Admonishing those who bewailed the decline from golden-age standards in singing, George Bernard Shaw said that they couldn't impose on him. He was old enough to have heard the fabled ancients, and he could assure us that by comparison with Gayarre and the rest of them Mr Heddle Nash sings like a god. Now one of the fabled ancients himself, Nash is still a god among his kind: the English lyric tenor par excellence without equal then or now (his nearest present-day successor, as far as I can judge, being Arthur Davies). These recordings catch him fresh from his Italian training and his debut (with one day's notice) at London's Old Vic in Rigoletto. The solo from Act 3 of that opera show how quickly he developed as an expressive artist. It comes from 1928, and his earlier records heard here, though irreproachably elegant and mellifluous, could do with more variety and feeling for communication. By 1930 in the Boheme duet with Dennis Noble we see him playing up to his sprightly partner and giving a vivid performance in the studio as though on stage.
At all times he is instantly and unmistakably recognizable. As individual in style and timbre as his nearest Italian counterpart, Tito Schipa, he is one of those singers who once known takes his place in the gallery. But personal traits and idiosyncrasies apart, there are also the solid merits of 37 3 his finely drawn even line, the accomplished fioriture (beautifully turned in the Barbiere solos), the breadth of phrase (as in the famous ''Il mio tesoro''), the depth of feeling which in the Jephtha solo foreshadows the great Gerontius, and a sound knowledge of the traditions in which he is singing (his ''Una furtiva lagrima'' is in English but otherwise exemplifies faithfully the best Italian school). In all of these transfers the voice comes through with perfect clarity and naturalness. The occasional knock, scrunch or hum serves to remind us of the 78rpm originals, but generally surfaces are in good condition and well controlled.'