First recording of Schedryk "Carol of the Bells", 1922

Url: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXQ15PyKM-M

This Mykola Leontovych composition Shchedryk (aka Carol of the Bells) was originally written for 3 part vocal harmony. This song gained worldwide popularity in 1920 after the Ukrainian National Chorus (under the direction of composer Oleksander Koshets) sang this in Carnegie Hall, where Peter Willhousky heard it and published it with the english text. BTW - the English text is not a translation of the original Ukrainian. This is a recording made in New York City in October of 1922 on the Brunswick label. It's actually on the B side...

Tags: Ukraine, music