Faust final trio - Caruso-Farrar-Journet & McCormack-Melba-Sammarco (1910)

Here's an interesting comparison: the Faust final trio (Alerte! Alerte! Ou vous ete perdus!) with Enrico Caruso, Geraldine Farrar, and Marcel Journet, 12 January 1910 Victor recording, and the final trio with John McCormack, Nellie Melba, and Mario Sammarco, 11 May 1910 HMV recording.

Two things to note: First of all, Caruso's voice was so large he was made to stand several feet away from Farrar and Journet, who were much closer to the recording horn than he was (this was a common occurrence when Caruso recorded with other artists). McCormack had a much smaller voice so he stood extremely close to the horn when recording. Second of all, Farrar's voice was considerably larger than Melba's. Therefore the difference between the sizes of Caruso and McCormack's voices may not be as apparent as it would be live, but it is still obvious that Caruso produced a far more powerful sound.

The reason I posted this was to address the people who think one can't judge Caruso's greatness based on 'those old acoustic recordings.' The point is, some of John McCormack's best recordings (such as this one) were ACOUSTIC, made during the same time Caruso was recording for Victor. Tito Schipa is another example. In my opinion, his GREATEST recordings were made with HMV in the years between 1913 and 1921, all ACOUSTIC. No one ever complains that we cant judge McCormack and Schipa's greatness based on 'those old acoustic recordings,' so why complain about judging Caruso?

Enjoy the recordings, and I hope you find my argument valid, or at least interesting. Feel free to contribute to the discussion if you want to put your 2 cents worth in this matter.