The Singer's Art (1925) by Harry Gregory Hast

I wrote about Harry Gregory Hast’s book in my fourth blog post on VOICETALK in December 2009.

Back then, blogging was new, I didn’t have a download page, and it wasn’t easy finding biographical information on Hast. But all that has changed with the increasing mass of data being uploaded to the world wide web. We now find that in addition to having studied with Sim Reeves as a tenor, Hast lived between 1862 and 1944, was a noted recitalist in England and America, and was a member of the choir at Westminster Abbey and the Temple Church. He also toured with Adelina Patti. In other words, Hast was no slouch. He was the real deal. His book? It received great reviews (see here and here).

I was even able to find a photo of Hast. Sold on eBay, it accompanies this post.

But the best thing of all?

You can now read Hast’s The Singer’s Art (1925) on the download page which brings the number of texts to 165.