Ruby Helder the Female Tenor - Come into the Garden Maude - 1921 Pathe Freres Record
Вставка
- Опубліковано 5 жов 2012
- Here is the very unusual early Female Tenor, Ruby Helder (GIven Name Holder), singing "Come into the Garden Maude, music by Michael Balfe with words based on the poem Song from Maud by Tennyson", and featured on a 1921 American Pathe Record 30384, although number in the runout 77283 may indicate that this side was taken from a much earlier U.K. Master by Helder Made a decade or more earlier. Ruby Holder was born in Bristol, in the U.K. in 1890. She made her first record for Pathe around 1908, and her last recordings were in 1921. You can find more details about her on-line or from another Ruby Helder video featured here on UA-cam .
What an excellent performance by Ruby Helder. I've listened to this song being sung by all the best tenors of that era (20s thru to the 40s) Ruby version seems to me to bright up there with the best. Thank you, Mr. Bruce Young.
Interesting and informative post!
Such force in that voice!
Funny you should post this.....waaaay back in my high school choir, I actually would secretly sing with the tenors ..as I was more comfortable singing in the tenor range!! (and still do!)
Yes. The stylus vibration on Pathes is not side-to-side, but up and down. Thus the orientation of the reproducer.
Clay
I am not a very technical person, but I would assume it designed that way because Pathe records were made using the Hill & dale or Vertical Groove method of recording, where the sound is at the bottom of the groove rather then the sides (as would be the case on the more common lateral groove recordings).
I'm curious about something..I have seen this before on videos : I notice that the pickup gives the impression that it is roughly at right-angles to the actual stylus vibration direction. I would expect the diaphragm would be tangential to the groove! Why is it actually configured this way?
Thanks again for your wonderful videos :) James.
It is possible, but since the Pathe's were at 80rpms, I calibrated the speed as close to that as possible. I try to be a precise as possible, but I may not be quite at that speed. Anyway, it should be pretty close to that.
Interestingly 'Jumbo' records give a speed on the label, one would think this helpful, but have not always had good results by adhering to these.
Ah yes. So the diaphr
agm is partially horizontal. That makes sense. Thanks :)
I am always fascinated to hear Ruby Helder on record, It just seems so odd that such a voice could be produced by a slightly built feminine looking lady. One wonders what her speaking voice would be like. Not wanting to be critical, but to my ear the play back seems a little fast. I know speeds are a bit of a minefield as there was no fixed norm for early records. Thanks again for uploading.
Quite interesting. seem female tenor would be even rarer than countertenor
They called her that, obviously because her voice resembled that of a Man's. In those days a Man who had a voice that sounded like Female, was called a Counter Tenor. I guess the females who sounded like males were so rare that they did not have a special descriptive word to describe them so they just referred to them as Female or Girl Tenors.
I wonder what the difference is between a female tenor, and a contralto?
Her voice does not sound like a man if one really listens carefully. She was a low contralto. In all, terrible voice and it just proves what sounds natural isn't always good.