The Record of Singing is a compilation of classical-music singing from the first half of the 20th century, the era of the 78-rpm record.
It was issued on LP (with accompanying books) by EMI, successor to the British company His Master's Voice (better known as HMV) — perhaps the leading organization in the early history of audio recording.
The project was accompanied initially by two illustrated books, containing singers' biographies and appraisals, which were published in London, by Duckworth, in the late 1970s. It covers the period running from circa 1900, when the earliest recordings were made, through until the early 1950s, when the last 78-rpm records were produced. Singers are divided into groups arranged according to national 'schools' and fach or voice type. In practice, this means that there are separate Italian, German, French, Anglo-American and East European classifications.
Rather than concentrating on famous singers whose recordings are widely available elsewhere, The Record of Singing includes a large number of lesser-known artists in order to give a broad picture of the contemporary operatic world. Vocal artists of such lasting renown as Enrico Caruso, Nellie Melba, Titta Ruffo, Feodor Chaliapin, Kirsten Flagstad, Rosa Ponselle and Maria Callas are thus represented but by only a few recordings in each case. Nonetheless, no such compilation can ever be exhaustive in scope, and the project has been criticised from time to time since its initial release for overlooking a few important singers who, while largely forgotten today, were highly talented performers who once enjoyed substantial careers and made records of enduring artistic merit.
The original idea for the series came from the collector Vivian Liff, who chose the recordings used in the first two volumes, almost all of which came from the Stuart-Liff Collection, as well as the photographs of the singers which were published in the books that accompanied volumes 1 and 2 of the project. Michael Scott was asked to write these two books. They contained brief singers' biographies, too and featured a critical (sometimes controversial) commentary (see below) about their accomplishments, are gleaned from certain discs they had made. Bryan Crimp of EMI was responsible for the transfers of the original recorded material to LP. Keith Hardwick, however, was responsible for the transfers, etc., on the final two volumes of the survey (which were not accompanied by books).
EMI first released the collection on vinyl LP (long-playing) records.
Volume 1 first appeared in 1977, with a second edition in 1982 including corrections to the pitch of many of the recordings. The supplement also appeared around 1982. Volume 2 was published in 1979. Volume 3 and Volume 4 were released around 1984 and 1989 respectively.
The complete set was on 47 discs. Volumes 1, 2 and 3 each occupied 13, with Volume 4 having 8 discs. The original intention was apparently to produce 12 LPs per volume; but the selection of singers included in Volume 1 proved controversial, and an extra record (entitled a 'Supplement') was added to partly correct oversights. Volumes 2 and 3 were then assigned 13 records each.
Volume 4 was republished on seven compact discs (CD) by EMI Classics under the title The Record of Singing Volume Four in 1991. This was not apparently a commercial success and the firm did not proceed to reissue the first three volumes in the same format.
Volume 3, however, was subsequently republished in 1999 on 10 CDs by Testament under the title The EMI Record of Singing Volume Three: 1926-1939. This was still available through retail outlets (as of 2010).
Two related sets, each containing 10 CDs, were issued by EMI Classics in 2009. The Record of Singing, 1899-1952: The Very Best of Vols. 1-4 consists of selections previously released in the original four volumes of LPs. The Record of Singing, Vol. 5: 1953–2007 - From the LP to the Digital Era is a new compilation which brings the series up to the present day. It has been criticised, however, for not being properly representative of non-EMI artists.
Volume 2 is available as MP3 download on several internet platforms. The original LPs are now spread over 13 parts. Each part comes with an individual cover, resembling the original cover picture, but varying in color.
The collection was published with extensive documentation, including the numbers of the original recordings and full biographies of the singers.
The first two volumes were accompanied by books by Michael Scott:
The Record of Singing to 1914, London, Duckworth, 1977 ISBN 978-0-7156-1030-5
The Record of Singing Volume Two: 1914-1925, London, Duckworth, 1979
They were republished in paperback by Northeastern University Press in 1993, ISBN 978-1-55553-163-8
(The books are still widely available from second hand book sellers.)
