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A thousand apologies. My last two posts, on ornamentation, had bungled links. Due to my misunderstanding of a feature in my FTP software. Very unfortunate, to offer you what I think are stunning examples of ornamentation, and then not let you hear them!
But now the links are fixed, including my favorites, which go to Eva Podles’s vocal fireworks, showing how an 18th century singer might have ornamented the da capo repeat in a Handel aria. And to three versions of “Ecco ridente” from the Barber of Seville, recorded in 1963 (by Luigi Alva), sung live in 1941 (by Bruno Landi), and recorded in 1904 (by Fernando De Lucia). These, as I said in the post, are like an archeological dig, uncovering three more and more distant layers of the past.
The 1963 performance, even though it’s decades old, might not quite be from the past, because you’ll usually hear the aria sung just this way today, almost exactly the way Rossini wrote it in his score. The other two recordings take you back much further, with successively more — and increasingly freer — ornaments added to the score. So much worth listening to!
Links to the corrected posts:
First one, with general remarks about ornamentation (plus the Podles link).
Second one, with many specific examples, both audio, and in score.