César Vezzani’s clarion voice and robust approach has won for him a secure place in the pantheon of great French tenors of the 20th Century. He made more than 170 sides, most of which were only issued in France and are, today, eagerly sought by collectors. I am pleased to present this first volume chronicling his earliest discs.

César Vezzani cut his first records for French Odeon at about the time of his Opéra-Comique debut. It is impossible to date these recordings accurately since Odeon’s recording ledgers have not survived. The most knowledgeable expert on Odeon recordings and dating, Christian Zwarg, believes that Vezzani’s Odeons were most likely recorded between 1912 and 1914. In addition to his published Odeons, there exist two unpublished test pressings of arias from Lohengrin and Mereille. Curiously, both discs bear the same matrix number but different take numbers. In addition, there is a test pressing containing an alternate take of “Or’e per sempre addio” from Otello (CD 1, Track 3) which is probably unpublished and I discovered two published takes of “Vesti la giuba” (CD 1, Tracks 1 and 2).

Since Vezzani’s Odeon discs had been recorded over a number of recording sessions, I assumed that there would be slight differences in play back speed from one disc to another since record companies did not adhere to any standardized speed. The earliest group of Vezzani matrices all play between 79 and 80.5rpm (CD 1, Tracks 1-7). The second group (CD 1, Tracks 8-14) play at a much lower speed of 73 to 75rpm. The remaining matrices play between 76.5 and 78.5rpm, except for “Che gelida manina” from La Bohème which posed an interesting dilemma. When played at the same speed as the other matrices in the group, the resultant pitch was transposed up a semi-tone from score pitch. This aria is often transposed down but no tenor would ever transpose it up. Therefore, I transferred this disc at 74.8rpm which places the aria at score pitch.

I have presented these recordings chronologically by matrix number except when matrix order clashed with proper musical sequence as with the Manon arias and the Tosca excerpts. (I apologize in advance for the execrable Eliane Peltier who may be counted as one of the worst Toscas on record.) I also separated the two takes of “Or’e per sempre addio” which have the same matrix number. Odeon used the same matrix numbers for multiple takes even when recorded on different dates. Take 1 plays at 80rpm which puts it squarely and sequentially with the earliest group. Take 2, which plays at 73.5rpm, obviously belongs with the second group of matrices.

César Vezzani’s Odeon discs are extremely well-recorded with the voice perfectly focused. They must have sounded glorious on those acoustic gramophones and their owners must have played them over and over as evidenced by the difficulty in finding mint copies! In such cases as the aria from Le Roi d’Ys and “Le Crucefix” I have simply tried to do my best with poor condition discs.

Following a nine-year recording hiatus, Vezzani began an association with French HMV that lasted for more than ten years. This set includes his 1923 recordings and several from his 1924 sessions. These recordings include arias Vezzani had previously sung for Odeon. These discs are easier to find in mint condition but do not deliver the sonic impact of the Odeons (Compare CD 1, Tracks 4,7,9,24 with CD 2, Tracks 15,12,13,16).