The
Baraldi Trio Recorded
30th November, 1928
Issued as HMV C1615
Durations:
PACS004 - The Snow: 4'08"
PACS005 - Fly, Singing Bird: 2'31"
Play
30s sample:
Sir
Edward Elgar is perhaps best known for his great orchestral and choral
works - the symphonies, concertos, oratorios, Pomp and Circumstance marches,
Enigma Variations and so forth. Yet despite often having a brooding, even
depressive character, there was a lighter side to his music, as characterised
by these two short songs.
The
Times noted on 3rd April 1929: "'The Snow'
and 'Fly, singing bird' are delightful examples of Elgar's lighter music.
Sung by the Baraldi Trio of women's voices, accompanied by piano and two
violins, these pieces make a most attractive record",
though writing in The Gramophone in the March edition that year, C.M.
Crabtree did caution: "I have no serious
criticism of the performance, except that diction needs a little attention"!
The
Baraldi Trio - Mai Ramsay (soprano), Vivien Rambelet (soprano), Dorothy
Lebish (contralto) - recorded a handful of sides for HMV in this period,
though none lasted for long in the catalogue. The name Baraldi refers
to the accompanying pianist, Ernesto Baraldi (1868/9-1939), who was almost
certainly Dorothy Lebish's husband. The Trio members (and Baraldi himself)
were regular performers on early BBC radio, though we can only trace only
one record of them actually broadcasting together as The Baraldi Trio,
on 4th January, 1929.
REVIEW
OF ELGAR 'THE SNOW' & 'FLY SINGING BIRD, FLY' The Baraldi Trio (1928)
I
am immoderately fond of Sir Edward Elgar's music. It has all
the certainty, belief in progress and and forward motion laced
with huge dollops of sentimentality and weltschmertz that
is so characteristic of the 19th century. No trace of that
DNA can be found in these songs. They are pleasant and quite
unmemorable. Charming would not be stretching it. However,
the performance and remastering have lots of interest, not
all of it positive.
The
Baraldi trio really do have excellent voices and it is quite
a pleasure to hear them sing, even if the music is rather
salonish. The accompanying strings present the sort of slides
that would have been passe in a symphony orchestra after 1910.
The whole affair has a rather pale charm and makes me think
of a summer afternoon on the verandah at a large resort in
pre-WWII Torquay or Bournemouth, where the listeners were
stuffed with scones and clotted cream.
The
reproduction and remastering does not entirely banish noise
or singer distortion, but does allow one to enjoy the beautiful
vocal trio.