The Castrato Voice: Alessandro Moreschi
The Old School: Adelina Patti, Emma Albani, Marcella Sembrich
Melba and the Marchesi Pupils: Nellie Melba, Sigrid Arnoldson, Emma Eames, Lillian Blauvelt, Suzanne Adams, Ellen Beach Yaw, Blanche Marchesi
Dramatic sopranos: Agnes Nicholls, Lillian Nordica, Olive Fremstad, Geraldine Farrar, Susan Strong, Zélie de Lussan
Contraltos: Louise Homer, Louise Kirkby Lunn, Clara Butt
Tenors: Edward Lloyd, Ben Davies, Dan Beddoe, Evan Williams
Baritones and basses: Charles Santley, George Henschel, Harry Plunket Greene, Robert Watkin-Mills, Andrew Black, David Bispham, Emilio de Gogorza, Clarence Whitehill
Tenors: Émile Scaremberg, Charles Dalmorès, Lucien Muratore, Charles Rousselière
Lyric tenors: Victor Capoul, Edmond Clément, Adolphe Maréchal, Albert Vaguet
High Cs and Heroic Voices: Léon Escalais, Agustarello Affré, Georges Imbart de la Tour, Albert Alvarez
Baritones: Jean Lasalle, Victor Maurel, Maurice Renaud, Henri Albers, Jean Noté, Léon Melchissédec, Lucien Fugère, Gabriel Soulacroix, Jean Périer, Charles Gilibert
Basses: Pol Plançon, Édouard de Reszke, Pedro Gailhard, Jean-François Delmas, Juste Nivette, Hippolyte Belhomme
Dramatic Sopranos: Emma Calvé, Félia Litvinne, Aino Ackté, Mary Garden
Lyric sopranos: Julia Guiraudon, Marguerite Carré, Lucette Korsoff, Lise Landouzy, Alice Verlet, Blanche Arral
Contraltos: Blanche Deschamps-Jéhin, Marie Delna, Jeanne Gerville-Réache
'La Gloria d'Italia': Mattia Battistini, Antonio Cotogni, Giuseppe Kaschmann, Francisco D'Andrade, Antonio Magini-Coletti, Giuseppe Pacini, Mario Ancona
Scotti, de Luca and Pini-Corsi: Antonio Scotti, Giuseppe De Luca, Antonio Pini-Corsi
Verismo triumphant: Eugenio Giraldoni, Mario Sammarco, Pasquale Amato, Titta Ruffo
The basso: Francesco Navarini, Giovanni Gravina, Andres de Segurola, Adamo Didur
Tradition and the Italian tenor: Francesco Marconi, Fernando Valero, Fernando De Lucia, Francesco Vignas, Florencio Constantino
Lyric tenors: Alessandro Bonci, Giuseppe Anselmi, Aristodemo Giorgini, Edoardo Garbin
Dramatic tenors: Francesco Tamagno, Giovanni de Negri, Giuseppe Borgatti, Fiorello Giraud, Amadeo Bassi, Giovanni Zenatello, Antonio Paoli, Enrico Caruso
Sopranos 'B.C.': Ines de Frate, Elena Teodorini, Fanny Torresella, Medea Mei-Figner, Olimpia Boronat, Ada Adini
After Cavalleria: Gemma Bellincioni, Angelica Pandolfini, Emma Carelli, Cesira Ferrani, Lina Cavalieri, Rosina Storchio, Salomea Krusceniski, Teresa Arkel, Amelia Pinto, Janina Korolewicz-Wayda
Four dramatic sopranos: Maria de Macchi, Eugenia Burzio, Giannina Russ, Celestina Boninsegna
Tetrazzini and some 'coloraturas': Luisa Tetrazzini, Regina Pacini, Josefina Huguet, Maria Galvany
Italian contraltos: Guerrina Fabbri, Eugenia Mantelli, Armida Parsi-Pettinella, Maria Gay
Wagner and the German Style
The instrumental example: Irene Abendroth, Margarethe Siems, Erika Wedekind, Hermine Bosetti, Marie Gutheil-Schoder, Hedwig Francillo-Kaufmann, Gertrude Forstel, Frieda Hempel, Selma Kurz
Lilli Lehmann: Lilli Lehmann
Sopranos of the Bayreuth school: Sophie Sedlmair, Pelagie Greef-Andriessen, Hatharina Senger-Bettaque, Ellen Gulbranson, Thila Plaichinger, Anna Bahr-Mildenburg, Katharine Fleischer-Edel, Felice Kaschowska, Lucie Weidt
