Track Listing
| CD 1 (78:47) | ||
| ÉMILE SCARAMBERG | ||
| Fonotipia, Paris ca. 1905–1906 With piano accompaniment | ||
| 1. | MANON: Je suis seul…Ah! Fuyez, douce image (Massenet) | 3:06 |
| (XPh 641-1) 39174 | ||
| 2. | MANON: Je suis seul…Ah! Fuyez, douce image (Massenet) | 3:26 |
| (XPh 641-2) 39174 | ||
| 3. | LA REINE DE SABA: Inspirez-moi, race divine (Gounod) | 3:00 |
| (XPh 656) 39180 | ||
| 4. | CARMEN: La fleur que tu m’avais jetée (Bizet) | 3:27 |
| (XPh 660) 39178 | ||
| 5. | LOHENGRIN: Ah, respirons tous deux (Atmest du nicht) (Wagner) | 3:15 |
| (XPh 661) 39178 | ||
| 6. | SIGURD: Prince du Rhin (Reyer) | 2:38 |
| (XPh 672) 39176 | ||
| 7. | WERTHER: Dieu de bonté…J’aurais sur ma poitrine (Massenet) | 3:06 |
| (XPh 662) 39179 | ||
| 8. | MIREILLE: Anges du paradis (Gounod) | 3:23 |
| (XPh 686) 39189 | ||
| 9. | LAKMÉ: Fantaisie aux divins mensonges (Delibes) | 3:44 |
| (XPh 687) 39190 | ||
| 10. | FAUST: Salut! Demeure chaste et pure (Gounod) | 3:03 |
| (XPh 752) | ||
| 11. | FAUST: Laisse-moi contempler ton visage…Ô nuit d’amour (Gounod) | 5:19 |
| With Georgette Bréjean-Silver, soprano
(XXXPh 691) Odeon 86001 |
||
| 12. | ROMÉO ET JULIETTE: Ange adorable (Gounod) | 3:54 |
| With Georgette Bréjean-Silver, soprano
(XPh 728-4) Odeon 56051 |
||
| 13. | ROMÉO ET JULIETTE: Ah, lève-toi, soleil (Gounod) | 3:23 |
| (XPh 640-2) 39172 | ||
| 14. | ROMÉO ET JULIETTE: Salut, tombeau (Gounod) | 3:40 |
| (XPh 664-4) 39188 | ||
| 15. | LA FAVORITE: Ange si pur (Donizetti) | 3:16 |
| (XPh 734-1) 39359 | ||
| 16. | L’AFRICAINE: Pays merveilleux!...Ô paradis (Meyerbeer) | 3:23 |
| (XPh 750) 39185 | ||
| 17. | RIGOLETTO: Qu’une belle (Questa o quella) (Verdi) | 2:05 |
| (XPh 751) 39184 | ||
| 18. | RIGOLETTO: Comme la plume au vent (La donna è mobile) (Verdi) | 2:14 |
| (XPh 663) 39177 | ||
| 19. | PAGLIACCI: Me grimer!...Pauvre Paillasse (Recitar!...Vesti la giubba) (Leoncavallo) | 3:08 |
| (XPh 733) 39358 | ||
| 20. | CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA: Ô Lola [Siciliana] (Mascagni) | 1:48 |
| (XPh 665-1) 39175 | ||
| 21. | CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA: Ô Lola [Siciliana] (Mascagni) | 2:31 |
| (XPh 665-2) 39175 | ||
| 22. | FEDORA: Le ciel te livre (Amor ti vieta) (Giordano) | 2:10 |
| (XPh 673) 39173 | ||
| Fonotipia, Paris ca. 1906 With orchestral accompaniment | ||
| 23. | MIGNON: Elle ne croyait pas (Thomas) | 2:41 |
| (XPh 762) Odeon 56095 | ||
| 24. | SI J’ÉTAIS ROI: J’ignore son nom (Adam) | 3:12 |
| (XPh 763-2) Odeon 56074 | ||
| 25. | ROMÉO ET JULIETTE: Ah, lève-toi, soleil (Gounod) | 3:41 |
| (XPh 640-3) 39172 | ||
| CD 2 (79:39) | ||
| ÉMILE SCARAMBERG | ||
| Fonotipia, Paris ca. 1906 With orchestral accompaniment | ||
| 1. | MIREILLE: Anges du paradis (Gounod) | 3:44 |
| (XPh 686-3) 39189 | ||
| 2. | LAKMÉ: Fantaisie aux divins mensonges (Delibes) | 3:27 |
| (XPh 687-3) 56049 | ||
| 3. | MANON: Je suis seul…Ah! Fuyez, douce image (Massenet) | 3:36 |
| (XPh 641-3) 56048 | ||
| 4. | WERTHER: Un autre est son époux… J’aurais sur ma poitrine (Massenet) | 3:49 |
| (XPh 662-2) 39179 | ||
| 5. | WERTHER: Pourquoi me réveiller? (Massenet) | 3:14 |
| (XPh 760) 39186 | ||
| 6. | CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA: Ô Lola [Siciliana] (Mascagni) | 1:58 |
| (XPh 665-3) 39175 | ||
| 7. | FEDORA: Le ciel te livre (Amor ti vieta) (Giordano) | 1:57 |
| (XPh 673-3) 39173 | ||
| PIERRE CORNUBERT | ||
| Fonotipia, Paris 1905 With piano accompaniment | ||
| 8. | LES HUGUENOTS: Sous le beau ciel de la Touraine (Meyerbeer) | 2:14 |
| (XPh 637) Odeon 56047 | ||
| 9. | LES HUGUENOTS: Ah, quel spectacle enchanteur…Plus blanche que la blanche hermine (Meyerbeer) | 3:28 |
| (XPh 648) 39275 | ||
| 10. | L’AFRICAINE: Pays merveilleux!... Ô paradis! (Meyerbeer) | 3:10 |
| (XPh 638-2) 39278 | ||
| 11. | ROMÉO ET JULIETTE: Salut, tombeau (Gounod) | 3:18 |
| (XPh 647) 39274 | ||
| 12. | MANON: Je suis seul…Ah! Fuyez, douce image (Massenet) | 2:57 |
| (XPh 639) 39277 | ||
