The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1893-06-08
A REMARKABLE SOPRANO
The New York Herald's Tribute 10
the Genius Of Ellen
Beach Yaw.
A Gifted Bird bf Song Who was
In Helena Two Years
Ago.
A. Twenty-Five She Sings From q Below
Middle O 10 u Above ths
high ID.

A soprano who can sing high O and sus.
tain Tho nots we'll IL sup. ossd TO have =
good vocal angs. but Mics Elton Beach
Ysw. Of New York. can alag d above the
high d when she feels we'll. Her voice 10
light. md in the upper rart Of tho middle
register 10 at present unreliable, but she 10
only % years old and is working hard to
develop her extraordinary powers into
something like cvennoss Christine Niis-
son, says tho New York Herald, used 70
drive her audiences into the seventh heaven
of enthusiasm br singing tho high + sharp
In Mozart's magic Flute" Miss Yaw
sings F sharp without Al effort and sus-
tains the note.
The highest vocal n OF 4 singer re-
corded by history wa that OF Lucrszia
AjuRari. Mozavt says that in ITO he heard
this soprano range from g below the mid
die Ito @ above the high G., II was .
range Of twenty-five notes. AiuRari could
execute trills on the high D. This ia noted
by the ENJOY clopedia Britannica az tho only
known instance Of tho kind. Miss Yaw can
sing as low As Ajugnri. and one motto higher
in the upper register.
This phenomenal voice has bsen hsard
occasionally in amateur concerts for the
last three yeas. but IL has boon 40 uneven
and in some points 80 thin that it attracted
attention only ~ an object Of curiosity.
But lately Miss Yaw's voics has begun 10
improve. and those who have been watch
ing It believe that she will Develop breadth
and r%oundneas enough to mako her entire
range available should she choose 70 enter
uron an operate career later on.
49, AA> III
twenty miles from Buffalo. During her
shildhsod she could sing remarkably high
notes. but az she passed into her teens her
voice seemed to degenerate and and IL was
not until fouF or Ave years ago that the nm
usual chars oter 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 inter-
ruptions, SO that the process OF upbuilding
and controlling has not bsen 10 continuous
and systematic ~ TO afford q basis for
judging the ultimate value Of Miss Yaw's
powers. Her instructor. Mrs. Yhssdor
Bjorksten, 10 profoundly interested and de-
great voice.
One of the most singular things sbout
Miss Yaw's singinR-indeed, the thing that
has attracted most attenttsA-is that .
singer who possesses such q high range
sboald be able TO sing in her lower register
WAgA 4k1O ~ SpV~v1 ~ p ~
Athroat specialist who examined Miss
,Yaw's lsrynx recently said that her vocal
chords were finer than any no had over sssA
or heard of.
Z A reporter was present when Miss Yav
sang Proch's Variations" recently. She
eyes, and features Of great Aslicacy. Hyr
slim neck i az graceful a. . swans. While
she sang her highest cadenzas, IL was ap-
parent that her voice was capable Of devel-
opnent. The notes were Of good quality.
She sang the higher II sharp and held it
the scale to Q. This motto she did mot sus-
tain. but Mrs. Bjorksten, who WAS present.
said that Miss Yaw could occasionally hold
1t in q surprising way.
The scientific explanation of this ire
mendous vocal altitude is that Miss Yaw's
vocal corr had made 2,O48 vib. atisAs each
second.
u find that my voice is getting stronger
and stronger" said Miss Yaw. doe IL
hurt me to use the extreme upper register?
No. not al all. Lately ! have noticed that
my upper and middle notes are fuller, n
my friends think that the quality 10 very
much better. The most unreliable art Of
my voice You have already noticed, but III
that respect ] am also inn rowing. There
used to be several notes of tho upper part
of the middle register that were not secure.
I never felt sure of placing them. Thanks
Mrs. Bieorkston said that Tho had great
hopes for Miss Yaw. Al frst she locked
upon the UPPER notes ns the evidences of n
mole freak OF nature. but lately the quality
of the voice had so altered that Miss YAw
was worth great care.
1T 10 likely" she remarked. 'that Miss
Yaw may lose ono or two, or even three, Of
her extreme high tones. That 10 usually
the rule in suoh a CAGE. but maybe this will
10 an exception. It is certainly astonish-
Ing to find such . splendid, full lower reg
lister combined with such a high range"