Disques Idéal

Malibran is a French company created by Guy Dumazert, and managed now by Carlo Ciabrini after Guy's death. The company is publishing CDs with singers not available elsewhere. Idéal (i.e. Aspir & Idéal) was a French firm active before the first world war (1912 onwards). It used the same technique as Pathé i.e. the hill & dale process with a 90 rpm official playing speed. We encounter names already familiar from other labels such as Nucelly, Nivette, Charny, Weber, Beyle, Rigaux, Dangès, Melgati, Gautier, Mario, Heilbronner, Laute-Brun, Gresse, etc. But others like Elval, Teissié, Pla, Galand, for example, have left very little besides their Idéal records. This set contains a great rarity: the Saint Pierre aria from Quo vadis, sung by its creator, the bass Marvini, whom I met, when I was young, at my aunt's house. Besides the names listed above, the set contains also the voices of Viannenc, Cazenave, Dulière, Balthazar, Mario, Gasseno, Caro Martel and Mariotti. This set is highly recommended for the real connoisseurs of old recordings always looking for new discoveries.