Gadski and Destinn: Johanna Gadski, Emmy Destinn
Contraltos: Marianne Brandt, Ernestine Schumann-Heink, Rosa Olitzka, Edyth Walker, Margarete Matzenauer
Heldentenors: Hermann Winkelmann, Erik Schmedes, Ernest van Dyck, Andreas Dippel, Heinrich Knote, Karel Burian, Alfred von Bary, Wilhelm Herold, Jacques Urlus, Leo Slezak, Karl Jörn,
Lieder singers: Gustav Walter, Felix Senius
Baritones and basses: Karl Scheidemantel, Baptist Hoffmann, Anton van Rooy, Theodor Bertram, Leon Rains, Leopold Demuth, Wilhelm Hesch
Sopranos and contraltos: Natalia Yuzhina, Antonina Nezhdanova, Marie Michailova, Alma Fohrström, Nina Friede, Eugenia Zbujeva, Anastasia Vialtzeva
Tenors, baritones and basses: Nikolay Figner, Ivan Erschov, Leonid Sobinov, Andrei Labinsky, Alexander Davidov, Ivan Altchevsky, Tadeusz Leliva, Joachim Tartakov, Nicholai Shevelev, Waclav Brzezinski, Lev Sibiriakov, Vladimir Kastorsky, Feodor Chaliapin
Félia Litvinne, Georgette Bréjean-Silver, Léon Lafitte, Méyriane Héglon, Gemma Bellincioni, Elisa Bruno, Alice Cucini, Mario Gilion, Francesco Maria Bonini, Giuseppe De Luca, Enrico Nani, Vittorio Arimondi, Oreste Luppi, Nazzareno De Angelis, Elise Elizza, Marie Dietrich, Minnie Nast, Marie Götze, Wilhelm Grüning, John Forsell
Revolution and Russian Songs
Chaliapin: Feodor Chaliapin (1873–1938), George Baklanov (1880–1938), Alexander Bragin (1881–1955), Ivan Grizounov (1897–1919), Ivan Ivantzov (c.1880-?)
Smirnov: Dimitri Smirnov (1881–1944)
Kouznetsova to Koshetz: Maria Nikolaevna Kouznetsova (1880–1966), Marianne Tcherkasskaya (1884–1919), Nina Koshetz (1894–1965)
Two 'Coloraturas': Lydia Lipkowska (1880–1955), Eugenia Bronskaya (1882–1953)
Contraltos: Elisaveta Petrenko (1880–1951), Vera Petrova-Zvanceva (1875–1944), Klavdia Tugarinova (1877-?)
Franz, Ansseau and Fontaine: Paul Franz (1876–1950), Fernand Ansseau (1890–1972), Charles Fontaine (1878-1955)
A Quintet of Lyric Tenors: David Devriès (1881–1936), Fernand Francell (1880–1966), Charles Friant (1890–1947), Louis Cazette (1887–1922), René Lapelletrie (1884-1956)
Baritones of the Opéra: Dinh Gilly (1877–1940), Louis Lestelly (1877–1936)
Journet and the Basses: Marcel Journet (1867–1933), Hector Dufranne (1870–1951), Paul Payan (1878–1959)
Singing Actors: Vanni Marcoux (1877–1962), Jean Aquistapace (1888–1952), Alfred Maguenat (c. 1880-?), Armand Crabbé (1883–1947)
Contraltos: Suzanne Brohly (1882–1943), Marie Charbonnel (1880-?), Jacqueline Royer (1884-?)
Five International Sopranos: Marie-Louise Edvina (1880–1948), Marthe Chenal (1881–1947), Geneviève Vix (1879–1939), Yvonne Gall (1885–1972), Fanny Heldy (1888–1973)
Lyric Sopranos at the Opéra-Comique: Marguerite Mérentié (1880-?), Aline Vallandri (1878–1952), Zina Brozia (1880-?)
A Trio of Concert Singers: Gabrielle Ritter-Ciampi (1886-1974), Berthe Auguez de Montalant (1865-1937), Georgette Leblanc-Maeterlinck (1860–1941)
The Duse of Song: Claudia Muzio (1889–1936)
Raisa and some Dramatic Sopranos: Rosa Raisa (1892–1963), Elena Ruszkowska (1878–1948), Maria Labia (1880–1953), Adelina Agostinelli (1880–1954), Ester Mazzoleni (1882-?)
