Most people interested in Mascagni already know his speech of 1940, which accompanies most releases of the 1940 Cavalleria conducted in studio by the Maestro himself. There is however another performance of Cavalleria conducted by Mascagni that made it on record: a live performance in The Hague, Holland, recorded on November 7, 1938. The day before, on November 6, Mascagni's voice was recorded for posterity. I just posted what I have of the speech online, complete with MP3, transcription and English translation:
http://www.mascagni.org/sounds/speech-1938
This speech is much longer than the 1940 speech. It is also much less formal, as it was not recorded to be published on record and sold. In the second part of the speech, Mascagni reveals that he is a amazing storyteller. You can now imagine what Salvatore De Carlo means, in Mascagni Parla (http://www.mascagni.org/bibliography/504878), when he says: "Mascagni parla: e un altro mondo il suo, un mondo scomparso, ma lui riesce a farlo rivivere [...]" ("Mascagni speaks: his is another world, a world that has disappeared, but he manages to make it live again [...]"). De Carlo's interviews with Mascagni took place only four years after this speech. At that time Mascagni already had health problems, and he certainly had less energy than in 1938, but you can well imagine him speak when reading the book. Those documents are treasures!
Enjoy,
-Erik
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