Florence Foster Jenkins 78rpm shellac Queen of the Night/Serenata Mexicana #09
$
135
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Description
The inimitable Florence Foster Jenkins is once again in the news, thanks to the new movie starring Meryl Streep. Jenkins remains a legend for the strange reason that she was an absolutely terrible operatic singer.
As far as we know, Jenkins made only 6 records, between 1941 and 1944 and all were accompanied by Cosme McMoon. These were privately produced, by the Melotone Recording Studio ("Your portrait in sound"). The number of copies pressed is unknown but was certainly very limited since these were primarily made for Mme. Jenkins to give as Christmas gifts to members of her club (The Verdi Club). They became so popular that Mme. Jenkins sold them to the general public. They were not generally available in stores, aside perhaps from the Gramophone Store in NYC, who described one of the recordings as “a most unusual record which must be heard to be believed”. A very succinct description.
Offered here is one of those very rare pressings. This record contains "Der hölle Rache", the Queen of the Night's aria from Mozart's Die Zauberflöte and Cosme McMoon's composition, Serenata Mexicana.
In addition to the Queen of the Night aria from Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Mme. Jenkins also sang Serenata Mexicana during her 1944 Carnegie Hall recital, in a "Quartet Arrangement", with members of The Pascarella Chamber Music Society. This string quartet also played movements from string quartets during the recital, giving Mme. Jenkins time to fully collect herself. The players made their opinion known about the circumstances by sitting with their backs to each other, facing away from each other.
This 78rpm recording is 12" in diameter and is unusually thick and heavy. The condition is acceptable, considering its age, bright and shiny. I cannot vouch for its playability. Both labels are in excellent condition.
There are many CD compilations of Jenkins' recordings but originals almost never appear on the market.
I will pack it very securely for safe shipping.
This disc is from the private collection offered by Norbeck, Peters and Ford
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