The herald., 1893-06-09
D ABOVE THE HIGH D.
The wonderful Voice of Miss ELLEN
Beach Yaw,


Miss Ellen Beach Yaw will be remem-
bered as charming young woman who
sang in concerts here about a year ago.
The New York Herald has the following
to say of her;
A soprano who can sing high G and
sustain the note well ie supposed to have
q good vocal range, but Miss Ellen Beach
Yaw OF THE city can sing D above high
ID when she feels we'll. Her voice is
light, and in the upper part of the mid
die register it is at present unreliable,
but she is only 20 years old and, is work.
ing hard to develop her extraordinary
powers into something like evenness.
Christine Nilsson used to drive her audi.
encss into the seventh heaven of enthu-
siasm by singing the high + sharp in
Mozart's "Magic Flute.'' Miss Yaw
sings + sharp without an effort and sus-
taine the note. The highest vocal range
OF a singer recorded by history was that
OF Lucrezia Ajugari. Mozart says that
in 1870 he heard this soprano range from
G below the middle @ to @ above the
high @. 1t was range of 25 notes.
AJugari could execute trills on the high
d. This ia noted by the Encyclopedia
Britannica as the only known instance
oil the kind. Miss Yaw can sing as low
as Aiugari and one note higher in the
upper register.
This phenomenal voice has been heard
occasionally in amateur concerts for the
last three years, but it has been so un-
even and in some points 30 thin that it
attracted attention only aH an object of
curiosity. But lately Miss Yaw's voice
has begun to improve, and those who
have been watching it believe that she
will develop breadth and roundness
enough to make her entire range availa-
bic should che choose to enter upon an
operatic career later on.
The young lady was born among the
hills 90 miles from Buffalo. During her
childhood she could sing remarkably
high notes, but as she passed into her
teens her voice seemed to degenerate,
and it was not until four or five years
ago that the unusual character of her
vocal chords again began to show itself.
For three years only this unique voice
has been under intelligent cultivation,
but there have been long Interruptions,
so that the process OF upbuilding and
controlling has not been 30 continuous
and systematic as to afford basis for
judging the ultimate value OF Miss
Yaw's powers, Her instructor, Mrs.
Theodor Bjorksten, is profoundly inter-
ested and declares that she can see sure
indications OF great voice.
One OF the most singular things about
Miss Yaw's singing--indeed, the thing
that has attracted most attention-is
that singer who possesses such high
range should be able to sing in her lower
register with almost the breadth of O
contralto.
great specialist who examined, Miss
Yaw's larynx recently said that her
vocal chords were finer than any he had
ever seen or heard of.
was present when Miss Yaw Gang
Proch'a Variations" the other night.
She is tall, slender girl, with golden
hair, blue eyes and features OF great del
icacv. Her slim neck is as graceful as
aswan's. While she sang her highest
cadenzas it was apparent that her voice
was capable Of development. The notes
we're OF good quality. She sang higher
F sharp and held it for seven or eight
seconds, then running up the scale to
@. This note she did not sustain, but
Mrs. Bjorksten, who was present, said
that Miss Yaw could occasionally hold
it in surprising way.
The scientific explanation OF this tre-
rphndnus vocal altitude ia that Miss
Yaw's inferior thyroarytenoid ligament
or true vocal cord had made 2048 vibra-
tions each second.
81 find that my voice IL getting
stronger" said Miss Yaw. "Tenight
am tired and would rather not eing my
highest d. Does it hurt me to use the
extreme upper register? No, not at all.
Lately have noticed that my upper and
middle notes are fuller, and my friends
think that the quality is very much
better. the most unreliable part OF my
voice you have already noticed, but in
that respect am also improving. There
used to be several notes in the upper
part OF the middle register that were
not secure. | never felt sure of placing
them. Thanks to Mrs. Bjorksten it 10
different now"
Mrs. Biorksten said that she had great
hopes for Miss Yaw. At first she looked
upon the upper notes as the evidences
OF mere freak of nature, but lately the
quality of the voice had so altered that
Miss Yaw WAS worth great care. ut is
likely" she remarked, "that Miss Yaw
may lose one or two, or even three. of
her extreme high tones. Thisis usually
the rule in such case, but maybe this
will be an exception. It ia certainly as-
tonishing to find such a splendid, full
lower register combined with such .
high range"