Feodor Chaliapin : Oh could I in song tell my sorrow : Original Russian 1921 : English version 1928

0:00 O, esli b mog vyrasit’ v zvuke vsyu silu stradaniy moikh
2:25 Oh could I in song tell my sorrow
The original Russian title of this song is O, esli b mog vyrasit’ v zvuke vsyu silu stradaniy moikh and it was written by Leonid Dimitrievitch Malashkin (1842 – February 11, 1902).
The first of the two recordings was made by Feodor Chaliapin (1873 to 1938)
on 11th Oct 1921 by purely mechanical means as electrical recording with microphones etc was not introduced until 1925. The piano accompaniment is by Max Rabinowitsch. It was made at the HMV recording studios in England and the final photo on the video was taken when Chaliapin opened the studios in 1912. (he's the tall man with the top hat).
The second recording was made in London on 30th June 1928 and the song, titled Oh could I in song tell my sorrow, is not a direct translation of the original but is an English version written by Rosa Harriet Newmarch. The orchestra is conducted by Eugene Goossens.
I have tried to improve the recordings as much as possible and just to give a "live" effect have added applause at the beginning and end.
Feodor Chaliapin was born into a peasant family in Kazan and began his career at the Imperial Opera in Saint Petersburg in 1894. He made his La Scala debut in 1901 and Metropolitan Opera debut in 1907.
He supported the 1917 Russian Revolution but was subsequently unhappy with the harshness of the new Soviet Regime and permanently left Russia in 1921. He lived for much of his life in France and he died in Paris in 1938. His remains were transferred from Paris to Moscow in 1984.

Видео Feodor Chaliapin : Oh could I in song tell my sorrow : Original Russian 1921 : English version 1928 канала Michael McGrail