I Grandi: The First Stars of Recorded Sound
I Grandi ("the great ones") presents public-domain recordings made before 1923 by the first stars of recorded sound. Each episode gives a short spoken introduction to the artist and the piece, then lets the old record play. All recordings are in the public domain in the United States. Below is every I Grandi episode so far, with Poss Jonah's spoken introduction written out.
Caruso, "Vesti la giubba" (1907)
I Grandi, number one: Enrico Caruso, the Naples tenor who became recorded sound's first star. His signature aria, "Vesti la giubba," is a clown forced to laugh while his heart breaks. Guinness credits his first recording of it as the first million-seller. Here's his 1907 remake, in the Library of Congress registry.
Melba, Jewel Song (1910)
I Grandi, number two: Dame Nellie Melba. The Australian soprano took her stage name from Melbourne, starred at Covent Garden for 38 years, and has a peach dessert named after her. Here's her "Vissi d'arte," recorded in New York on March 24, 1907, from the Library of Congress.
ODJB, "Livery Stable Blues" (1917, jazz)
The Original Dixieland Jass Band made what's widely called the first jazz record. The clarinet crows like a rooster, the cornet whinnies like a horse, and a 1917 judge ruled nobody owned the tune. Here's "Livery Stable Blues," recorded February 26, 1917, from the Library of Congress.
Galli-Curci, "Caro nome" (1917)
Amelita Galli-Curci trained as a pianist and largely taught herself to sing. She arrived in Chicago almost unknown, and on her 34th birthday in 1916, her Gilda in Rigoletto caused a sensation. Here's Gilda's aria "Caro nome," recorded February 2, 1917, from the Library of Congress.
Farrar, "Habanera" (1914)
Geraldine Farrar recorded Carmen's "Habanera" in December 1914. The next year, Cecil B. DeMille put her in Hollywood's silent Carmen, and the opera star became a movie star. Here's the song that came first, from the Library of Congress.
Caruso & Melba, "O soave fanciulla" (1907)
Enrico Caruso and Nellie Melba on one record. The story goes that in La bohème, Caruso once pressed a hot sausage into Melba's hand while singing "Your tiny hand is frozen." Here's their Bohème duet "O soave fanciulla," recorded March 24, 1907, from the Library of Congress.
McCormack, "Il mio tesoro" (1916)
Irish tenor John McCormack was famous for his breath control. In this Mozart aria from Don Giovanni, he sings sixty-four notes in a single breath, and it's now on the National Recording Registry. Here's "Il mio tesoro," recorded May 9, 1916, from the Library of Congress.
Tetrazzini, "Una voce poco fa" (1911)
Luisa Tetrazzini has a chicken dish named after her. On Christmas Eve 1910, she sang free on a San Francisco street to a crowd estimated at over 200,000. Here's her "Una voce poco fa," recorded March 17, 1911, from the Library of Congress.
Pachmann, Chopin "Funeral March" (1912)
I Grandi, number sixteen: the pianist Vladimir de Pachmann, nicknamed "the Chopinzee" by critic James Huneker for muttering, grimacing and talking to his audiences. Here's his Chopin "Funeral March," recorded in Camden, New Jersey, on April 26, 1912, from the Library of Congress.
Boston Symphony/Muck, "Marche miniature" (1917)
I Grandi, number seventeen: the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Karl Muck, captured in some of America's earliest full-orchestra recordings. Less than six months later, Muck was arrested as an enemy alien. Here's Tchaikovsky's "Marche miniature," recorded October 5, 1917, from the Library of Congress.
Kimiko Ishizaka, Bach "Aria" (2012, CC0)
I Grandi, number eighteen: the pianist Kimiko Ishizaka, playing Bach's Goldberg Variations. Fans funded this studio recording on Kickstarter, and in 2012 it was released into the public domain. Here's the opening "Aria," free for anyone, from the Internet Archive.
Victor Herbert Orch., "Dance of the Hours" (1913)
Victor Herbert sued a New York restaurant for playing his song without paying, and in 1917 the Supreme Court agreed: restaurants that play music must pay for it. Here's his orchestra's "Dance of the Hours," recorded May 22, 1913, from the Library of Congress.
