(Rare!) Tolstoy Speaks in 4 Languages! (Another Revisit)

You'll remember my posting of the great Russian writer Leo Tolstoy reading excerpts from his book "For Every Day" - but you probably didn't know that he made four different recordings of it, each in a different language. As a matter of fact, I also never knew about it until very recently.

On October 31st, 1909, Count Leo Tolstoy recorded four 10-inch sides for the Gramophone Company, at his estate in Yasnaya Polyana, Russia. He first recorded the French version (Matrix # 6877R), then English (6878R, the only matrix contains Tolstoy's autograph on the surface.), Russian(6879R; in which one can hear Tolstoy cough at the end), and German (6880R) version each. This was not his first attempt to record his voice for the posterity; he made two wax cylinders with Julius Block in 1895, and he had a Edison phonograph presented by Edison himself in 1908 and used it to record voice messages to his family and friends. But this was the first and only time he had ever recorded for the public.

I only had a battered copy of English version inherited from my grandfather, until I got a pristine 1930s reissue from an auction. At the auction I also discovered there is a Russian version of this recording. Although I lost the bidding on it, I contacted the person who bought it. Turns out he also has the German version as well. He generously gave me the MP3 file and the photograph of the label, although the quality of Russian and German version is pretty bad, unfortunately. I was able to locate the French version which was on a private LP collection of Historic Voices. (The photo for the French version actually has nothing to do with the record itself)

It appears that all of 4 original Matrices still survives in the EMI's Hayes Archive, as Symposium Records pressed limited editions of Vinyl pressings of these in 1987, although I haven't get a chance to locate any of them.

So, anyway, enjoy this unusual moment of hearing a Great author speaking in 4 languages. I compiled these recordings from the shortest to the longest. Since I don't understand Russian, I wonder if the Russian recording contains some more than the shortest English version since the duration is almost the double of the English version. I sincerely hope that somebody would provide the transcription of each language variations.

Here's the transcription of English version;

"That the object of life is self-perfection, the perfection of all immortal souls, that this is the only object of my life, is seen to be correct by the fact alone that every other object is essentially a new object. Therefore, the question whether thou hast done what thou shouldst have done is of immense importance, for the only meaning of thy life is in doing in this short term allowed thee, that which is desired of thee by He or That which has sent thee into life. Art thou doing the right thing?

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Count
• Leo
• Tolstoy
• Speaks
• Thoughts
• from
• the
• Book
• For
• Every
• Day
• 1909
• Historic
• Recording
• 78rpm

[Matt75003]

The French text appears incomplete and seems to start in the middle of a sentence. It goes as follows: ...croyance aux phénomènes surnaturels qui soi-disant se produisirent autrefois, ni la croyance en la nécessité de certaines prières et de certains rites, elle n'est pas non plus comme le pensent les savants le reste des superstitions et d'une ignorance antiques qu'il n'y a dans notre temps aucune nécessité d'adopter dans la vie.

[transformingArt]

@Matt75003 Thanks for the information!

[MrLuiscastellanos]

Felicitaciones por el video !!!! *****

[IconsOfTeleplay]

There are lots of pricey books with depictions of proto-humans. There's Ken Miller with his charts. Ye of little Faith: No proof is needed to believe in Chuckle Darwin's monkeyed hypothesis.

[dniez1]

I heard some Tolstoy in the small 'restoration exhibition' in the British Library. Is this the same ?

[bixanorak]

Many thanks for this most rare and important material, that you have so meticulously gathered together: congratulations!

[libersum]

Very interesting! Très interessant! Danke!

[Alex11111Ufa1]

Thank you! Very interesting! I didn't know, that Tolstoy was recorded for "Gramophone"until now - only the wax cylinder

[Matt75003]

PS Thank you for this unique opportunity to take dictation from the great man himself!

[Matt75003]

Et quand cette lumière s'enflamme, et elle ne s'enflamme que dans l'âme éclairée par la religion, l'homme devient l'être le plus puissant au monde. Il n'en peut être autrement, parce qu'alors ce n'est plus sa force qui agit en lui, mais celle de Dieu. Voilà ce qu'est la religion et en quoi consiste son essence.

[Matt75003]

La religion, c'est le rapport de l'homme envers la vie éternelle, envers Dieu, rapport établi en accord avec la raison et la science contemporaine et qui seul pousse l'humanité en avant vers le but qui lui est assigné. L'âme humaine, c'est la langue de Dieu, dit une sage expression hébraïque. L'homme est un animal faible, misérable, tant que dans son âme ne brûle pas la lumière de Dieu.