Opera on the Move in the Nordic Countries during the Long 19th ...

The Björling ‘<strong>Opera</strong>’
to compare Jussi Björling’s and Caruso’s first recordings: there seem to be
significant similarities in “La donna é mobile” from Rigoletto in particular.
The model used for training the voices of famous singers was developed
during David Björling’s time in the USA and coincided with the publication of
handbooks by established voice pedagogues (Day 2000, p. 220). 31 In line with
his belief in the above-mentioned master-pupil education tradition, he maintained
his ‘Master’ status through his personal selection of individual masters
(Rolf 1991, p. 134). He did not see himself as his children’s only teacher in the
longer term: he had plans for the boys to study singing, music and languages
in Italy, which were interrupted when he became seriously ill.
The singing school in its pre-existence
Daily life in the Björling family gradually included more and more musical
activities. Sources covering the children’s earliest years describe musical
life in the Björling home. According to his niece Märta Björling-Kärn (1904-
1997), in 1912, when David Björling was on tour with the Eklöf-Trobäckska
<strong>Opera</strong> Society his voice filled the house with beautiful singing during tour
breaks (Björling-Kärn 1990; 1995; cf. Björling & Farkas 1996, p. 37). It is
reasonable to assume that the children also heard their father going through
his opera repertoire, which judging by the available documentation included
the repertoire of the younger Italian school.
David Björling was a professional and trained his voice carefully, but his
wife, Ester Elisabeth Björling (1882-1917), also contributed to the children’s
musical upbringing. 32 She was a good singer, and she accompanied
her husband and their children on the family pianoforte. Using the concept
“pianism” Ling (2009) states that the family piano was a central musical
artefact during the epoch (Ling 2009, p. 37). Esther Björling was a skilful
pianist whose qualities are evidenced in her contribution within the field of
silent films. Her son Gösta confirms the fact that the boys found her artistic
piano playing stimulating (Björling 1945, p. 42).
The children engaged in the musical activities very early. According to
his sons, David Björling tried to get them to sing along with him when he
31 The vocal pedagogue Herman Klein (1856-1934) developed the method. He was
also the adviser to The American Columbia Gramophone Company in New York. The
Herman Klein Phono Vocal method was published in1919. On the transmission of the
method, see Day 2000, pp. 221-225.
32 Ester Elisabeth Björling was also a professional milliner (Björling & Farkas 1996, p.
32).
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