Beatrice Harrison, Schubert "Ave Maria" (1915)
In 1924 the BBC broadcast cellist Beatrice Harrison playing in her garden, with wild nightingales singing along. It became a yearly spring event. Here's Harrison nine years earlier, playing Schubert's "Ave Maria," recorded December 27, 1915, from the Library of Congress.
Maud Powell, "Méditation" (1914)
Maud Powell was the first American-born violinist to win world fame, and in 1904 she became one of the first instrumentalists on Victor's celebrity Red Seal label. Here's her "Méditation" from Massenet's opera Thaïs, recorded July 10, 1914, from the Library of Congress.
Lapitino (harp), "Humoresque" (1916)
Francis Lapitino played harp on more than a hundred Victor recordings, behind stars like Enrico Caruso, Geraldine Farrar and John McCormack. Here he plays alone: Dvořák's "Humoresque," in his own harp arrangement, recorded July 24, 1916, from the Library of Congress.
Louise Homer, "Stride la vampa" (1909)
Louise Homer was an American contralto from Pittsburgh who sang at the Met for nearly twenty years. Here she's Azucena, the gypsy in Verdi's Il trovatore, singing about a fire she can't stop seeing. Recorded in 1909, from the Library of Congress.
Fritz Kreisler, "Indian Lament" (1914)
Months after this 1914 record, Fritz Kreisler was wounded fighting for Austria in World War I. In 1935 he admitted that pieces he'd credited to old masters were secretly his own. Here's his "Indian Lament," after Dvořák, recorded March 31, 1914, from the Library of Congress.
Schumann-Heink, "Brindisi" (1909)
Ernestine Schumann-Heink had sons on both sides of World War One. Her eldest served in the German navy and was lost at sea in 1918; others joined the U.S. Navy. She sang for American troops. Here's her "Brindisi," recorded September 17, 1909, from the Library of Congress.
Sousa, "Sabre and Spurs" (1918)
John Philip Sousa called records "canned music" and warned they'd ruin real music-making. He rarely conducted his own band for the phonograph, but he led this one himself: "Sabre and Spurs," his march for the American cavalry, recorded September 6, 1918, from the Library of Congress.
Emmy Destinn, "O patria mia" (1914)
Emmy Destinn sang Minnie in the world premiere of Puccini's Girl of the Golden West, opposite Caruso at the Met in 1910. In World War One, Austria took her passport and confined her at home. Here's "O patria mia," recorded in 1914, from the Library of Congress.
Titta Ruffo, "Largo al factotum" (1920)
Titta Ruffo flipped his real name, Ruffo Titta, for the stage. His sister married Giacomo Matteotti, the socialist murdered by Mussolini's Fascists in 1924, and Ruffo vowed never to sing in Italy again. Here's Figaro's "Largo al factotum," recorded April 19, 1920, from the Library of Congress.
Hurtado Brothers Marimba, Cavalleria Intermezzo (1916)
Guatemala sent the Hurtado Brothers' marimba band to San Francisco's 1915 world's fair, where they played daily at the Guatemalan pavilion and won a gold medal. Their father helped build the piano-style marimba. Here's Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana Intermezzo, recorded April 25, 1916, from the Library of Congress.
Johanna Gadski, "Ho-jo-to-ho!" (1916)
Johanna Gadski was one of the Metropolitan Opera's great Wagner sopranos. Then, in 1917, with America at war with Germany, the Met gave her a choice: resign or be dismissed. Here's Brünnhilde's battle cry, "Ho-jo-to-ho!", recorded in 1916, from the Library of Congress.
May Mukle, "By the Brook" (1915)
Cellist May Mukle toured in a trio with violinist Maud Powell. Vaughan Williams dedicated his Six Studies in English Folk Song to her, and in World War Two her London musicians' club became an air-raid shelter. Here's "By the Brook," recorded 1915, from the Library of Congress.
Mischa Elman, "Prize Song" (1910)
A public-domain recording from the early years of the phonograph.
Lucrezia Bori, "Elle a fui" (1915)
A public-domain recording from the early years of the phonograph.