The evening times., 1900-05-05
A STOREHOUSE OF VOICES
Coil eeti0ns Made by a Former Ital
ian Army Officer.
Notes of Fine YOcaIists and Speeches
OF Orators and Actors-A Song Inn
ported From the Celestial King
dom-Many Nay Listen 10 the
Echoes OF Their Departed Tones.

Lieut. Gianni Bettini is a collector. He
collects echoes He is a former officer Of
the Italian Army decorated by the King
Of Italy. In his studio. uptown. tbis con-
nOisseur Of feet and fading sounds has a
collection Of great historical and artistic
value. II is not a collection OF paintings
of sculpture of porcelains. OF orchids. or
Of dwarf japanese trees. but a collection
Of beautiful voices. The voices of Flea
nora Duse. Sarah Bernhardt. Ellen Terry,
Calve. NOrdiea. Sembrich; OF these. and
many great actors, singers. and we'll
known men Of the day. Lieutenant Betttai
is the custodian Of these famous voices for
posterity.
or course. one may hear the voices OF
ballad singer and broad comedian in any
phonograph for a penny; but these are Of
somewhat fugitive interest IL is the dis
tinction Of Lieutenant Bettini's collection
that it comprises voices which VIII inter
est all time Future singers will hold
their ears 10 listen 10 them. II a pFima
donna wishes her notes 10 float TO the bOr-
bers of the earth and linger to the end
0f days, she takes her silvery voice 10
Lieutenant Bettini's studio If an ambi-
tious actor desires 10 be Hamlet when he
is dust. he drops into the Bettini school OF
Immortality
With the early phonograph. the voice
went in silver and came out brass. Golden
speech was returned in copper change. IN
1889 Lieutenant Bettins devised a dia-
phragm that took away the metallic res
onance. II nov became possible for a pho
nOgraph to render the song of pTima donna
without creating the impression thar she
was accompanied by a village brass band
That the voices Of the great actors and
singers might not fade with them, Lieu
tenant Bettini began 10 collect those that
thrill the theatre OF charm the opera. for
other times 20 hear across the centuries.
Sarah Bernhardt visited his studio She
bequeathed her silvery voice, in two Sc
lectiOns Passage dams 10 Drama IZsyi"
and TN Peu de MusiGue by Victor
Hugo. Sonnenthal the great German ira
gedian. came and gave 10 the photograph a
selection from Schiller's "Wsllestein-" 3"
Nine. Reiane repeated for the instrument
the ''Tirsde dams DivorcOns." by Sardou-
YYeJte GuiIbert sang for The ga|ety OF fu-
Jure cycles 4 Want You. Ma Honey both
in English and French. and. also. three
vivaeiOus French songs The great Tom
masO Salyini left his mighty voice 10 thrill
coming generations. EleanOra Duse and
Ellen Terry gave records OF their voices
Preserved here are the voices Of Mark
Twain. John Drew, Nat G. Goodwin, and
Henry E Dixey-
Many Of the actors and singers heard
their own voices for the first time in the
micro-phonograph. with intense interest
Sarah Bernhardt listened intently 10 Sa-
rah Bernhard; Duse fingered on the words
Of Duse, Sembrich heard Sembrich sing
Each had an attentive audience Of one
and that one herself The phonograph is
10 the voice what the mirror is 70 the
form. and stage people have sometimes
ayailed themselves OF IL 10 study the char
acter and quality OF their voices When
the writer recently visited the studio. an
assistant placed a wax cylinder in one OF
the micro monographs and the insIru-
ment poured forth the rich voice OF Cam
panini The great Italian tenor has lost
his voice and in ali the world there is no
place he may find II except in Lieutenant
Bettinis studio. Many an actor. OF sing
eT. may drop into this studio. in his old
age. and pay a visit 10 his vanished voice
He may listen TO the tones that thrilled in
his youth, and in imagination he can
place himself behind The fOOtlights when
the audience broke into applause at some
high and exquisite note; or was held SPELL
bound by some fine dramatic passage
A song imported from China was rem
dered- Il had, perhaps. been sung in some
theatre or tea garden Of the Flowery KiE3-
dom and was accompanied by an orchestra
Of Chinese musical Instruments. II was in
a minor key. and sounded like the waiIins
OF cat The sIringed instruments could
be distinctly heard. There was a strange
but genuine. melody in IT, and perehance Il
was a little masterpiece which had pro-
duced furore in the Chinese opera houses
Of the rural circuit
Already an international trade in voices
is springiEg up. The notes OF the great
singers go. Unfaded 10 every part of the
world. The fine dramatic speeches of The
actors achO across distant seas. The mel
ody sung al New Y$rk is heard at the an
tipodes. The lines OF the actor that earned
him an encore in Broadway echo in China
Lieutenant Bettini exports voices 10 Eu.
rope, South Africa India. Australia New
Zealand. China. and Japan. Voices are alsS
imported by him from Europe Japan and
China. The business is extending. an.
soon we may have the Basuto war song OF
the folk song of the Fuegean, singing on
glacial mountain in TERRA del Fuego
The Bettini device knows all languages
1t is a polyglot II can discourse in San
scrit or Ytddish, Zingari or Zulu Bur
mese or Bulgarian In the collection are
Spanish songs Russian melodies, hymns
In Greek and in Hebrew, and innumerable
songs in Italian, German, French, and
English The micro -phonograph also rem
ders the music of many Instruments Bot
tied, in the studio for future uncorking is
| the music OF the piona, the violin. the
yioloncello, the flute, the clarinet, tn;
either. the brass band. the cornet, and the
| banjo The piano music includes claSsica
| selections by SignOTa Eugenia CaStellano
! formerly pianist to the Queen Of Italy.
The wax cylinder, bearing the record o.
| the voice, will last about thirty years. Be
| fore the end OF that time the record MAJ
I be duplicated on another cylinder, with.
I out dimunition in volume change II
| quality, and so handed down from cylin
\ der TO eylinder--New York Commercial
| Advertiser.
A EAMOITS HOSTEL RY