine jobs.


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

OffPitchNeb said:


> Maybe you were referring to Beczala.


That might be it. I don't like Beczala as it is, especially in the upper register so I definitely don't want to hear that more than once. I don't like Susan Philips either and she recorded worse than Beczala imo.


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## ALT (Mar 1, 2021)

OffPitchNeb said:


> You probably have heard about this, Nilsson did one too!


Yes indeed, I am familiar with it. Didn’t Roberto Alagna, too, make one of these recordings? Per above, I am also familiar with Beczala and Philips’ takes.


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