The Styrous® Viewfinder: Vessella's Italian Band

July 10, 2022

November 29, 2021

Gaetano Donizetti ~ Lucia Sextette - 1914

Today is the birthday of Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti who was born on November 29, 1797. He wrote 70 operas and, with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, was a leading composer of the bel canto opera style during the first half of the nineteenth century and an influence on other composers such as Giuseppe Verdi.

In 1912, Ferdinand Himmelreich recorded a solo piano arrangement of the Sextette (Chi mi frena in tal momento) from Lucia di Lammermoor by Gaetano Donizetti for RCA Victor Records which is now housed in the Library of Congress (link below).

Ferdinand Himmelreich

date & photographer unknown

In 1914 Vessella's Italian Band with 41 musicians, recorded an instrumental version for brass orchestra of the Lucia Sextette also for RCA Victor Records (link below).

Oreste Vessella's Italian Band
Steel Pier, Atlantic City

date & photographer unknown

Gaetano Donizetti ~ Lucia Sextette - 1914

Shellac 12" 78 RPM

Vessella's Italian Band

Gaetano Donizetti ~ Lucia Sextette - 1914

Shellac 12" 78 RPM

Vessella's Italian Band

Tracklist:

Side 1:

A - Lucia Sextette, composed by Donizetti*

Side 2:

B - Jewel Of The Madonna - Intermezzo (Intro. To Act 3), written by Wolf-Ferrari*

Companies, etc:

Record Company – Victor Talking Machine Co.

Notes:

$1.25 in U.S.A.
Concert Band

Barcode and Other Identifiers

Matrix / Runout (Runout Side A, Stamped): O 35356A
Matrix / Runout (Runout Side B, Stamped): E 35356B 3

Vessella's Italian Band – Lucia Sextette / Jewel Of The Madonna
Label: Victor – 35356
Format: Shellac, 12", 78 RPM
Country: US
Released: Mar 1914
Genre: Stage & Screen
Style: Operetta

Viewfinder links:

Vincenzo Bellini

Gaetano Donizetti

Gioachino Rossini

Giuseppe Verdi

Oreste Vessella

Net links:

DAHR ~

Ferdinand Himmelreich

Vessella's Italian Band

Pasatiempo ~ From sublime to ridiculous: Lucia's Sextet through the years

ProQuest ~ Vessella's Italian Band