[Thanks to Ward Project Music Cataloger Andrea Cawelti for contributing this post.]
Who is this Adelina Patti mentioned so prominently in Anna Karenina? Why does Edith Wharton compare May to Christine Nilsson at the beginning of The Age of Innocence, and expect her readers to understand without further explanation? And what was it about the expressive quality of Gasparo Pacchierotti’s singing which excited Fanny Burney so, that she mentioned it specifically in several of her most famous novels? A new Ward Collection acquisition can answer these questions and more.
Assembled by legendary music antiquarian Richard Macnutt, the collection relates primarily to singers in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, providing primary source material regarding their vocal ranges, styles of singing, and ornamentation. While the collection has not yet been fully cataloged, there is a finding list available to interested researchers.
Macnutt singers collection introduction (MS Word doc)
Macnutt singers collection finding list (MS Word doc)
What a fascinating approach! Music and literature together, brilliant!
Brava!