Basile Kibalchich

The Mystery of a Mislabeled Record - Solved!

Basile Kibalchich’s recording of “The Little Club” (Victor V-21010-A) was paired with the work of another musician. The label states that the recording is the folk song “A Breeze Bends the Branch” (То не ветер ветку клонит) by the Dmitry Ivanovich Aristoff’s Choir. Upon listening to the B-side of the disc, however, it is clear that the text printed on the label and the music pressed into the grooves of the disc do not match. Instead, we hear a rendition of the folk song “The Red Sarafan” (Красный сарафан). Not only is the title of the track incorrect, but we hear a balalaika ensemble instead of an “unaccompanied choir” as listed on the label. As part of the discography project, I set out to solve this mystery that was nearly a century old: Who performed the track on the B-side of V-21010 and why did Victor make this mistake?

After thorough investigation (see my discography), I concluded that the track we hear is “The Red Sarafan” by performed by Scriabin’s Balalaika Orchestra. Indeed, the matrix number pressed into the mirror space of the disc (BTR-3104) corresponds to this recording. Moreover, Alexander Alexandrovich Scriabin (cousin of the well-known composer) was the only European-based balalaika artist working with the company during that time. Kirilloff’s Balalaika Orchestra, based in New York, never recorded the tune.

There are several reasons why this might have happened. Looking through Alan Kelly’s documentation for His Master’s Voice BT/CT Matrix Series, I found that both Aristoff and Scriabin recorded both songs in question around the same time in the same studio in Paris for His Master’s Voice. They even collaborated on several recordings together, including for Chaliapin’s recording of “Rise, Red Sun” (Ты взойди солнце красное); see examples below. Given their crossover in the studio, it is possible that their tracks were simply mixed up. Victor was in the middle of a corporate merger when the record was issued in the fall of 1929, after the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) acquired a majority control of the company’s stock. After several recordings were sent from Europe to be reissued in the United States, RCA Victor must have accidentally swapped the labels for Aristoff᾽s track and Scriabin᾽s track.

Audio of Victor V-21010-B

Victor V-21010-B, Matrix BTR-3104, Take 1

Digitized by Ryan Gourley

MRCSF, Collection of Recorded Sound, VIC-2.15