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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.

Birth and Death Data: Born July 23, 1877 (Naples), Died January 1, 1945 (Naples)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1910 - 1936

Roles Represented in DAHR: lyricist, composer, vocalist, songwriter

See Also: Testa, Michele

= 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  
(Results 1-25 of 38 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Gill, Armando," accessed March 28, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/107584.

Gill, Armando. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved March 28, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/107584.

"Gill, Armando." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 28 March 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/107584

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