British Contralto Clara Butt ~ Love's Old Sweet Song (1923)
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- Опубліковано 2 жов 2024
- For "raymo51" / British contralto Clara Butt (1872-1936) / Love's Old Sweet Song (Molloy) / Recorded: April 25, 1923 (take 4) / Dame Clara Butt Complete Discography : www.trevormidgley.com/ClaraButt --
Truly a gem of a woman, with a unique voice who captured the hearts of millions around the world. Tragedies beset her, however, one son dying of meningitis, and the other committing suicide. In 1940 she died of cancer. So sad.
"She was 6 foot 2, and a baritone too!" - Anna Russell
Howdy Marshall: Though the style may be strange to modern ears as you say, clearly many of us adapt quickly to Dame Clara's artistry. THANKS! Doug --
What a glorious voice...
It’s just so nice to hear great voices like this. Especially the contralto sound. Thanks.
Una voce incredibile .....ha indubbiamente dei bassi che raramente ascolti in una voce femminile , una voce di contralto puro colore sempre più raro e forse in via di estinzione ...
What a glorious human voice nothing ever like it ever. They say she could be heard all the way across the English Channel. Beautiful gowns in this posting thank you sooo much.
Galli-Curci's acoustic version of this song was recorded on June 1, 1923, about a month after Dame Clara Butt's. I wonder if Galli-Curci had listened to Dame Clara's recording and if it influenced her own interpretation. I doubt it since the two singers' styles could hardly be more different, yet both are superb. Thanks again, Doug.
Hmmmm.... interesting question.... and no clue one way or the other, but agree both are wonderful. Thank you, Nate!
Beautiful song sung by a beautiful lady.
To my ear the voice reflects the tragedy that would become her life.
You are right. Just as there was a haunted quality to Kathleen Ferrier's voice. A deep darkness within; an awful emptiness she could not shake. And she too died of cancer.
mstrsims2 how do you know about this lady ? she was my Nextdoor neighbour in north London Swiss Cottage
Her voice, both powerful and deep, impressed contemporary composers such as Saint-Saëns and Elgar; the latter composed a song-cycle with her in mind as soloist.
Indeed a glorious human voice as opposed to the glorious ethereal angelic voice of Amelita Galli-Curci, who also recorded this and her unique incredibly beautiful timbre. Thank you for posting this version of Clara Butt! I own an old song book of Clara Butt but never knew what she sounded likel
Wonderful. Butt and Galli-Curci should be listened to. Both sincere renderings.
Yes!
Thank you....
Cheers.
Doug --
Doug
It always takes me a few seconds to adjust my ears that this is a female voice.
It is impressive and thanks
John
The final verse is very poignant indeed, given the deaths of Clara Butt's sons:
"So till the end, when life's dim shadows fall,
Love will be found the sweetest song of all."
The courage of an artist under such circumstances to sing such lyrics is beyond imagining and admirable beyond words.
A similar example is that of Sir Harry Lauder, receiving news, just as he was about to go on stage, that his son had been killed. Lauder then sang, God knows how: 'Keep right on till the end of the road'.
Hi Nate: The Model-T shifting of gears, evident in many of her recordings, can somehow be endearing, if that makes sense? The diminutive Galli-Curci, in the light (shadow?) of statuesque Dame Clara... two very different singers, both consummate artists. Thank you!
DOUG ~
This is one of MY songs, often included in programs of nostalgic popular songs of yore ~ thanks for this treat!
~ ANDY
Despite the fact
that the height of 2 meters.
I'd get married!
Especially with the height of 2 meters* !!! Haha 🤣
I have just fallen in love with a dead woman and I'm happy, so leave us alone.
DAME CLARA ELLEN BUTT (DBE) (1 February 1872 - 23 January 1936), sometimes called Clara Butt-Rumford after her marriage, was an English contralto with a remarkably imposing voice and a surprisingly agile singing technique. Her main career was as a recitalist and concert singer.
Molto Bello!!! Thank you for sharing this video.
Hi John:
Can't say I don't know what you mean... ... there's only one Clara Butt!
THANKS!
Doug --
One of my all time favorites from the decades before I was born !
Wow! What a rollercoaster performance by Dame Clara. Loved it! So many thanks Doug!
So beautiful. My grandmother used to sing this song
A very lovely tune! Thanks Doug.