Verismo Sopranos: Tina Poli-Randaccio (1887–1956), Carmen Melis (1885–1967), Juanita Caracciolo (1890–1924), Gilda Dalla Rizza (1882–1975)
Galli-Curci and the 'Coloraturas': Amelita Galli-Curci (1882–1963), Maria Barrientos (1883-I946), Graziella Pareto (1889–1975), Elvira de Hidalgo (1892–1980), Lucrezia Bori (1887–1960)
Italian Contraltos: Gabriella Besanzoni (1890–1962), Fanny Anitùa (1887–1968), Luisa Bertana (1898–1933)
Lyric Tenors: Tito Schipa (1889–1965), Fernando Carpi (1876–1959),
Tradition and the Italian Tenor: Beniamino Gigli (1890–1957), Hipólito Lázaro (1887–1974), Miguel Fleta (1893–1938), Giulio Crimi (1885–1939), Ulysses Lappas (1881–1971)
Four Dramatic Tenors: Bernardo de Muro (1881–1955), Edoardo Ferrari-Fontana (1878–1936), Icilio Calleja (1882–1941), Giovanni Martinelli (1885–1969)
Principal Baritones: Giuseppe De Luca (1870–1950), Riccardo Stracciari (1875–1955), Domenico Viglione-Borchese (1877–1957), Renato Zanelli (1892–1935), Emilio Sagi-Barba (1875–1949)
Mardones: José Mardones (1869–1939)
Alda and Mason: Frances Alda (1883–1952), Edith Mason (1893–1973)
American Concert Sopranos: Alma Gluck (1884-I938), Hulda Lashanska (1893–1974), Anna Case (1889–1984), Éva Gauthier (1885–1958)
American Lyric Sopranos: Anna Fitziu (1888–1967), Carolina White (1886–1961), Lucille Marcel (1887–1921), Julia Heinrich (1880–1919), Marguerite Namara (1888–1977)
Gramophone Singers: Eleanor Jones-Hudson (1874–1946), Ruth Vincent (1877–1955), Lucy Isabelle Marsh (1878–1956), Olive Kline (1887–1976)
A Quartet of 'Coloraturas': Evelyn Scotney (1886–1967), Mabel Garrison (1886–1963), Florence Macbeth (1891–1966), Luella Paikin (1900-?)
English Lyric Sopranos: Maud Perceval Allen (1880–1955), Rosina Buckman (1880–1948)
Miura and Bryhn-Langard: Tamaki Miura (1884–1946), Borghild Bryhn-Langard (1883–1939)
Ponselle and Easton: Rosa Ponselle (1897-1981), Florence Easton (1882–1955)
Contraltos: Carmen Hill (1883-?), Leila Megane (1891–1960), Carolina Lazzari (1891–1946), Edna Thornton (1875–1958), Sophie Braslau (1902–1935), Eleonora de Cisneros (1878–1934)
A Quartet of American Tenors: Riccardo Martin (1874–1952), Orville Harrold (1878–1933), Charles Hackett (1887–1941), Mario Chamlee (1892–1966)
A British Born Trio: Edward Johnson (1878–1959) (actually born in Canada), Alfred Piccaver (1883–1958), Joseph Hislop (1884–1977)
High Cs and Heroic Voices: John O'Sullivan (1878–1948), Frank Mullings (1881–1953)
The Ballad and Oratorio Tradition: John Coates (1865–1941), Gervase Elwes (1866–1921), Walter Hyde (1875–1951), Paul Reimers (1877–1942)
McCormack: John McCormack (1884–1945)
Baritones and Basses: Reinald Werrenrath (1883–1953), Peter Dawson (1882–1961), Horace Stevens (1876–1954), Malcolm McEachern (1883–1945)
Lyric Sopranos: Eva von der Osten (1881–1936), Luise Perard-Petzl (1884–1936), Zinaida Jurjevskaya (1896–1925), Elisabeth Rethberg (1894–1976), Grete Stückgold (1895–1977)
Lyric-Dramatic Sopranos: Elsa Bland (1880–1935), Lily Hafgren-Dinkela (1884–1965), Barbara Kemp (1881–1959), Charlotte von Seebök (1886–1952)
Dramatic Sopranos: Melanie Kurt (1880–1941), Berta Morena (1878–1952), Helene Wildbrunn (1882–1972), Gertrude Bindernagel (1894–1932), Gertrude Kappel (1884–1971), Frida Leider (1888–1975)
Schumann: Elisabeth Schumann (1888–1952), Berta Kiurina (1881–1933), Lola Artôt de Padilla (1880–1933), Claire Dux (1885–1967), Vera Schwarz (1884–1964), Maria Ivogün (1891–1987)
