One of the more unusual 2-minute wax cylinder recordings made by
Edison: a vocal violin imitation performed by the famous opera singer
and vaudeville star Edith Helena.
Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana
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| Company |
Edison's National Phonograph Company
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| Cylinder # |
9556
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| Category |
Vocal violin imitation
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| Title |
Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana
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| Performed by |
Edith Helena
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| Circa |
June 1907
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| Announcement |
"Vocal violin imitation, Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana, by Edith Helena. Edison record."
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Coloratura soprano Edith Helena began singing in vaudeville, moved to opera,
and later returned to vaudeville.
She recorded just two 2-minute cylinders for Edison,
both were of her vaudeville specialties.
Her recordings for other record companies included many operatic selections.
In part due to her enormous 4-octave range, her most famous vaudeville act was
her imitation of a violin.
She would appear to play the Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana on a violin;
she was actually singing the violin part.
This became clear to the audience as she put the violin down before the end of the piece.
Does anyone else hear what I think I hear at 1:32 into this recording?
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To hear
Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana
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For help playing these sounds, click here.
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No. 9556, "Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana," by Edith Helena
is a vocal imitation of a violin playing Mascagni's well known composition.
It is one of the most novel and at the same time most clever Records so far
made for the Edison catalogue.
Miss Helena sings this on the vaudeville stage, playing a violin in
pantomime the while.
In our Record the final notes are sung just to convince the listeners
that the violin is being imitated.
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— April 1907 Edison Phonograph Monthly [announcing the June records]
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— This cylinder is from the collection of Art Guenther —
To hear other examples of wax cylinders, see the
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Contacting Tinfoil.com.
