Armando Gill
Michele Testa (23 July 1877 – 1 January 1945), best known as Armando Gill, was an Italian singer, songwriter, actor, playwright and poet. Born in Naples, the son of a small distillery's owner, Testa was the third of six children. After the death of his mother, he was put in a boarding school where he started showing his artistic skills in composing brief poems. Moved to Rome to study Law, starting from 1896 Testa approached the show biz, performing as a singer and an improvising poet. In 1898, he composed and recorded his first song, "Fenesta 'nchiusa". Shortly later, to not embarrass his bourgeois family, Testa adopted his stage name. He then left the university and devoted himself to the music hall, signing a contract with the Salone Margherita in Rome as an actor, singer, playwright and songwriter. In 1910, Gill got his first hit with the song "Bel suldatin", followed by other successes including ″'O zampugnaro nnammurato″, ″Nun so' geluso″ and ″Varca d'ammore″. At the outbreak of war, he was conscripted and then reported missing as the ship on which he was traveling was reported sunk. Returned to Italy, he joked about the news with the revue Gill l'affondato (i.e. "The sunken Gill"). In 1918, Gill got his major success with the song "Come pioveva", which immediately became an instant classic in Italy. He maintained a large popularity through the 1920s, and was eventually active until 1943. |
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 26-38 of 38 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
OKeh | W402548 | 10-in. | August 1929 | Ammunito e survigliato | Nicola Smeragliuolo | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | lyricist, composer | |
OKeh | W402550 | 10-in. | August 1929 | 'O rre e'o guappe | Nicola Smeragliuolo | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | composer, lyricist | |
OKeh | W402567 | 10-in. | Aug. 1929 | Canzone antiche | Itala Dea | Female vocal solo, with orchestra | lyricist, composer | |
OKeh | W402929 | 10-in. | Sept. 1929 | Dichiaramento 'a Fronn' 'e Limone | Nicola Smeragliuolo | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | lyricist, composer | |
OKeh | W403679 | 10-in. | 1/24/1930 | Stornelli dell' aviatore | Giuseppe Godono | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | composer, lyricist | |
Brunswick | E19535 | 10-in. | 6/10/1926 | Stornelli montagnoli | Isa Kremer | Female vocal solo, with piano | lyricist | |
Brunswick | E19355-E19356 | 10-in. | 5/26/1926 | Stornelli montagnoli | Isa Kremer | Female vocal solo, with piano | lyricist | |
Brunswick | E25733-E25734 | 10-in. | 12/22/1927 | Bella biondina | Giuseppe De Vita | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | lyricist, composer | |
Brunswick | E25982-E25983 | 10-in. | 1/12/1928 | E allora | Roberto Ciaramella ; Romano Romani | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Edison | 924 | 10-in. | approximately Dec. 1911 | Stornelli montagnoli | Gennaro Pasquariello | Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra | lyricist | |
Edison | 928 | 10-in. | approximately Dec. 1911 | Canti d'estate | Gennaro Pasquariello | Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Gramophone | [Gra cat HN929B] | 10-in. | Before 5/10/1936 | Stornelli neri | Renzo Mori ; Dino Olivieri | Male vocal solo, with male vocal ensemble and orchestra | lyricist | |
Gramophone | 2707ah | 10-in. | 3/22/1913 | Stornelli del cuòre | Franco de Gregorio | Male vocal solo | composer |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Gill, Armando," accessed November 25, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/107584.
Gill, Armando. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 25, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/107584.
"Gill, Armando." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 25 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Armando Gill
Discogs: Armando Gill
IMSLP: Armando Gill
IMDb: Armando Gill
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Gill, Armando, -1945 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n97074652
Wikidata: Armando Gill - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q3622936
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/9132461
MusicBrainz: Armando Gill - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/87ae210d-9314-4a00-a6fe-9ba39d476761
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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