Jeritza and Lehmann: Maria Jeritza (1887–1982), Lotte Lehmann (1888–1976)
Five Contraltos: Margarethe Arndt-Ober (1885–1971), Ottilie Metzger (1878–1943), Ankar Horvat (1888- c.1921), Sabine Kalter (1889–1957), Emmi Leisner 1885-1958)
The Great Lieder Singers: Elena Gerhardt (1883–1961), Julia Culp (1880–1970)
Baritones: Julius von Raatz-Brockmann (1870–1944), Friedrich Broderson (1873–1926), Heinrich Rehkemper (1894–1949), Hans Duhan (1890–1971), Hermann Weil (1876–1949), Cornelis Bronsgeest (1878–1957), Joseph Groenen (1885–1959), Joseph Schwarz (1880–1926)
Basses: Michael Bohnen (1887–1965), Paul Bender (1875–1947), Richard Mayr (1877–1935), Walter Soomier (1878–1955), Carl Braun (1886–1960), Alexander Kipnis (1891–1978)
Tauber and the Lyric Tenors: Richard Tauber (1891–1948), Alexander Kirchner (1876–1948), Johannes Sembach (1881–1944), Herman Jadlowker (1877–1953)
East European Tenors: Ottokar Marak (1872–1939), Ignacy Dygas (1881–1955), Joseph Mann (1883–1921), Tino Pattiera (1890–1966)
Heldentenors: Richard Schubert (1885–1969), Walter Kirchhoff (1879–1951), Lauritz Melchior (1890–1973)
Lauritz Melchior, Max Lorenz, Franz Völker, Helge Rosvaenge, Torsten Ralf, Richard Tauber, Marcel Wittrisch, Herbert Ernst Groh, Joseph Schmidt, Julius Patzak, Karl Erb, Leo Slezak, Gerhard Hüsch, Heinrich Schlusnus, Herbert Janssen, Willi Domgraf-Fassbaender, Karl Hammes, Rudolf Bocklemann, Friedrich Schorr, Hans-Hermann Nissen, Alfred Jerger, Leo Schützendorf, Wilhelm Strienz, Ivar F. Andresen, Alexander Kipnis
Sigrid Onégin, Karin Branzell, Kerstin Thorborg, Maria Olczewska, Margarete Klose, Rosette Anday, Marta Fuchs, Elena Gerhardt, Lula Mysz-Gmeiner, Jo Vincent, Ria Ginster, Ursula van Diemen, Elisabeth Schumann, Lotte Schöne, Fritzi Jokl, Adele Kern, Miliza Korjus, Erna Berger, Emmy Bettendorf, Felicie Huni-Mihacsek, Margherita Perras, Luise Helletsgruber, Meta Seinemeyer, Margarete Teschemacher, Delia Reinhardt, Tiana Lemnitz, Maria Cebotari, Elisabeth Rethberg, Rose Pauly, Göta Ljungberg, Lotte Lehmann, Maria Müller, Maria Nemeth, Elisabeth Ohms, Nanny Larsén-Todsen, Frida Leider, Kirsten Flagstad
Conchita Supervía, Gianna Pederzini, Irene Minghini-Cattaneo, Ebe Stignani, Florica Christoforeanu, Pia Tassinari, Giannina Arangi-Lombardi, Bianca Scacciati, Dusolina Giannini, Maria Caniglia, Lina Bruna Rasa, Gina Cigna, Iva Pacetti, Margaret Burke Sheridan, Rosetta Pampanini, Claudia Muzio, Hina Spani, Maria Farneti, Maria Zamboni, Mafalda Favero, Licia Albanese, Magda Olivero, Bidu Sayão, Conchita Badía, Adelaide Saraceni, Mercedes Capsir, Toti Dal Monte, Lina Pagliughi
Ezio Pinza, Tancredi Pasero, Nazzareno De Angelis, Salvatore Baccaloni, Afro Poli, Mariano Stabile, Mario Basiola, Apollo Granforte, Cesare Formichi, Carlo Galeffi, Benvenuto Franci, Giovanni Inghilleri, Carlo Tagliabue, Riccardo Stracciari, Dino Borgioli, Enzo de Muro Lomanto, Tito Schipa, Tino Folgar, Luigi Fort, Alessandro Ziliani, Galliano Masini, Francesco Merli, Renato Zanelli, Beniamino Gigli, Jussi Björling, Antonio Cortis, Giacomo Lauri-Volpi, Aureliano Pertile
Lily Pons, Leila Ben Sedira, Emma Luart, Germaine Féraldy, Eidé Norena, Ninon Vallin, Povla Frijsh, Jane Bathori, Madeleine Grey, Germaine Martinelli, Suzanne Cesbron-Viseur, Suzanne Balguerie, Germaine Lubin, Germaine Cernay, Claire Croiza, Alice Raveau
