The first volume of this series (12/00) involved much health­giving exercise for the reviewer‚ who spent most of the time on his feet moving to and from the player making never satisfied comparisons between this and the earlier transfers on Pearl‚ Ward Marston being responsible for both. This time‚ I resolve‚ the process shall be sedentary‚ not ambulatory. In other words‚ sit back and (in all probability) enjoy it. ‘O merveille!’ as Caruso sings in the first phrase of all. And what a miracle it is‚ after all. To take that opening phrase for a start: so gentle‚ beautifully rounded and expressive (the consonants made to work‚ the portamento like a sigh of wonder). And then in the quartet how well he shows himself as an artist mindful of others in ensemble. How shapely his phrases in the Prison scene‚ how incisive his tones in the Duel trio! Also a major pleasure is to hear again his colleagues Farrar and Journet‚ both of them singing with a distinction worthy of their great partner. The 1910 sessions (none of them date back to 1908‚ notwithstanding the album title) also included the solo from Otello‚ deeply felt as though he had it already worked into the system. Lovely also to hear the ‘Cielo e mar’ and the Germania solos still preserving so much of his younger‚ less weighty and heroic self. And before you know it‚ the end of the year has arrived‚ and it’s time to be on your feet again. Backwards and forwards once more‚ and yes: there are improvements to note. For example‚ in the second of the Trovatore duets with Louise Homer several small blemishes present on the copy as reproduced on Pearl are absent here‚ and the sound generally is a degree fuller and smoother. Another advantage is that the excerpts are separately tracked; and of course it may be a convenience to be able to buy a single disc rather than a volume of three.