| 13. | WERTHER: Pourquoi me réveiller? (Massenet) | 2:28 |
| (XPh 634-2) Odeon 56046 | ||
| 14. | SIGURD: Hilda! Vierge au pâle sourire (Reyer) | 2:34 |
| (XPh 630) 39276 | ||
| 15. | DIE WALKÜRE: Plus d’hiver [Winterstürme] (Wagner) | 2:57 |
| (XPh 633) 39279 | ||
| Disques Ultima (Etched-label) Paris ca. 1905 With piano accompaniment | ||
| 16. | C’est mon ami (Traditional) | 2:06 |
| 175 | ||
| 17. | Plaisir d’amour (Martini) | 2:10 |
| 176 | ||
| 18. | Ouvre tes yeux bleus (Massenet) | 2:00 |
| 320 | ||
| 19. | La chanson du baiser (de Lara) | 2:13 |
| 321 | ||
| 20. | Ton sourire (Cathérine) | 1:54 |
| 322 | ||
| Edison Two-Minute Cylinders, Paris 1908 With orchestral accompaniment | ||
| 21. | LA DAME BLANCHE: Ah, quel plaisir d’être soldat (Boieldieu) | 2:25 |
| 18070 | ||
| 22. | LE TROUVÈRE: Dieu que ma voix implore [Tenor solo from Miserere] (Verdi) | 2:15 |
| 18071 | ||
| JULIEN LEPRESTRE | ||
| Odéon, Paris ca. 1905 – 1906 With piano accompaniment | ||
| 23. | MARTHA: Lorsqu’à mes yeux (Flotow) | 2:58 |
| (XP 1693) 36148 | ||
| 24. | LA BOHÈME: Que cette main est froide (Che gelida manina) (Puccini) | 3:11 |
| (XP 1731) 36199 | ||
| 25. | Strophes (Marietti) | 3:26 |
| (XP 1730) 36218 | ||
| Odéon, Paris ca. 1905 – 1906 With orchestral accompaniment | ||
| 26. | MANON: Je suis seul…Ah! Fuyez, douce image (Massenet) | 3:16 |
| (XP 2139) 36432 | ||
| 27. | LES DRAGONS DE VILLARS: Ne parle pas (Maillart) | 3:10 |
| (XP 2138) 36431 | ||
| 28. | LE VOYAGE EN CHINE: La Chine est un pays charmant (Bazin) | 3:28 |
| (XP 2141) 36243 | ||
All tracks are sung in French | ||
Producer: Ward Marston
Audio Conservation: Ward Marston
Audio Assistance: J. Richard Harris
Liner Notes: Vincent Giroud, © 2008
Photographs: Girvice Archer, Gregor Benko, Harold Bruder, Richard Copman, Roger Gross, Charles Mintzer
Booklet Design: Takeshi Takahashi
Marston would like to thank J. Neil Forster, Lewis Hall, Lawrence F. Holdridge, John Humbley, Nicole Rodriguez, Richard Warren, and John Wolfson for their help in the production of this CD release.
The following selections are re-recorded from copies in the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Laurence C. Witten II in the Yale Collection of Historical Sound Recordings, Yale University Library:
CD 1: [13, 20 - 21]
CD 2: [8 – 10, 13, 23 – 28]
It is impossible to assign specific recording dates for any of the material contained within this volume since the recording logs no longer exist.
Scaramberg, Cornubert, and Leprestre photos are exceedingly rare and despite great effort, few were found.
Early French Tenors: Émile Scaramberg, Pierre Cornubert, and Julien Leprestre
This release is the first of three double CD sets highlighting early French Tenors. Some of the artists included in these compilations will be well-known names to collectors, and others more obscure. Yet, all deserve a place in history. Émile Scaramberg, Pierre Cornubert, and Julien Leprestre will be featured in this first volume. Émile Scaramberg (1863–1938) an important singer, first at the Opéra-Comique and later at the Opéra, sang the French repertoire and Wagnerian roles with equal expertise and elegance. His complete recordings, made for Fonotipia between 1905–1906, are presented in this volume. Pierre Cornubert (1863–1922) and Julien Leprestre (1864–1909) are both less-well known today than Scaramberg, perhaps because of the scarcity of their records. Cornubert debuted at the Opéra-Comique in 1887 but sang primarily in houses such as Rouen, Marseilles, and Montpellier. He recorded eight sides for Fonotipia, five sides for Disque Ultima, and two Edison cylinders, all of which will be included here. Juliene Leprestre made his debut at Rouen in 1890 and subsequently appeared at La Monnaie. At the Opéra-Comique, he participated in several premiers and created the role of Jean Gaussin in Massenet’s Sapho. He recorded a few extremely rare discs for French Odeon in 1905–1907, a selection of which will be included in this volume.
