Francesco Paolo
TOSTI A vucchella performed
by Tito Schipa (1927) [2:43]
Francesco Paolo
TOSTI L’alba sèpara
dalla luce l’ombra performed by Jussi
Björling (1949)
Michele ESPOSITO
Anema e core performed by Ferruccio
Tagliavini (1951) [3:49]
Alois MELICHAR
Anima mia performed by Beniamio Gigli
(1936) [3:21]
Ernesto DE
CURTIS Carmela performed
by Beniamino Gigli (1930) [3:06]
Ernesto DE
CURTIS Canta pe’ me! performed
by Beniamino Gigli (1928) [3:24]
Richard BARTHELEMY
Chi se nne scorda cchiù! performed
by Tito Schipa (1928) [2:47]
Salvatore CARDILLO
Core ‘ngrato performed by Giuseppe Di
Stefano (1953) [3:42]
Gioachino ROSSINI
La Danza performed by Jan Kiepura (1932)
[2:51]
Luigi DENZA
Funiculi, funiculà performed
by Alessandro Ziliani (1935) [2:37]
Francesco Paolo
TOSTI Ideale performed by
Jussi Björling (1937) [3:25]
Emanuele NUTILE
Mamma mia, che vo’ sape’? performed
by Beniamino Gigli (1930) [3:47]
Ernesto TAGLIAFERRI
Mandulinata a Napoli performed by Joseph
Schmidt (1934) [2:55]
Fracesco Paolo
TOSTI Marechiare performed
by Giuseppe Di Stefano (1953) [3:33]
Ruggiero LEONCAVALLO
Mattinata performed by Aureliano Pertile
(1927) [2:05]
Stanislao GASTALDON
Musica proibita performed by Mario Del
Monaco [3:43]
Edoardo DI
CAPUA O sole mio performed
by Jussi Björling (1937) [3:18]
Luigi DENZA
Occhi di fata performed by Beniamino
Gigli (1930) [3:00]
Teodoro COTTRAU
Santa Lucia performed by Joseph Schmidt
(1933) [3:24]
Francesco Paolo
TOSTI Serenata performed
by Beniamino Gigli (1930) [3:34]
Nicola VALENTE
Torna performed by Tito Schipa (1932)
[3:36]
Ernesto DE
CURTIS Torna a Surriento
performed by Tito Schipa (1932) [3:04]
Francesco Paolo
TOSTI L’ultima canzone performed
by Beniamino Gigli (1934) [4:31]
Traditional,
arr. VERGINE Vieni sul mar
performed by Tito Schipa (1926) [3:34]
Italian song is a musical
form which stretches back centuries,
boasting many of the greatest composers
and performers the world has seen. Many
of these songs, such as Funiculi,
funiculà or O
sole mio are still familiar
to the average English speaker, either
due to the cinema or through translations
that continued to be popular even into
the Rock and Roll era. Indeed, in translation,
even Elvis ‘did’ some of these songs.
Thus it can only be
considered a joy to find so many of
these songs restored to such an amazing
degree, and performed by such a cast
of amazing Italian tenors. Simply stated,
this is a collection of the best and
most popular of Italian song. The performances
could easily be considered among the
best of their era and stand the test
of time. The lush accompaniments are
at home in the sounds of yesteryear
or in the concert halls of today.
Perhaps the most amazing
aspect of this collection is the degree
to which these recordings have been
restored. It is not overstating the
case to say that it sounds as if many
of these recordings could easily have
been done in a modern studio, as there
is a truly wonderful fidelity to the
music, in most songs very little tape-hiss
or background noise remains, and there
is no noticeable noise from the original
78s. With the voices and instruments
enlivened to a point not normally encountered,
this is a minor miracle.
Naxos has managed to
bring to the public a collection that
otherwise would be ignored and lost
to history. These recordings, many of
them more than 80 years old, sound simply
amazing. The re-mastering engineer deserves
every commendation. This is a wonderful
collection of historic recordings, one
definitely worth exploration.
Patrick Gary
See also
review by Robert Farr
NAXOS 8.110768 [78:17] 