Georges Thill, René Maison, José Luccioni, César Vezzani, René Verdière, Gaston Micheletti, Miguel Villabella, André d'Arkor, Giuseppe Lugo, Joseph Rogatchewsky, Jean Planel, Charles Panzéra, Pierre Bernac, Martial Singher, Roger Bourdin, Arthur Endrèze, Robert Couzinou, André Balbon, Lucien Fugère, Vanni Marcoux, Yvonne Printemps, Reynaldo Hahn
Lawrence Tibbett, John Charles Thomas, Dennis Noble, John Brownlee, Harold Williams, Peter Dawson, John McCormack, Roland Hayes, Charles Kullman, Heddle Nash, Thomas Burke, Richard Crooks, Walter Widdop, Norman Allin
Marguerite d'Alvarez, Madame Charles Cahier, Muriel Brunskill, Clara Butt, Marian Anderson, Susan Metcalfe Casals, Grace Moore, Gladys Swarthout, Ina Souez, Maggie Teyte, Isobel Baillie, Dora Labbette, Joan Cross, Florence Easton, Rosa Ponselle, Marjorie Lawrence, Eva Turner, Florence Austral
Jarmila Novotná, Nathalie Vechor, Ada Nordenova, Maria Kurenko, Xenia Belmas, Ada Sari, Oda Slobodskaya, Maria Krasová, Maria Basilides, Mark Reizen, Feodor Chaliapin, Imre Palló, Vladimir Rosing, Sergei Lemeshev
Margaret Ritchie, Gwen Catley, Dorothy Kirsten, Florence Quartararo, Elsie Houston, Eleanor Steber, Maggie Teyte, Dorothy Maynor, Joan Hammond, Astrid Varnay, Helen Traubel, Rose Bampton, Blanche Thebom, Jennie Tourel, Flora Nielsen, Gladys Ripley, Kathleen Ferrier, David Lloyd, Webster Booth, Peter Pears, Jan Peerce, Walter Midgley, James Johnston, Richard Tucker, Alfred Deller, Robert Irwin, Frederick Fuller, Igor Gorin, Mack Harrell, Leonard Warren, Robert Merrill, Norman Walker, George London, Oscar Natzka
Mado Robin, Martha Angelici, Irène Joachim, Géori Boué, Ginette Guillamat, Renée Doria, Victoria de los Ángeles, Suzanne Danco, Suzanne Juyol, Irma Kolassi, Solange Michel, Hélène Bouvier, Rita Gorr, Hugues Cuénod, Raoul Jobin, Pierre Bernac, Camille Maurane, Gérard Souzay
Elisabeth Schumann, Erika Köth, Maria Stader, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Irmgard Seefried, Maria Reining, Elisabeth Grümmer, Sena Jurinac, Ljuba Welitsch, Gré Brouwenstijn, Leonie Rysanek, Inge Borkh, Friedel Beckmann, Hilde Konetzni, Elisabeth Höngen, Hugo Meyer Welfing, Anton Dermota, Walther Ludwig, Julius Patzak, Peter Anders, Rudolf Schock, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Karl Schmitt-Walter, Erich Kunz, Marko Rothmuller, Paul Schöffler, Hans Hotter, Ludwig Weber, Josef Herrmann, Theo Herrmann, Gottlob Frick
The Scandinavian School
Kirsten Flagstad, Lorri Lail, Gjurgja Leppée, Aksel Schiøtz, Stefán Íslandi, Nicolai Gedda, Jussi Björling, Hugo Hasslo, Bernhard Sönnerstedt, Joel Berglund, Kim Borg
The Russian and Slavonic Schools
Mascia Predit, Zara Dolukhanova, Claudia Novikova, Nadezhda Obukhova, Georgi Vinogradov, Ivan Zhadan, Georgi Nelepp, Beno Blachut, Ivan Kozlovsky, Pavel Lisitsian, Andrei Ivanov, Boris Christoff, Mark Reizen, Boris Gmyrya, Endre Koréh
Ferruccio Tagliavini, Beniamino Gigli, Giuseppe Di Stefano, Luigi Infantino, Giovanni Malipiero, Giacinto Prandelli, Mario Del Monaco, Paolo Silveri, Tito Gobbi, Giuseppe Valdengo, Giampiero Malaspina, Gino Bechi, Raffaele Arié, Nicola Rossi-Lemeni, Tancredi Pasero, Cloe Elmo, Giulietta Simionato, Fedora Barbieri, Ebe Stignani, Alda Noni, Elena Arizmendi, Margherita Carosio, Magda László, Alba Anzellotti, Gabriella Gatti, Renata Tebaldi, Sara Scuderi, Margherita Grandi, Zinka Milanov, Maria Callas
Wagner singers of the 1950s and early 1960s
