# Round Two: Faust "Salut.." Alfred Piccaver and Jussi Bjorling



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Tonight is by special request. Piccaver is by Woodduck, so that is a good endorsement for me. Someone else requested Bjorling, can't remember who, but i delivered.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

I've always been told that Alfred Piccaver was an acquired taste - I can't tell by this video apart from sacrificing a syllable or two here and there, and a fluctuation on _la présence_ (the one with the High C). I like the little grace note on _félicite _ near the beginning of the aria.

The Björling aria id in Swedish (I think), but it doesn't seem to make a difference in his delivery if it. Do I detect a hint of effort in the upward push to the note (at 2:20 or so)? Perhaps, but he is amazingly tender in some of the following phrases. The High C is a little difficult, but still lovely.

I'd prefer the aria in French, but Swedish it good enough. Björling it is.

*P.S.* as I was writing the above, Seattleoperafan switched the video to the French one. My remarks still apply, but I think it's a little less poetic.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

I was the person who suggested Bjoerling, but I suggested his 1939 studio recording, which is my absolute favourite version of this aria.






The one above is good but not quite in the same class as the one I detailed here. In fact all those Swedish 78s are amongst the best things Bjørling did on disc. EMI issued two discs of these, but I don't know if they are still available. I have a short review on my blog http://tsaraslondon.com/2019/04/09/jussi-bjorling-a-collection-of-swedish-78s/.

Getting back to Piccaver and Bjørling, Piccaver impresses me, but I still feel Bjørling finds that bit more poetry in the aria, so I'm voting for him.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Tsaraslondon said:


> I was the person who suggested Bjoerling, but I suggested his 1939 studio recording, which is my absolute favourite version of this aria.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Sorry I lost that. I have too many saved videos on Youtube.I thought it sounded wonderful.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

If I were to choose on the basis of one top note only I would have chosen #1 but #2 had everything else and was just perfect. By the way, to my ear that was no Swedish accent -- that was French from Bjorling.
Jussi it is although I recognize the classic sound of Piccaver which is very appealing as well.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

If I'd had any idea that the wretched-sounding video of Piccaver used here existed I'd have warned seattleoperafan to avoid it. In fact I'd ALWAYS advise running away from any video that shows us some bloke cranking up his Victrola and dropping his needle on a scratchy old shellac he inherited from his great-grandfather. For a cleaner-sounding representation, try this:






Back to business... Watching Bjorling is always a pleasure. He makes singing look as easy as speaking. In this aria I'm not sure that anyone could outdo him, although I'm something of a stickler about the high C, wishing to hear it taken with finesse and more head voice in the mix, as Piccaver does very nicely. (I feel the same about the final note of "Celeste Aida," which generally sounds even more horrible blasted out the way most tenors do).

Piccaver was a rather late discovery for me. American but born in England (the family name was originally Pickover) he was a major star at the Vienna State Opera. A paragraph from Wiki is a concise summary: "Piccaver had a warm, velvety, lyric tenor voice with a fine cantilena style and excellent legato and diction. Later on it became what an English critic has described as 'slack muscled' and acquired a baritonal quality, but in the early years of his prime he was known to the Viennese as 'the Caruso from Prague'. His roles included Rodolfo (Puccini called him 'my ideal Rodolfo'), Cavaradossi, Canio, Radames, Florestan, Lensky and Walther. He made a large number of recordings by both the acoustic and electrical processes and many of these are available on CD reissues." Not only Puccini was impressed with the young Piccaver; before his long career in Vienna he was invited by Battistini to travel with the baritone's touring company.

This suave and tender "Salut demeure" has remained one of my favorite versions of the aria, and it's only Bjorling's angelic singing that leaves it in second place here.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

I mostly like Piccaver although his tone is rather nasal (but then he is singing in French). Bjorling still sounds authentically French whilst singing properly on the vowel. THIS is what is meant by singing with 'pure' vowels or with one's natural voice without putting on a fake voice with falsely added darkness, 'frenchiness' or whatever. (I also listened to him singing the aria in Swedish to compare the vowel sounds and yes, they sound the same in both languages! - And that is a compliment, he sings with HIS vowels in any language and thus sings with his natural voice, whilst at the same time singing in French that sounds authentic to my nonexpert ear.)

Oh and Piccaver fluffs the high note... badly!

N.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> If I'd had any idea that the wretched-sounding video of Piccaver used here existed I'd have warned seattleoperafan to avoid it. In fact I'd ALWAYS advise running away from any video that shows us some bloke cranking up his Victrola and dropping his needle on a scratchy old shellac he inherited from his great-grandfather. For a cleaner-sounding representation, try this:
> 
> *
> 
> ...


Ah, now that is something else entirely, it's remarkable how the nasality has gone and the high note sounds better. (Much closer to Bjorling now.)

N.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

I wish I could have heard di Stefano against "anybody". His diminuendos are earth-shattering in their beauty.


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

I agree Piccaver is amazing (in Woodduck's YouTube link) although his nasal delivery sounds old-fashioned. Bjorling has it all and a joy to watch and listen to. He attacks high C with same refinement (a skill unavailable for most modern tenors) and in the battle of styles I'd pick Bjorling.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

nina foresti said:


> I wish I could have heard di Stefano against "anybody". His diminuendos are earth-shattering in their beauty.


Not done yet. Next


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

One thing I noted when I listened again to both of the Piccaver’s videos is how the singer’s voice sounds dull, depressed. Is this a pitch problem, or is the original 78rpm record being played at a slower speed than recorded or transferred? He doesn’t sound animated.


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