Hey – bet you thought I forgot about RtB today. Nothin’ doin’. Just haven’t gotten to it until now.
I read an article last night about a time capsule that was found underneath the Paris Opera House. It contains wax gramophone records of music of the time (1907), which will now be digitized and re-released by EMI. How cool is that?
Makes me think of Alessandro Moreschi, the “Last Living Castrato,” whose voice I heard on one of those scratchy Edison records from 1904. He was in his seventies by then, and largely unable to control his voice, but you could still hear the raw power of a man’s body supporting a female-sounding voice. It’s amazing. You can hear it here.
And now, fiends, I must study before it’s time for bed. Miles to go before I sleep…
Fink out.
Castrato tenors will always be the first thought that pops in my head whenever I think about music history class. I thought it was one of the most interesting things we talked about. Man, that was a fun class. I miss it.
Hey, thanks Kody. I’m always gratified to hear comments like that, and your particular class was a favorite.
The high school art teacher and I are now talking about combining resources to incorporate some of the art from Ren/Baroque/Classical/Romantic/Modern into the music framework, and some musical aspects into her art history stuff. I’m excited about that.