Kirsten Flagstad, Birgit Nilsson, Elisabeth Grümmer, Régine Crespin, Rita Gorr, Gottlob Frick, Ludwig Weber, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Fritz Wunderlich, Astrid Varnay, Ludwig Suthaus, Martha Mödl, Hans Hotter, Otto Edelmann, Rudolf Schock, Ferdinand Frantz, Josef Greindl
Sopranos and mezzo-sopranos: 1953–1968
Joan Hammond, Joan Sutherland, Maria Callas, Rita Streich, Erika Köth, Renate Holm, Elsie Morison, Antonietta Stella, Martha Angelici, Janine Micheau, Graziella Sciutti, Aase Nordmo Løvberg, Anna Moffo, June Bronhill, Hilde Gueden, Victoria de los Ángeles, Melitta Muszely, Amy Shuard, Lisa Della Casa, Hanny Steffek, Pilar Lorengar, Andrée Esposito, Sari Barabas, Lucia Popp, Renata Scotto, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Mirella Freni, Anneliese Rothenberger, Reri Grist, Gwyneth Jones, Christa Ludwig
Jussi Björling, Henri Legay, Léopold Simoneau, Albert Lance, Eugenio Fernandi, João Gibin, Richard Lewis, Charles Craig, Giuseppe Campora, Fritz Wunderlich, Ronald Dowd, Alfredo Kraus, Luigi Alva, Wilfred Brown, Jess Thomas, Franco Corelli, Peter Schreier, Nicolai Gedda, James King, Luciano Pavarotti
Baritones and basses: 1955–1967
Tito Gobbi, Boris Christoff, Rolando Panerai, Nicola Zaccaria, Michel Dens, Eberhard Wächter, Ernest Blanc, Hermann Prey, Nicolai Ghiaurov, Cornell MacNeil
Martina Arroyo, Mady Mesplé, Elly Ameling, Montserrat Caballé, Helga Dernesch, Gundula Janowitz, Edda Moser, Margaret Price, Beverly Sills, Galina Vishnevskaya, Heather Harper, Leontyne Price, Ileana Cotrubaş, Elisabeth Söderström, Kiri Te Kanawa, Ghena Dimitrova, Jessye Norman, Edita Gruberová, Hildegard Behrens, Luciana Serra
Grace Bumbry, Shirley Verrett, Yvonne Minton, Frederica von Stade, Fiorenza Cossotto, Irina Arkhipova, Elena Obraztsova, Teresa Berganza, Tatiana Troyanos, Agnes Baltsa, Janet Baker, Marilyn Horne, Ann Murray
Carlo Bergonzi, Jon Vickers, René Kollo, Ian Partridge, Donald Smith, Franco Bonisolli, José Carreras, Alain Vanzo, Neil Shicoff
Baritones and basses: 1966–1986
John Shirley-Quirk, Piero Cappuccilli, Geraint Evans, Gabriel Bacquier, Gérard Souzay, Kurt Moll, Walter Berry, Peter Glossop, Ruggero Raimondi, Sherrill Milnes, Martti Talvela, Aage Haugland, José van Dam, Thomas Allen
June Anderson, Barbara Hendricks, Cheryl Studer, Katia Ricciarelli, Dagmar Schellenberger, Karita Mattila, Solveig Kringelborn, Ruth Ann Swenson, Felicity Lott, Christine Brewer, Jane Eaglen
Brigitte Fassbaender, Anne Sofie von Otter, Waltraud Meier, Hera Lind, Michelle DeYoung, Bernarda Fink, Katarina Karnéus, Lorraine Hunt-Lieberson
John Aler, Plácido Domingo, Chris Merritt, Ben Heppner, Michael Schade, Roberto Alagna, José Cura
Baritones and basses: 1991–1995
Bryn Terfel, Bernd Weikl, François le Roux, Thomas Hampson, Simon Keenlyside, Thomas Quasthoff
Singers of Baroque and early music and early music 1953–2005
Female: Montserrat Figueras, Helen Donath, Arleen Auger, Emily Van Evera, Nancy Argenta, Emma Kirkby, Catherine King, Patricia Petibon, Susan Graham, Véronique Gens
Male: Alfred Deller, James Bowman, Nigel Rogers, Paul Esswood, Aris Christofellis, Charles Brett, René Jacobs, Michael Chance, Harry van der Kamp, Dominique Visse, Derek Lee Ragin, Gérard Lesne, Philippe Jaroussky, Bejun Mehta
Sopranos, mezzo-sopranos and contraltos: Angela Gheorghiu, Sandrine Piau, Natalie Dessay, Violeta Urmana, Patrizia Ciofi, Joyce DiDonato, Sine Bundgaard, Deborah Voigt, Christine Rice, Nina Stemme, Diana Damrau, Hyunah Yu, Kate Royal, Stephanie Blythe, Vivica Genaux
