Come next year I'll have been collecting historical vocal
recordings seriously for 40 years. (I started young. <g>)
With such records there is always the question of the correct
playback speed. Many--maybe most--"78 rpm" records don't play at
78; some aren't even close (e.g., Caruso's 1902 G&T's, which play
at around 68). This is true even of electricals, despite
conventional wisdom to the contrary. I mention this up front
because it complicates what follows.
Notwithstanding the above, it's pretty clear that singers
transposed more 75+ years ago than they do today. When one finds
that all the records made at a given session play in score pitch
at one speed, and one or two sides play in a different key (but
not "in the cracks") at that speed, the only logical conclusion
is that the singer transposed. As late as 26 Jul 1937, Flagstad
sang Dvorak's Songs My Mother Taught Me in C (soprano key: D
major) when played at the same speed that puts everything else at
the session in the usual soprano key. In addition, the Dvorak
sounds like Flagstad at that speed and was recorded mid-session.
Postulating that the turntable "hiccupped" and changed speeds by
12% (approximate changed needed for a whole tone) for only the
two minutes of this one side doesn't pass the laught test. My
conclusion: she transposed it, though GOK why: In the original
key it would not have posed any difficulty for her at any stage
of her career.
The history of recording is replete with this sort of stuff from
vocalists. Grace Moore even blamed the loss of her high notes on
her accompanist's facility with transposition and willingness to
accomodate her requests to "take it down." I don't know of any
instance, on records or otherwise, where the transposition was
disclosed.
As for playing any solo instrumental piece in a key other than the
one the composer wrote it, I've never even heard rumors of this
happening with professionals. The Sansone edition cited must, I
think, have been intended for students.
Nowadays, of course, it's considered a mortal sin for any singer
to transpose, though some still do (e.g., I don't think Domingo,
who I admire a lot, ever sang Di quella pira in C), and some who
don't should.
As for Tombock, I think he's a superb player. Like Chris Earnest,
I wonder if the transposition wasn't to accomodate the singer.
Note that she also chickens out on the high B (B-flat when
transposed to E-flat) at the end.
Howard Sanner
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