A.0222 (12in., 5s. 6d.).—Lazzari (bass) : La Calunnia from Ii Barbiere (Rossini) and Illacerato spirito from Simon Boccanegra (Verdi). In Italian.

A.0221 (12in., 5s. 6d.).—Rosa Raisa (soprano) : L'Altra notte from Mefistofele (Boito) and, with Giacomo Rimini (baritone), Mira, d'acerbe lagrime from 11 Trovatore (Verdi).

X.9492 (10in., 3s.).—Morlais Morgan (baritone) : Bonnie George Campbell (Keel) and The Jolly Tinker (arr. E. Newton).

K.05122 (12in., 4s. 6d.).—Olga Haley (mezzo-soprano) : The Harvest of Sorrow (Rachmaninoff) and Auf dem Wasser zu singen (Schubert).

K.05123 (12in., 4s. 6d.).—Malcolm McEachern (bass) : The Great Adventure (Fletcher) and The Skipper of the Mary Jane (Richards).

X.9493 (10in., 3s. ).—Destournel (soprano) : Cherry Ripe (Horn, arr. Liza Lehmann) and The Bailiff's Daughter of Islington (arr.

Clutsam).

X.9485 (10in., 3s.).—Gladys Moncrieff (soprano) : One lone star (McCann) and I love the Moon (Rubens).

K.9494 (10in., 3s.).—Adila Fachiri (violin) : Les Cherubins (Couperin, arr. Slatter) and Variations (Tartini-Kreisler).

K.05124 (12in., 4s. M.).- The Aeolian Quintet (strings and piano) Arabesques, Nos. 1 and 2 (Debussy).

This Vocalion list, like that of the H.M.V., is this month unusually excellent and interesting. The Hosing records are old single-sided ones re-issued. Not having the text, I cannot say what the songs are about. The accompaniment to the first is the tick-took of a clock ; it is a dramatic song full of the melancholy of the Russian temperament ; the return to the relentless ticking of the clock after the tempestuous middle section is very effective. The other side is simply delightful—a kind of folk-patter song. What an expressive language Russian is, even when one doesn't understand a word of it ! Mr. Rosing's voice seems in very good order. Lazzari sings his two arias magnificently. Verdi re-modelled Simon Boccanegra in 1881, six years before writing Otello and ten years after the production of Aida. This fine aria (translated on another page) is therefore of great interest as showing the transition in style. What would one not give for a performance of Rossini's Barbiere by artists of the calibre of Lazzari. The recording is the best of a bass I have heard for a long time ; for there is no edge to the voice, as is so often the case. Rosa Raisa has one of those voices which naturally record beautifully. Her rendering of the aria from Meftstofe/e is really notable. Here again the recording spares us any feeling of blast or harshness. The song tells how Margarita, cast into prison for having killed her child, bewails her fate. Though much of the music sounds old fashioned, there are touches which indicate an ambition to rise above such commonplace treatment as Gounod accorded this scene. For instance, that sudden transition on a long held note from major to minor, indicative of a sudden gust of despair.

The reverse also deals with a prison scene. Manrico is condemned to death and his mother, Azucena, is to be buried alive ! Ho tries to comfort her. I find it very hard to take II Trovatore seriously after seeing the "Four Corpses" done by the " Chauve-Souris "— surely the best operatic parody that ever was—but there is no denying the fine full-bloodedness of it all. Rimini, Raisa's husband, joins her in an excellent interpretation. Another good singer ,emerges in Morlais Morgan, who upholds the best traditions of the Principality. In addition to a beautiful voice, his diction and rhythm are first rata. In fact, the only grumble I have is over his Scotch, which is not as to the manner born, naturally ! "The Jolly Tinker," with its street cry and patter would have been a pleasant inclusion in the Beggar's Opera. Olga Haley sings Schubert's delicate water music with complete understanding. Here let me -congratulate Ivor Newton on his accompaniments to all these songs and particularly to this one ; those repeated notes are the very devil to play ! How beautifully Schubert arranges his modulations; how exquisitely he suggests the shimmer of the water. I can't agree with the slowing-down at the end of each verse ; it pulls up the march of the song too often. Rachmaninoff has written many excellent songs, of which this is one of the best. It is mixture -of lieder and folk-song ; a lament over the ruin of the fields. It suits Miss Haley's dramatic style admirably. Both these are well recorded, as, indeed, all are on this list. Malcolm McEachern's choice of The Great Adventure lets down the high level before reached. It is a sentimental piece of bombast, but the nautical song is a breezy effusion capitally given. My stock of superlatives is _getting exhausted, but I must keep a word of praise for Kathleen Destournel's clean, musical singing of two old favourites. I regret the unnecessary high note on the word " and " in Cherry Ripe, but otherwise here is a most charming record. All the arrangers of these songs may take a considerable share of praise for their work often they have enhanced the beauty of the old tunes, they have never detracted from them. I love the Moon is a frank, straightforward ballad ; the music is better than the words : "I love the flowers, the forest, the fun." I fear it was "fun " because of " sun" ; one can sympathise ! One lone Star is a ballad written by ,a musician. This record is an improvement on the last done by Miss Moncrieff. Mme. Fachiri plays one of Couperin's fascinating little pieces with the additions deemed suitable by the arranger. She follows this on the reverse with a sparkling performance of the Tartini Variations. Like her sister, her phrasing is splendid, but her tone is not so full.

The awful rapidity with which reviews have had to be done this month, combined with fog, make it hard for one to transcribe a -clear opinion of all the records listened to. At a first hearing the .arrangements of Debussy's early piano work are as successful as things of the kind can be. Personally I don't think the music has enough meat in it to stand the new medium. Moreover the Arabesques are quite definitely piano, not string, decorations. The first is the more pleasing of the two ; the second is just a little dull. The balance is good, the playing nicely adjusted to the -delicate texture of the music. N. P.

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