Tenors and countertenors: Daniil Shtoda, Jonas Kaufmann, Ian Bostridge, Yu Qiang Dai, David Daniels, Lawrence Brownlee, Rolando Villazón, Max Emanuel Cenčić, Toby Spence, Franco Fagioli
Baritones and basses: Laurent Naouri, Giovanni Furlanetto, Luca Pisaroni, Erwin Schrott, Jonathan Lemalu, Rodion Pogossov, Ildebrando D'Arcangelo
I have become resigned to the compilation of "The Record of Singing" being ascribed to Michael Scott or to Keith Hardwick. Only Volume 2 in its LP issue gives a correct acknowledgement of the fact that the enterprise was my original concept and that the choice of records for the first two volumes was mine. It should also be mentioned that virtually all the recordings used in those volumes came from the Stuart-Liff collection, as did the photographs used in the books accompanying them. I was asked to write these books but the effort of compilation, pitching and taping for Michael Scott (whom I suggested should be asked to write the books) and Bryan Crimp, E.M.I's transfer maestro, occupied every moment of my available free time.
A few critics writing of the initial 2 volumes did give me credit. There was a long article with photos in the August 1978 issue of the American magazine Opera News on the Stuart–Liff collections with special reference to the Record of Singing. Dale Harris writing about all four volumes in the same magazine, a decade or so later, also set the record straight and was highly complimentary of my work. However, unknown and unacknowledged by all, were those innumerable tapes I had to make exclusively for the purpose of giving Michael some experience of the singers he was writing about - many of whom he had never previously heard. His often highly critical views on many favourite singers did not go down well with some reviewers but Michael's controversial writing certainly made readers want to return to the recordings, if only to disagree with his judgements.
The appearance of volume 1 occasioned real sadness when it was discovered that many selections had been transferred at the wrong speed. Unknown, either to Michael or to me, was the fact that Bryan Crimp was seriously unwell at the time. We were not given the promised pre-issue run-through during which we could have corrected many grievous errors. In fact, the first volume should have been withdrawn and money refunded to purchasers. Unfortunately this was not done, but a corrected edition was issued a year or two later, still on LP, using a slightly changed name. This was probably to overcome the difficulties caused by the fact that the original issue was a limited one.
Not long after the appearance of the second volume, we moved from England to the Isle of Man and the Stuart-Liff collection was sold. Keith Hardwick took over the project for the final volumes, in which I had no say. Although personally my relationship with Keith remained friendly until his death, he had such a strong antipathy to Michael Scott that he felt unable to collaborate with any of his friends. Unfortunately, to this day, the first two volumes still await transfer to CD.
Vivian Liff. 2 March 2006
The EMI Record of Singing, Volume 3 (1926-1939) (Testament Records) alt
The Record of Singing – The Very Best of Volumes 1-4 (From 1899 to the end of the 78 era: 1899-1952 (EMI Records) alt
