Digging for Treasure: Zarzuelas and Other Gems in the Historical Sound Recordings Collection at Yale University Diane Napert, Catalog Librarian, Yale University

Historical Sound Recordings at Yale Comprised of historical recordings of performers important in the fields of Western classical music, jazz, American musical theater, drama, literature, and history (including oratory). HSR was founded by Mr. and Mrs. Laurence C. Witten II in 1960/1961 with their collection of early vocal recordings

Mellon Grant – No. of Recordings Mellon awarded a grant of $789,000 starting in 2006 for cataloging of 78 rpm recordings 853,162 commercial recordings at Yale, Stanford and Rodgers & Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound Over 320, rpm recordings – mostly uncataloged Syracuse joined project March 2008

The numbers The project contributed over 24,000 records to OCLC through November 2009 (figure includes only 2008 for Syracuse, approx. 3,500, and some upgraded copy) Volume figures would be higher due to multi-disc sets and multiple copies Yale able to extend project a few months with money from Yale Class of ’45W and add several hundred more records

View of 78s housed in Mudd Library at Yale

The bibliographic records Access points were added for composers, lyricists, arrangers, performing groups (but not each player within a named group), main performers, conductors, speakers Attempts were made to connect arias to the correct opera and excerpted songs to the correct musicals (mostly successful)

The labels Over 360 labels worked on The largest included Brunswick, Capitol, Columbia, Decca, Edison, Gramophone and Victor

Yale Labels

Zarzuela “It’s been said that zarzuela means to Spain what operetta means to Vienna, Offenbach to Paris, Gilbert and Sullivan to London, and the musical to Broadway. Well yes, it means all of that—and much more.” p. xi, The Zarzuela Companion, Christopher Webber Foreward Plácido Domingo

Zarzuelas – other elements Broad range, from one-act farces to three-act tragedies Spoken dialogue is employed in most Alternates between spoken and sung scenes Spanish lyric-dramatic genre Long history, including baroque zarzuela, romantic zarzuela (early 1850s)

Federico Chueca, La Gran Vía One act revista or revue The Zarzuela Companion Webber says written with Joaquín Valverde Premiered Madrid, Teatro Felipe, 2nd July, 1886 Columbia C 536, approx Composer was still alive In Italian, very popular work, translated

Federico Chueca, Gran Vía. Vals del Caballero de Gracia. Italian. Luigi Baldassare, baritone with orchestra

Federico Chueca,

Ruperto Chapí, Las Hijas del Zebedeo – 2 act farce 1889 Recording Columbia 3901-M, approx Selection Carceleras or Al Pensar en el Due ñ o de mis Amores Prison lament, however in this case it is described as a song of “amorous frustration” Technically challenging, popular for Spanish divas

Ruperto Chapí, Elvira de Hidalgo, , soprano Teacher of Maria Callas This work recorded in London This was the earliest instance of this version I could find on OCLC – there were a couple of later recordings

Ruperto Chapí,

Las Hijas del Zebedeo, Manuscript, Barcelona,1889

Elvira de Hidalgo,

Pedro Miguel Marqués, El Anillo de Hierro, act melodrama set in Norway Columbia, C 373, 1906 Ven Rodolfo Carmen Fernández de Lara, soprano with orchestra Recording made during composer’s lifetime

Pedro Miguel Marqués,

Joaquín Romualdo Gaztambide y Garbayo, Una vieja, 1860 Comic opera set in Mexico Columbia, C 373, 1906 Cavatina Juan Valls, tenor with piano

Tomás Barrera, Pupil of Chapí Emigrantes, 1905 On a ship leaving Spain Disque Apollon 318, 190? Granadinas aria In French and arranged Composer alive when recorded

Emigrantes. Granadina Henri Weber, baritone, with piano Popular work as translated into French

Tomás Barrera,

Paquita Correa, soprano 3 recordings of her from ca She was married to composer Rafael Calleja Gómez Contacted by her great-granddaughter for copies of recordings She was unable to find them in Spain She found them because they were cataloged as part of the grant

Paquita Correa Chose one of the three we have “Brindis” from Ángel Caído by Apolinar Brull y Ayerra,

New website access to a vast selection of music and spoken-word recordings “produced” in the U.S. between the years 1901 and

Image of Yale web-site

Grant HSR Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) for Song, Speech and Dance: Special Collections from the Recorded Sound Archives at Yale and Stanford Universities 18 months starting December 2009 More archival work

Thanks Special thanks to Richard Warren, Curator, Historical Sound Recordings collection, Yale Thanks also to Nicole Rodriguez, Library Services assistant, Historical Sound Recordings collection, Yale

Questions Diane Napert,