EARL OKIN RECORD RESOURCE

Sorry, there's nothing funny about this part of the site

(though we DO have some great old pictures...just scroll down to see them!).

However, if you're a CD company specializing in vintage re-issues, interested in accessing the massive 78 resource provided by Earl Okin and Paul Lynton, for the 'one stop' compilation of public-domain CDs, just contact Earl on ANY of the contact addresses on Earl's Home Page.

Earl's collection of 10,000 78s covers most types of recording from Opera to Jazz, from Personality and Vaudeville/Music-Hall to speech and historical recordings.

I ALSO HAVE SOME 78rpm 'DOUBLES' FOR SALE, THE VAST MAJORITY OF WHICH ARE OPERATIC. IF YOU THINK THAT YOU MIGHT LIKE TO BUY SOME OF THEM AND GIVE ME A LITTLE MORE SPACE HERE, DO HAVE A LOOK HERE...

EARL'S 78s FOR SALE

In case you're a collector, looking for a good UK-based dealer in all things to do with the world of 78s, cylinders, the machines that played them and ephemera, just try Mike and June Child! Click on these links for springs and needles...

http://gramophonesprings.blogspot.com

http://gramophoneneedles.blogspot.com

...or if you have any requests for records or anything else 'gramophonic' or 'phonographic', just e-mail them at...

jmw.bedford@ntlworld.com

 

Likewise, he has recordings from 1900 to 1948 (the current cut off date for legal public domain in the UK) and beyond.

This is the post-label from one of the boxes in which IRCC, one of the first companies ro re-release historic operatic 78s, used to post their 78s.

For those of you who wish to see a range of Opera Record Labels, just click on the Victor tile below..

If you'd rather see a range of Jazz Labels, just click on the Columbia tile below...

For a selection of miscellaneous labels, click on the Brunswick tile below...

On the other hand, if you're more interested in singers than labels and if you love Opera, try clicking on the following picture galleries...

GREAT EARLY SINGERS (Start here)
GREAT ITALIAN SINGERS
GREAT RUSSIAN SINGERS
GREAT FRENCH SINGERS
GREAT SPANISH/PORTUGUESE SINGERS
GREAT ENGLISH-SPEAKING SINGERS
GREAT GERMAN/SCANDINAVIAN SINGERS
GREAT OPERA PROGRAMMES OF THE PAST
NEWLY ACQUIRED PROGRAMMES
COVENT GARDEN CASTLISTS 1899-1908

Three generations of great coloratura sopranos, from left to right, the French Lily Pons(1898-1976), the Italian Luisa Tetrazzini (1871-1940) and the German Frieda Hempel (1885-1955).

Earl has written for THE GRAMOPHONE and THE RECORD COLLECTOR on Opera and THE WIRE and HIGH LIFE (British Airways' in-flight magazine) on Jazz, among other publications. For examples of his Jazz writings, see his articles on Duke Ellington and Adelaide Hall, accessible from Earl's Home Page; for an excerpts from his Opera liner-notes, see below.

Earl can provide concepts for CD-releases, DAT tapes of public-domain (pre-1947) 78s, complete with liner-notes and, if required, pre-'cleaned', using CEDAR and other electronic cleaning systems....or any part of this service, as required. The type of material available ranges from Opera through Jazz to Music Hall, Nostalgia etc...

Prices are VERY competitive...

So, if you represent the kind of re-issuing CD company interested in such a service, just email us from Earl's Home Page. Thanks for your time!

Companies for whom projects have already been issued include

Prism, Music & Memories, Tring, Duet and Carlton in the UK,

while projects in the pipeline include

Disky of the Netherlands.

Earl's Re-discovery, the great dramatic-coloratura soprano...

KYRA VAYNE

Kyra Vayne (29th January 1916-12th January 2001)

Some years ago, as a result of getting to know Kyra as a short-hand typist working alongside his mother for some years, he was surprised to find that Kyra Vayne had been an opera singer and astounded to learn that she'd worked with legends like Richard Tauber, Beniamino Gigli etc...

The biggest surprize of all, however, was the quality of singing on her private recordings. Two years later, Earl managed to get the recordings issued by the late Otto Preiser. The CD became one of the Austrian company's biggest sellers, and a second CD was issued. Here are some short excerpts from Earl's liner-notes for the two CDs, (a longer biographical article, written by Earl, is available in THE RECORD COLLECTOR magazine, Vol. 37, No.4).

The numbers of the Preiser CDs are Vol. 1 - 89996 & Vol. 2 - 89993.

Kyra Vayne was born Kyra Knopmuss in Petrograd on 29th January, 1916, into a once-aristocratic family that hailed from Danzig. Thanks to the Revolution, her family moved to London, where she has lived ever since. During the early thirties, singing in a Russian choir, her voice was noticed and it was decided to have vocal training given to her. The main work was undertaken by the well-known accompanist Manlio De Veroli, though, later on, certain problems were sorted out by Mignon Nevada (daughter of Emma, Marchesi's pupil).

During the 30s, Kyra was involved with all sorts of musical shows from Russian Music-Revues and Musical Comedy to Variety, so that, by the time that the conductor Anatole Fistoulari had realized the true operatic quality of her voice, England was embroiled in World War II.....

Kyra cheerfully undertook all sorts of live and radio work during the war and, by the end of it, found herself singing in Die Fledermaus, under the baton of no less a personality than Richard Tauber whom she impressed very much....

Above are the cast lists from London performances of two of Kyra's greatest roles. LA TOSCA and LA TRAVIATA. Both programmes are from the 1950s.

During the 50s...and travelling to Italy...she was offered the lead in Dargomyzhky's The Stone Guest which was performed in Florence and then took part in the historical performance which marked both the 40th anniversary of Beniamino Gigli's debut as tenor and, as it turned out, his last ever performance on the operatic stage. The opera was Cavalleria Rusticana....

What we hear on these recordings is a magnificent dramatic-coloratura soprano with mezzo undertones. Though living in England, there was always something Russian in the timbre of her voice and, although comparisons were made with Claudia Muzio, the nearestvoices ot Kyra's in pure sound would be those of Nina Koshetz and, in her prime, Oda Slobodskaja.

However, Kyra had at her command many skills of the Bel Canto school of singing, including an effortless change of register and, when required, a magical pianissimo upper range. Her artistic use of portamento, now, alas, a forgotten art, was for Kyra very much part of the interpretation of a role as well as of her high musicianship....

There is often, indeed, something in her singing that calls to mind the pre-World War I Golden Era, whether Kyra sings Verdi, Borodin or Puccini...

EARL OKIN.
Post-script...

Since the issue of these belated CDs, after 30 years when she thought she'd been forgotten, Kyra appeared on various BBC, US and Russian TV and Radio programmes. A full documentary was being planned and Kyra celebrated the release of a brand-newly recorded CD on the Eklipse label...at the age of 82! However, I have sadly to report that Kyra did contract cancer and died on 12th January, 2001....at least this was not before she'd come to know that her voice and artistry would not be forgotten.

Kyra Vayne during her last years...

The label from one of Kyra's 1940s private recordings.

Click HERE to return to Earl's Home Page
WE HOPE TO HEAR FROM YOU SOON.

Meanwhile, here's the way they used to sell records and gramophones!

Pictured here are Caruso, Melba, McCormack, Tetrazzini, Gadski, Scotti, Homer, Plancon, Sembrich and other Operatic greats of the pre-World War One Golden period...

...and this was the Victor line-up in 1920...

...and here are a few old variations on a well-known theme...