Celebrated stage directors are the enes who
generally get the credit fer translating the dramatic
potential of opera music into true stage
drama. We easily overlook the fact that long
before that became common practice, there
were singers who could act just as impressively as they sang.
And if ever there were a singer who
perfectly and single-handedly embodied that fusion of music and drama, of opera and theatre,
then it was Feodor Chaliapin. The revolutionary
effect his acting had on the werld of opera can
be compared only with that of Maria Callas
much later. In the opinion of Stanislavsky, he was
the only one who achieved the synthesis of
singing and acting - an otherwise unattainable ideal.
Chaliapin
himself made the following appropriate
comments on the difference between his approach
and that of others: »In the opera one must sing as if one were speaking. I later became
aware that the singers who tried to imitate
me were under a misapprehension. They
did not sing as if they were speaking, but spoke
as if they were singing.«
Many details in these recordings of Chaliapin
singing Russian songs prove the aptness of
his perception. For all his extraordinary presence
and the expressiveness of his singing, he
never forsakes the song line. He sings as naturally
as others speak. And one does not have
to know Russian to understand why Maxim
Gorky was so taken with Chaliapin's recording of Mussorgsky's »Song of the Flea«. It is a masterpiece
of vocal expressiveness and virtuosity,
notably in his varied treatment of the laughter.
Please note: This is not a Pristine Audio historic restoration.
ADVERTISEMENT
Pristine Classical - bringing you DRM-free classical MP3 downloads
FAQ
FLAC downloads use lossless compression - when replayed or transferred to disc they are bit- identical to original recordings.
16 BIT files are at full CD resolution, identical to our CD masters.
24 BIT files are at higher, studio master resolution, identical to our finished master files.
Please ensure you can play our 24 bit FLAC files before purchase - try our test files here.
Not all media players support FLAC yet, so you may need to convert to WAV or AIFF before playback. See our FLAC help guide
FLAC downloads come as a series of tracks in a ZIP archive file.
Our MP3 files are encoded at very high variable bitrates using the LAME encoder, widely regarded as the offering the best sound quality
Each recording is presented as a single, long MP3 which can be split using the CUE sheet at the bottom of the page, adding track titles and other information.
CD writing programs such as Nero and Burrrn can write these files directly to CD with all track information added using MP3+CUE - see our tutorial
Alternatively a cue splitter program can automatically cut and name the MP3 into individual MP3 tracks
There are also media players which use the MP3+CUE system, allowing gapless playback of all long MP3 files - essential for opera and many other classical works
Save money when you buy several downloads together by using the following discount codes in the shopping cart:
Buy 5 or more - save 10%: Code: 85187052
Buy 10 or more - save 20%: Code: 12W07104
How To Use: Once you've made your selections, copy the correct code into the space marked Discount or Coupon Code in your shopping cart, then click the Update Cart button to apply the discount before heading to the checkout.
N.B. These discounts apply to all our FLAC and MP3 downloads only. Discounts do not apply to CD purchases
Our CDs are made to order on highest quality Taiyo Yuden Watershield CD-R discs, recorded directly from our master files
CDs are shipped worldwide by Air Mail from France. The price here includes all shipping costs - there are no hidden extras
Standard and Premium CDs hold the same quality of audio - the Standard CD comes in a slip case with no covers, the Premium comes in a jewel case with printed covers
Each music page has PDF covers for printing out at home
They can be found by clicking on cover artwork or scrolling to the bottom of the page
Always deselect any resizing options in the print dialogue of Adobe Reader before printing to ensure correct cover sizes
All payments are processed by PayPal, one of the world's biggest and most reliable global online payment services
You can pay by credit card directly with PayPal acting merely as a secure card payment processing facility
You can use a PayPal account for quicker, easier and totally secure payments
We do not recommend using the e-check option for download purchases as there is always a delay of 3-4 working days between purchase and receipt of goods while the check clears
Payments are charged in Euros and will be converted from other currencies at the current PayPal exchange rate
