Erik Bruchez
Wed, 15 Jun 2005 23:08:16 -0700
Dear list,
This is the first Mascagni.org newsletter officially named so! I will
use this title to group news and updates in the world of Mascagni.org.
I will start with some additions to the web site, some of which you
will also find in the News section:
1. New Audio Files page
The most important thing, after all, is listening to Mascagni's
music. Mascagni.org has had some audio files for a long time, but
recently this section has been redone, and now features a
better-organized entry page, where you can navigate to audio files
per work, and from there go to the relevant recordings in the
discography. Conversely, if a discography entry has associated
audio files, you can play them directly from there.
Audio Files
http://www.mascagni.org/works/sounds
In addition, many new audio files have been added, most from
authentic 78 rpm records, including the wonderful duet from Il
piccolo Marat, a pure gem recorded by Hipolito Lázaro and Mafalda
de Voltri. The music comes from 4 78 rpm sides, for a total of
almost 15 minutes of dream music:
Il piccolo Marat - Audio Files
http://www.mascagni.org/works/sounds/8
Another gem is the version of Stornelli Marini, one of Mascagni's
best songs, sung by Gigli:
Stornelli marini - Audio Files
http://www.mascagni.org/works/sounds/501013
Also notable, the overture to Il barbiere di Siviglia conducted by
Mascagni himself; a rare choral excerpt from Silvano; and more.
Finally, don't miss the songs and piano works recorded by Patricia
Wright, David Vine, Cheri Rose Katz, and Alan Mallach, which have
been on the site for a long time.
2. "Intermezzo From The Eternal City"
Mascagni.org presents a new original document: Intermezzo From The
Eternal City, a four-page insert published in the San Francisco
Examiner on December 7, 1902, Mascagni's birthday.
The Intermezzo presented here is just one and a half page long,
the remaining one and a half page featuring a movement from Act
IV. This is in fact the central part of a piece called Valley of
the Shadow, an intermezzo to Act II, the first bars of which
appear on the first page of the document. The actual score has the
following commentary:
"Nothing can stop Roma's destiny. She has met David Rossi and
has fallen in love with him. An overwhelming passion is the
result of their intercourse, and her past and her present are
forgotten in the hopes she builds for her future with the man of
whom she is enamoured."
Mascagni wrote incidental music for Hall Caine's play The Eternal
City in the summer of 1902. At the time this document was
published, he was in the middle of his troubled North American
tour, during which he would regularly perform excerpts from his
latest composition.
While the piano score for The Eternal City is still available, the
orchestral score remains lost.
The document can be seen here:
Intermezzo From The Eternal City
http://www.mascagni.org/book-reader/image/508562/1/0
Another version, published in the "N. Y. American and Journal", is
also available, in black and white:
Intermezzo From The Eternal City
http://www.mascagni.org/book-reader/image/503565/1/0
3. French Cavalleria Rusticana and L'ami Fritz Postcards
Mascagni.org presents a series of gorgeous colorized French
postcards illustrating scenes from Cavalleria Rusticana and L'ami
Fritz (L'amico Fritz).
The first series illustrates five dramatic scenes from Cavalleria
Rusticana, from Alfio's entrance (Il cavallo scalpita, or Piaffe,
mon cheval fringant in the French version) to the famous Hanno
ammazzato compare Turiddu (On a tué Torido !! in the French
version).
The second series illustrates ten scenes from L'ami Fritz, from
the initial meal scene of the opera to the last love scene. Both
series appear to be from the same publisher, featuring the same
layout and style but bearing different numbers: AS 814 for
Cavalleria Rusticana, AS 818 for L'ami Fritz.
French Cavalleria Rusticana Postcards
http://www.mascagni.org/pictures/508592
French L'ami Fritz Postcards
http://www.mascagni.org/pictures/508623
Enjoy,
-Erik
_______________________________________________
mascagni-interest mailing list
mascagni-interest@lists.alphanet.ch
http://lists.alphanet.ch/mailman/listinfo/mascagni-interest