Thanks-song and voice certainly evoke another world
I see you've put a lot of her on hope I don't offend fans but it is how shall I put it mildly strange style to modern ears
I know she was an institution with legendary unamplified volume
however the hooking upward to a bit of a yodel sound the blatant mixing of registers and so on makes singing a lot easier
of course some of the voice itself is terrific fine pronunciation you can sing in English in this style and be understood
Clara is my grand aunt 💕
Hi Chris: Warm tidings from the cold & snowy North! Cheers, etc. Doug --
This song make me cry :(
I was here 5 years ago ;)
@@ammar541That's the spirit ! Dame Clara Butt forever !
Dear rupepil: Your remarks n Dame Clara and Sir Harry have touched and moved.... my own words fail. In grateful appreciation, thank you. Doug --
How us Brits loved Dame Clara, the old Albert was
guaranteed to be packed. Thanks.
A couple of months ago I was in Ireland, and I asked some local people if they knew Love's Old Sweet Song. They didn't. That was sad. It's an Irish song and has a prominent place in James Joyce's Ulysses - and I know it though I am from Prague, Czech Republic.
It's not sad at all. It's just the way things move on. why were you asking would be another pint?
Ondřej Elleder Ah we know it all right, we keep the best stuff to ourselves!
Ondřej Elleder: Ah, but now ask them if they know "Just a Song at Twilight."
@titmouse0hehehe: Plenty. A btw, this isn't just any ole song from the 1920s. In the 1920s it had already been popular for decades, from the 1880s probably. And having visited a number of Irish pubs, I can tell you that they sing a lot of old songs, older than from the 1920s. But no one knew this gem of a song - that's part of the most admired work of Irish literature. I would compare it to a situation where educated English people had never heard of Greensleeves.
Ondřej Elleder Well they know it in Cork!
Hi Stephen: Warm regards on a cold & snowy day from DC. Cheers, etc. Doug --
Once in the dear dead days beyond recall.
When on the world the mists began to fall,
Out of the dreams that rose in happy throng
Low to our hearts love sang an old sweet song
And in the dusk where fell the firelight gleam
Softly it wove itself into our dream.
Just a song at twilight
When the lights are low,
And the flickering shadows
Softly come and go
Though the heart be weary,
Sad the day and long,
Still to us at twilight comes love's old song,
Comes love's old sweet song.
Even today we hear love's song of yore
Deep in our hearts it dwells forever more
Footsteps may falter, weary grows our way
Still we can hear it at the close of day
So till the end when life's dim shadows fall
Love will be found the sweetest song of all.
Just a song at twilight
When the lights are low,
And the flickering shadows
Softly come and go.
Though the heart be weary,
Sad the day and long,
Still to us at twilight comes love's old song
Comes love's old sweet song.
Genia:
To read your words....
... so very nice.
Merci!
Doug --
Thank YOU, Raymond.... my pleasure!
@DanRobSo
LoL! Many thanks... CHEERS!
Thank YOU, Lloyd.... very much!
I have to sing this song for my Grade 4 singing exam.Any tips?
Listen.
Elle Odile Trust the beautiful song, trust your beautiful self...
I usually hear sopranos, but hearing a contralto voice, it's a mixture of tenor with contralto. Good.
Sounds like a transgendered tenor.
+Ernest Money She was a Contralto, that is the lowest female vocal range, they are rarely come by and are often at the same range as a countertenor, the lowest male voice range.
+Matthew Laurence (Matternick-europhile)
To me her voice sounds darker than most contraltos, edging into male voice territory in the opening. Perhaps it's a side-effect of corsets.
Ernest Money I very much doubt corsets have anything to do with it. Singers of this time tend to be much higher in scale than to-day, on average, than to-day's corset free women.
Some Contraltos extend as lower pitch as Tenor and Dame Clara does so several times. She was loved for her darker, full-bodied, rich sound and was capable of maintaining a good mezzo range as well.
Physically, she appears to be quite a big woman (I don't mean fat).
She is most certainly not a Soubrette :)
+Matthew Laurence (Matternick-europhile) A tenor, not counter. A tenor is the highest male voice but, men can be trained to sing alto or soprano, the latter called "countertenor". Her voice is feminine and quite beautiful a s she must hve been in the flesh. many times, especially in Baroque music, the clef is a tenor clef or middle C.
Not a countertenor but an actual tenor in many cases.. The countertenor has the range of a soprano! She has a huge range but the lower notes are in the tenor range.
The always amazing, singular phenomenon that is Dame Clara. She varies the refrain, the second time pianissimo and pops out a lovely high note. She always gives 150%. Long may she reign.