Music recorded in 1891

Music recorded in 1891

The year 1891 saw the conclusion of the Chilean Civil War with the victory of the Congress Party, the Anglo-Manipur War on the outskirts of British India, and the attack on Russian Crown Prince Nicholas Alexandrovich (1868–1918) in the Otsu Incident, which caused diplomatic tensions in Japan. It was a year in which the rifts between imperial rule and state administration became visible across the country.

In the fields of science and society, Pope Leo XIII's (1810-1903) encyclical Rerum Novarum expanded the debate on labor and capital internationally, and in Japan the 1891 Nobi earthquake confronted a society in the midst of modernization with the reality of a major disaster. Furthermore, the long-distance transmission of three-phase alternating current electricity was demonstrated at the International Electrotechnical Exhibition in Frankfurt (1891), and with the start of construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway, modern "institutions" and "infrastructure" were simultaneously strengthened.

In the fields of culture and lifestyle, James Naismith (1861–1939) invented basketball as an indoor sport, and the spread of sports as a modern form of entertainment within urban areas, with its own rules and facilities, became more widespread. In media technology, Thomas Edison (1847–1931) and William Kennedy Laurie Dickson (1860–1935) semi-released their prototype kinetoscope, and the realization that, following on from the reproduction of sound, it was also possible to reproduce "moving images" was gaining momentum, leading to the rise of the 20th century's popular entertainment industry.

Confirmed recordings from this year: 60

Music believed to have been recorded in 1891 (date unknown)

Title	Artist
Thompson's Old Grey Mule	Louis Vasnier
The Whistling Coon	George W. Johnson
Fantasie in C Minor, K.396	Sergei Taneyev
Habanera (from Carmen)	Adele Borghi
Cujus animam	DB Dana Edward Issler
Adam and Eve and de Winter Apple	Louis Vasnier
Adam and Eve and de Winter Apple [excerpt]	Louis Vasnier

These seven pieces, identified only as being recorded in 1891, demonstrate the sudden diversification of wax cylinder recordings, from comic singing and vocal performances to classical instrumental and vocal music. Even though the recording dates are uncertain, it is significant that a whistling performance, a piano solo, a vocal performance, and a wind performance (cornet and piano) are all recorded in the same year.

The following list is music believed to have been released in 1891 (release date unknown).

Music presumed to be an 1891 recording (ca. 1891)

Title	Artist
Seesaw Waltz	The 3rd Artillery Band
Saving Them All for Mary	Al Reeves
Third Verse Of Mary & John, Or, The Lovers' Quarrel	Will White
Keep in de Middle ob de Road	Charles A. Asbury

This list is a compilation of recordings whose recording dates (year, month, and day) are unknown but which are treated as "recordings from 1891" in multiple sources. The list includes a mix of vaudeville comic songs to classical music (vocal/piano), revealing how recording culture in 1891 had already expanded into both "popular entertainment" and "performing arts" (as recording dates become more certain, the placement and notes will be updated throughout the year).

Sound sources with a clearly stated "estimated recording year range (xx-xx)" including 1891

Title	Artist
Nannon Waltz	Issler's Orchestra
June honeymoon	Frank Jacks
Bell buoy	J.W. Myers [John W. Myers]
Violin solo by Ch. Chambroux, unaccompanied.	Ch. Chambroux

Discography of Etching the Voice: Emile Berliner and the First Commercial Gramophone Records

These recordings are included in the discography of "Etching the Voice: Emile Berliner and the First Commercial Gramophone Records," a collection of Berliner's early commercial recordings, and the recording years are all listed as "1890-95."

Title	Artist
Alfred Jones [version 2]	n/a
Auld Lang Syne	n/a
Blue Bells of Scotland	n/a
By thy cold breast (Byron's “Manfred”)	n/a
Czarenlied, from “Czar und Zimmermann”	n/a
El Credo	n/a
Father William	n/a
The Flowers that Bloom, from “The Mikado”	n/a
Fra Diavolo	n/a
Gesänge	n/a
God Bless the Prince of Wales	n/a
God Save the Queen!	n/a
Gramophone	n/a
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing	n/a
Hobellied	n/a
Home! Sweet Home!	n/a
I Due Ladri e l'Asino	n/a
In the Sweet By-and-By	n/a
Jägers Abschied	n/a
La Boiteuse	n/a
La Marseillaise	n/a
La Rondinella	n/a
Le Corbeau and le Renard	n/a
Le Père la Victoire	n/a
Lena, la bella Lena	n/a
A Little Ship Was on the Sea	n/a
Long, Long Ago	n/a
Me Gustan Todas / Aroro Mi Nena	n/a
The North Wind	n/a
Numeri, La Settimana, Le Mesi	n/a
Numeros, Dias, Meses	n/a
Old King Coal	n/a
Old Mother Hubbard	n/a
Pilgrims' Chorus, from ’Tannhäuser“	n/a
Proverbs	n/a
Rule, Britain!	n/a
Sing a Song of Sixpence / Oh, Carry Me Back	n/a
Sing a Song of Sixpence [3-in doll disc]	n/a
Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay!	n/a
Versos y Canto	n/a
We don't want to fight [version 2]	n/a
Whist! The Bogie Man	n/a
Who Killed Cock Robin?	n/a
Willow Tit-Willow, “from The Mikado”	n/a
Wot Cher!	n/a

These are the earliest Gramophone discs, thought to have been recorded mainly in London and Hanover, and are a core group of sound sources from the "disc side of the 1890s," a lineage separate from the Edison cylinder lineage.

Gruo's "phonogramic album" (c. 1888–1891)

The Gruaud "phonogramic album" (c. 1888–1891) is a collective term used to refer to the earliest wax cylinder recordings made by George Edward Gouraud (1842–1912) in London and other parts of Europe, as well as his concept of an album compiling "the voices of the world's greatest men." MOPM has organized related recordings from around 1888–1891 under this framework, and has posted a list of the recordings and background information on a dedicated page.

Gruo's "phonogramic album" (c. 1888–1891)

Gruo's "phonogramic album" (c. 1888–1891)

museum-of-pop-music.com

Ruben Collection

The Ruben Collection (Ruben-samlingen) is a collection of Denmark's earliest wax cylinder recordings, produced in Copenhagen by Gottfried Moses Ruben (1837–1897) between 1889 and the mid-1890s. MOPM has collectively organized the wax cylinder recordings made between 1889 and the mid-1890s as the "Ruben Collection," and has posted a list of the recordings on a dedicated page.

Ruben-samlingen

This is a list of the Ruben Collection (Ruben-samlingen)

museum-of-pop-music.com