There are times when one marvels incredulously to think that the person opposite is 90. Similarly here: I have, metaphorically, to rub my ears to take in the fact that these recordings (most of them, and those the latest) were made 90 years ago. With a voice like De Luca’s, would we really reproduce it more like life today? And, as it happens, even the pianist doesn’t fare too badly: at any rate, better than the orchestra that was just beginning to supplant him in the studios, but which is mercifully excluded throughout these sessions. De Luca himself is a sturdy survivor, a delight to those ears red from the rub, totally meriting his 90-year preservation, a continual (and I should hope perpetual) reference-point whenever the art of the baritone in general is under discussion. Try him, for a start, in Malatesta’s “Bella siccome un angelo” from Don Pasquale, or the Ernani aria, or any of the three songs which end the recital. But all, even the Mozart, even something like the cynical “O monumento” (La Gioconda) for which he hasn’t the temperament, bring their rewards. Here is quite simply one of the best sequences of baritone recordings to be found anywhere, or from any time.
The only question is: do you buy this single record or turn to the double set on Pearl ((CD) GEMMCDS9226)? Two volumes comprising virtually all of De Luca’s recordings on Fonotipia and Victor were published, reviewed in these columns only last year (Pearl, 1/96) with a welcome that was qualified by discomfort over the sound of the transferred Victors. It was suggested that the 1907 series might be reissued separately, which has now been done, with two items added. All 43 tracks are worth having. On the other hand, if a selection has to be made, the 22 included on this Preiser disc are a good choice and the transfers compare well: a little less sharply etched, but blessed with a warmth and natural beauty of tone such as by all accounts De Luca so eminently possessed.'