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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 1-25 of 38 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | C-9548 | 12-in. | 10/13/1910 | Stornelli montagnoli | Eugenio Torre | Male vocal solo, with chorus and mandolin orchestra | lyricist | |
Victor | B-18618 | 10-in. | 10/18/1916 | 'O zampugnaro 'nnammurato | Giuseppe Milano | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | lyricist | |
Victor | B-18698 | 10-in. | 11/27/1916 | Uocchie celeste! | Vincenzo Esposito | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | lyricist | |
Victor | C-19483 | 12-in. | 4/15/1917 | Uocchie celeste | Enrico Caruso | Tenor vocal solo, with harp and orchestra | lyricist | |
Victor | B-20179 | 10-in. | 6/28/1917 | Rispetti all'antica | Alfredo Salmaggi | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | lyricist | |
Victor | B-20599 | 10-in. | 9/25/1917 | Canti d' estate | Coppia Les Scala | Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra | composer | |
Victor | B-20931 | 10-in. | 10/30/1917 | Nun so' geluso | Teresa de Matienzo | Female vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Victor | B-22325 | 10-in. | 10/11/1918 | Stornelli del cuore | Coppia Voccia | Female-male vocal duet, with mandolin and guitar | composer | |
Victor | B-23642 | 10-in. | 1/19/1920 | Come pioveva | Gioacchino Magni | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | lyricist | |
Victor | B-27809 | 10-in. | 4/6/1923 | Lo stornellatore | Eugenio Cibelli | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | lyricist | |
Victor | B-27873 | 10-in. | 5/1/1923 | Stornelli dell' aviatore | Duo Gildo | Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra | composer | |
Columbia | 11073 | 10-in. | approximately 1908 to 1914 | Stornelli montagnoli | Luigi Baldassare | Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra | lyricist | |
Columbia | 42167 | 10-in. | 1914 | Rispetti all'antica | Mario Massa | Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra | lyricist | |
Columbia | 44442 | 10-in. | either 1916 or 1917 | 'O zampuguaro 'nnammurato | Gina Santelia | Female vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Columbia | 58618 | 10-in. | approximately September 1917 | Ho detto al sole | Armando Gill | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist | |
Columbia | 58619 | 10-in. | approximately September 1917 | Er teppista romano | Armando Gill | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist | |
Columbia | 58620 | 10-in. | approximately September 1917 | Stornelli napoletani | Armando Gill | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist | |
Columbia | 58621 | 10-in. | approximately September 1917 | Chi 'o ssa pecchè | Armando Gill | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist | |
Columbia | 58622 | 10-in. | approximately September 1917 | Dimmi 'na vota sì | Armando Gill | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist | |
Columbia | 58623 | 10-in. | approximately September 1917 | È naturale | Armando Gill | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist | |
Columbia | 59677 | 12-in. | 1921 | Come pioveva | Raoul Romito | Male vocal solo | composer | |
Columbia | 86422 | 10-in. | approximately May 1921 | Coppola Rossa | Duo Gildo | Female-male vocal duet, with violin, guitar and mandolin | vocalist | |
Columbia | W106255 | 10-in. | January 1926 | Lo stornellatore | Coppia Vuolo-Narciso | Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra | lyricist | |
OKeh | S-7943 | 10-in. | May 1921 | Stornelli montagnoli | Giuseppe Russo | Male vocal solo, with guitar and mandolin | lyricist | |
OKeh | W400024 | 10-in. | 1/17/1928 | Palomma | Raffaele Balsamo | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | lyricist, composer |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Gill, Armando," accessed September 1, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/107584.
Gill, Armando. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved September 1, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/107584.
"Gill, Armando." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 1 September 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
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