Johanna Gadski sings Wagner on Victor 87002 (take 1).

[Viva-Tonal]

This is an early Red Seal record, of the famous 'Brunnhilde's battle cry (Ho-jo-to-ho)' from DIE WALKÜRE. Apparently this is the scarce early version of this recording, take 1.

The list price sticker on the back side of the disc shows the price of this record as $2.00, roughly a dollar a minute!

Here's some of the UCSB data, taken from http://victor.library.ucsb.edu/matrixDe ... =200005729:

11/26/1906 (New York, New York) B.4062-1 / Master / Victor 87002 / 10" disc
Playing time: 2'02" @ 76.00 rpm; no drums; rest for orchestra before final chord.

9/30/1910 (Camden, New Jersey [unconfirmed]) B.4062-3 / Master / Victor 87002 / 10" disc
Playing time: 2'02" @ 75.00 rpm; drum roll following end of opening section; no rest before final orchestral chord

5/26/1916 (Camden, New Jersey) B.4062-7 / Master / Victor 87002 / 10" disc
Playing time 2'06" @ 76.60 rpm; no drums during orchestra passage noted above; no final chord in orchestra

Data in boldface pertains to the version presented here: http://www.box.net/shared/g3k7c9qeux

Transferred at the stated 76 rpm.

Enjoy!

[Wolfe]

Powerful! Gadski had an all out, pungent voice that seem to take to the acoustic recording process pretty well. One doesn't easily forget her after a record is over.

Perhaps I'll post Olive Fremstad's (1913) Columbia version of this.