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A toast to Tosti
CD REVIEW: LIFE AND LOVE IN SONG (JAMES DOOLEY)
LIFE and Love in Song is the title of a CD recording of the songs of Francesco Paolo Tosti, music teacher to Queen Victoria’s family.
Tosti was born in Ortona, Italy, in 1846, and studied violin, piano and composition in Naples. Although he graduated as a violinist he started work as a conductor in his home town and in Ancona. He moved to London where he lived for more than thirty years before going back to Rome, where he died in 1916.
James Dooley is a physician at the Royal Free Hospital who specialises in diseases of the liver and is a Reader in Medicine at the Royal Free and University College Medical School.
Dr Dooley studied piano, organ and singing at school and before going to Medical School he studied Italian at the University of Perugia. During his medical student days, and subsequently throughout his career as a doctor, he has continued to perfect his singing technique and has given many recitals in and around London, raising funds for charity and even performing in the Royal Free Christmas Panto.
Dr Dooley lives in Dartmouth Park, and if you walk down a certain street in NW5, you may be fortunate enough to hear a strong tenor belting out Mozart as her does his washing up – an experience I am pleased to have had. But to able to catch his vocals on a CD is a true treat: his voice is perfectly suited to the romantic genre of Tosti’s songs, and he is ably accompanied by the Italian pianist, conductor and musical director Antonio Piovano.
Tosti’s songs have been performed by all the great tenors – Enrico Caruso, Beniamino Gigli, Richard Tauber, Mario Lanza, Jose Carreras and John McCormack, as well as Dame Nellie Melba. But none of these famous singers have managed to record so many of Tosti’s beautiful songs together on one disc with such verve and panache. The lyrics, mostly in Italian, but also in French and English, are beautifully matched by Tosti’s melodies and Dooley’s articulation ensures that the listener, enchanted by the music, hears every word.
The accompanying notes are comprehensive and the translations reflect the poetic nature of the original lyrics. Clearly a great deal of care has gone into getting them right.
The delights of the music are aptly complemented by the charming pictures interspersed in the text, making it a thoroughly enjoyable package.
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