transformingArt Videos

Caruso sings Mario Costa's composition, "Sei Morta Nella Vita Mia" (Your Heart No Longer Beats for Me) for Victor in 1918. Vincenzo Bellezza on the piano. This is one of the rarest recording that Caruso made for Victor company, since this recording was never released commercially. According to the Victor files, Calvin Child, the head of Victor's artist department, thought this recording "sounds too life-like and too good", so he demanded to cancel the issue of this record. Like he said, this ...

Tags: Enrico Caruso Sei Morta Nella Vita Mia 1918 1947 78rpm Phonograph Gramophone Victrola

Mohandas Kharamchand "Mahatma" Gandhi, whom I don't have to explain much about, recites his "Spiritual Message" (Originally entitled "On God", written by Gandhi in 1904) for Columbia on October 17th, 1931. This was recorded in Kingsley Hall at London, when he was attending the Round Table Conference in London. I know there are other YT users who uploaded this stuff, but I recorded this from the original 78rpm record, without applying any filters or alternations. Played on my Numark turntable ...

Tags: Mahatma Mohandas Kharamchand Gandhi Spiritual Message 1931 On God 78rpm Phonograph Gramophone

Sousa's Band plays the famous "Stars and Stripes Forever" March, for RCA Victor. It is well-known that Sousa's Band recorded this piece as early as 1890 (the oldest extant recording of the piece is from 1892), but most of the time, the band was conducted by Arthur Pryor or everyone except Sousa, for Sousa never liked "Canned" music. But somehow, Sousa conducted his band to make this particular recording for RCA Victor, and what is more, he speaks (!) at the beginning of the recording. This ...

Tags: Sousa's Band John Philip Sousa Stars and Stripes Forever March Marches 1931 RCA Victor Transcription Phonograph Gramophone LP Vinyl

The first President of Republic of Korea (South Korea), Syngman Rhee (1875.3.26 ~ 1965.7.19) delivers the speech (in English) at the US Congress, on July 28th, 1954. This is a private air-check record, made on a aluminium-based 10 inch 78rpm record which I have. I wonder if there's another record of this speech preserved. The speech itself is nothing that special, and his English is little bit hard to understand because of his accent. But anyway, it's a priceless historical document. The ...

Tags: Syngman Rhee Yi Seungman Speech at the U.S. Congress July 28th 1954 78rpm Historical Recording 이승만 대통령 미국 국회 연설 1954년

I was talking to one of my penpals, Jack, via MSN messanger, and we briefly talked about Luisa Tetrazzini. Although I always thought she was a very good singer, I never liked her as much as I love Galli-Curci or other coloratura sopranos. Anyway, here's my best favorite Tetrazzini record - I don't have many in the original 78s, but I heard almost all of her recordings in cds or mp3s, and this recording is still the best one ever to me. Tetrazzini sings the famous "Bell Song (Dov' e I'Indiana ...

Tags: Luisa Tetrazzini The Bell Song Dev' I'Indiana Bruna Delibes Lakme 1913 Victor Phonograph Gramophone Victrola 78rpm

American contralo Louise Homer sings 'Nobil Signors, Saluta!' from Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots. Recorded in 1905 for G&T. The recording clearly shows the 'soprano' aspects that Homer had. This record was reissued in 1947, as one of RCA Victor's Deluxe Heritage Series which was pressed on a red vinyl, and packed in a beautiful golden sleeve. Although there are very few surface noise, the sound quality itself is not so good, since this is a 'transcribed' (dubbed) version made from the original ...

Tags: Louise Homer Nobil Signors Saluta Meyerbeer Les Huguenots 1905 78rpm Phonograph Gramophone G&T RCA Victor Heritage Series

The Choir of Red Army of USSR performs "Song of the Plains". Recorded for French Columbia Records, in Paris, on September 14th, 1937. It has been a 72 years since this recording was made, but the recording is still full of passion, and brightness. As far as I can't understand Russian, I think it is better for me to not to understand the lyrics, since I fear that the words might be an outdated propaganda on communism, or something even worse than that. Played on my Numark Turntable ...

Tags: The Choir of Red Army USSR Song Plains 1937 78rpm Phonograph Gramophone

Jascha Heifetz, at the age of 11 (!), plays Mozart's Gavotte in G from 'Idomeneo', transcribed for violin by Leopold Auer. Recorded on a wax cylinder for Julius Block, on November 4th, 1912, at the Block's estate in Grunewald, Germany. This is not the first recording of Heifetz (he made some discs in 1910 for a small Russian record company), but the sound quality is much better than those 1910 recordings. The Recording is very well-recorded, although the surface noise is really terrible ...

Tags: Jascha Heifetz Mozart Gavotte in Idomeneo 1912 Historical Recording Julius Block Cylinder

Booker Taliaferro Washington (1856.4.5. ~ 1915. 11.14), an African-American educator, author and the leader of African-American community from the 1890s, recites some excerpts from one of his most famous speech, "The Atlanta Exposition Compromise Speech" for Columbia Records in 1904. The Original speech was delivered on September 18th, 1895, at the Cotton States and International Exposition in Atlanta, Georgia. Although some parts of the speech is somewhat too idealistic, compared with the ...

Tags: Booker T. Washington The Atlanta Compromise Speech 1904 78rpm Phonograph Gramophone Historical Recording

Caruso sings 'Crucifixus' from Rossini's 'Messe Solennelle', for Victor on September 16, 1920. This recording is the very last recording Caruso made in his life. He died 10 months later, on August 2nd, 1921, at the age of 48. Caruso recorded very few religious pieces, and I never found any comfort to listen most of those recordings (especially his recording of Bizet's Agnus Dei - my biggest disappointment on listening Caruso) . Yet this particular one, I think, is one of the finest recording ...

Tags: Enrico Caruso Last Recording Crucifixus from Messe Solennelle 1920 78rpm Phonograph Gramophone