Contrapunctus

Compare performersRuggero Leoncavallo

Vesti la giubba: Caruso, 1902 and 1907

Pagliacci — Recitar!… Vesti la giubba

Caruso sings the aria with piano in 1902 and with orchestra in 1907.

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1902Reference recording

Enrico Caruso, Salvatore Cottone

Enrico Caruso, tenor; Salvatore Cottone, piano

In this Milan performance of 30 November 1902 the tenor is accompanied by one pianist, Cottone, who plays the whole accompaniment.

2:03
1907Performance 02

Enrico Caruso with orchestra

Enrico Caruso, tenor; orchestra

In the later Victor recording, made in New York, Canio’s lament is accompanied by an orchestra.

3:15
Selected recordingEnrico Caruso, Salvatore Cottone
0:00 / 2:03

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The comparison

In Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, Canio learns of his wife’s betrayal shortly before he has to perform as a clown for a paying audience. In the aria he orders himself to put on his costume and powder his face. Caruso recorded the aria with Salvatore Cottone at the piano in Milan in 1902, then with an orchestra in New York in 1907.

Tempo

Tempo map

Time taken compared with Enrico Caruso, Salvatore Cottone: above 1×, the performer takes longer over the same music; below it, less time.

Time taken compared with the reference recordingEach gold line follows a performer. Above 1×, the recording takes longer over the same music. Numbered lines mark the passages below.0.25×0.5×0.75×1×1.25×1.5×1.75×0:000:301:001:302:001. Voice and piano · 0:1012. Rising and falling vocal line · 0:5023. Final vocal phrases · 1:2534. Closing bars · 1:484Enrico Caruso, Salvatore Cottone (reference)Enrico Caruso with orchestra
The reference recording’s clock runs left to right. Each line is smoothed over about eight seconds; pauses can create peaks. Numbers mark the passages below.
  • Enrico Caruso, Salvatore Cottone · reference
  • Enrico Caruso with orchestra
Passages

Passages compared

Each version plays in card order, for up to 12 seconds of reference music or until the next marked passage, whichever comes first.

  1. 01

    Voice and piano

    0:10 in the reference

    The tenor sings Canio’s lament above the piano accompaniment. His words tell the clown to put on his costume.

  2. 02

    Rising and falling vocal line

    0:50 in the reference

    The vocal line rises and falls, and the accompaniment plays in the gaps between the tenor’s phrases.

  3. 03

    Final vocal phrases

    1:25 in the reference

    The tenor’s line rises again towards the aria’s final phrases over the accompaniment.

  4. 04

    Closing bars

    1:48 in the reference

    The last vocal phrases lead into the closing bars of the accompaniment.

Durations

Length of each recording

  1. Enrico Caruso, Salvatore Cottone2:03
  2. Enrico Caruso with orchestra3:15

These times include the lead-in and final fade. Cuts, repeats and disc-side breaks also affect a recording’s length.

Performers and sessions

Recording notes

Sources & method

Further reading

How the recordings are matched

The matching follows sequences of pitches, using a method called dynamic time warping. Every recording is mapped to the reference, so switching between two versions goes through that shared clock. Where several reference times match one point, the middle time is used.

  • Enrico Caruso with orchestra: match score 0.895. Matched passages available.

Switching stays within the matched span, and trimmed recordings keep their original clock times. Match scores describe similarity in the sound.