History in sound

Have you ever wanted to know what Billie Holiday really sounded like during her concert promoting Lady Sings the Blues? Or hear how Duke Ellington’s East Saint Louis Toodle-o evolved over the course of his career? What about listening to Richard Burton and Ruby Dee reading fairy tales? If any of these thoughts have crossed your mind, the Yale Collection of Historical Sound Recordings (HSR) is the place for you. With over 280,000 one-of-a-kind, often never publicly released recordings in its collection, the HSR is chock-full of treasures. While most of its holdings are 78rpm discs (78s) and long-play vinyl records (LPs), the collection also includes reel-to-reel tapes, compact discs (CDs), audio cassettes, and cylinders.

A sampling of these rare audio pieces features early blues, Romantic-era pianists, American musical theatre and radio programs, a catalog of spoken arts, movie sound effects, and much more. The spoken-word catalog covers a wide range of literature, poetry, folk tales, and fairy tales.

This vast collection is managed by Mark Bailey, head of Historical Sound Recordings and a professional conductor. Bailey also guest teaches on all types of musical topics. He has a comprehensive knowledge of HSR’s holdings, and shared some of HSR’s significant works and his favorites.

Prominent recordings in the collection

“The significance of a piece depends entirely on a person’s area of study or interest. For instance, if someone is interested in opera, I would suggest one set of recordings,” said Bailey. “But if the interest is solo piano, chamber music, or early blues — a strength of this collection — that is something else entirely. What I find of great significance is in a set of recordings that have something in common. These are some the more prominent sets of the many in our collection.”

Duke Ellington (1899 – 1974)
American jazz pianist, composer, and band leader

HSR has several recordings of Duke Ellington leading his band in performing his composition, the East Saint Louis Toodle-O. These recordings span a 30-year period, during which time Ellington applied a variety of interpretations to the same piece, including tempo, speed, mood, and level of swing. “These recordings are a commentary on how artists evolve, think about, and perform music over time,” said Bailey.

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 – 1943)
Composer, pianist, and conductor

Sergei Rachmaninoff is renowned as a composer whose Romantic-era music is still performed by major orchestras and pianists. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day but was also a well-respected conductor. HSR has the complete recordings of him conducting. These recordings round out the third leg of his artistry. Listeners can hear and understand how he guided the orchestral sound of his pieces.

Lawrence Tibbett (1896 – 1960)
American baritone

Lawrence Tibbett was an opera star from the 1920s to 1940s. He was also a film actor and radio personality. While many recordings exist of him performing opera, he also did a series of radio broadcasts that were never commercially released. These live Sunday evening broadcasts featured performers singing various repertoire accompanied by an in-studio orchestra. They span several years, and you hear how Tibbett’s voice evolves and then declines as he gets older. It features him singing opera, American patriotic songs, devotional hymns, and more.

Favorite sets for teaching

“I frequently use the following recordings during classes I teach, and they are always a big hit,” said Bailey.

Album: The Essential Billie Holiday: Carnegie Hall Concert Recorded Live

In 1956, Billie Holiday held two concerts at Carnegie Hall to promote her autobiography, “Lady Sings the Blues.” While rehearsing, her voice was weak, and she appeared physically frail. She rose to the occasion during the live event and gave a performance full of vibrancy and emotion. This transformation reflected her artistry and indicated that even when artists are battling a setback, they can still perform magnificently.

Hamlet: Ophelia’s mad scene (Act 4, Scene 5)

Dame Alice Ellen Terry was a popular English actress in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. HSR has a 1910 recording of her performing Ophelia’s mad scene from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. As she performs, she switches between singing and speaking. “It is fascinating to hear how she does that,” noted Bailey. “There are many recordings of Terry, but this stands out for that component.”

Folkways Records, 1965

The Student Non-Violent Coordination Committee (SNCC) was an organization based in Greenwood, Mississippi, that fought for voter registration rights for Black citizens and assembled thousands of individuals to vote in the 1963 Freedom Ballot campaign. This recording, narrated by SNCC co-founder Bob Moses, is a compilation of organizers’ and voters’ testimonies, spiritual hymns, and sermons highlighting the struggle endured and courage displayed by Black citizens during this time.

A personal favorite

Enrico Caruso (1873 – 1921)
Italian operatic tenor

Enrico Caruso sang at the major opera houses of Europe and the Americas, and he is generally recognized as the first international recording star, making 250 commercially released recordings. He was also the first person to sell one million recordings. HRS has several different versions of him singing “Una furtiva lagrima” (A furtive tear) from the Italian opera “L’elisir d’amore” (The Elixir of Love) by Gaetano Donizetti. Listeners can hear the varying sensitivity he brought to it, from the first recording to the last, which is rich and more mature. “When I hear this, I’m reminded of why he was such a great artist in his phrasing, direction, and expression,” said Bailey