One of the most important inventions of the early twentieth century was the microphone. It came into general use in the recording industry in the mid-1920s.
Of course, over time they became not only a means of transferring and enhancing sound, they also profoundly influenced the way in which singers sang.
No longer did performers need to project their voices to the back row of the gods, as opera and music-hall singers had always learned to do. In fact, they could sing very quietly and still be heard clearly.
An early example of this is Harry Plunket Greene’s recording of Schubert’s “The Hurdy Gurdy Man”. Born in 1865, the Irish baritone had necessarily learned the art of projecting his voice.
But by the time of the recording he was 69 years old and his voice was a pale shadow of what it had been in his prime. So he almost whispered into the microphone. The result is extraordinary.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iW04f0olXUY
Let me know what you think…
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