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Joseph Carl Breil

Joseph Carl Breil (29 June 1870 – 23 January 1926) was an American lyric tenor, stage director, composer and conductor. He was one of the earliest American composers to compose specific music for motion pictures. His first film was Les amours de la reine Élisabeth (1912) starring Sarah Bernhardt. He later composed and arranged scores for several other early motion pictures, including such epics as D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation (1915) and Intolerance (1916), as well as scoring the preview version of The Phantom of the Opera (1925), a score that is now lost. His love theme for "Birth of a Nation", titled "The Perfect Song", was published by Chappell & Co. in an arrangement for voice and keyboard. It was later used as the theme for the radio show "Amos and Andy".

Birth and Death Data: Born June 29, 1870 (Pittsburgh), Died January 24, 1926 (Los Angeles)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1909 - 1941

Roles Represented in DAHR: composer

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor B-8290 10-in. 10/8/1909 Song of the soul Evan Williams Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor B-8674 10-in. 3/2/1910 Song of the soul Victor E. Sorlin Cello solo, with piano composer  
Victor C-9145 12-in. 6/29/1910 Song of the soul Marguerite Dunlap Female vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor B-25728 10-in. 10/21/1921 Song of the soul Rosario Bourdon Cello solo, with piano composer  
Victor B-27048 10-in. 10/23/1922 Song of the soul Elsie Baker Female vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor B-27175 10-in. 11/23/1922 Song of the soul Jasha Bunchuk Cello solo, with piano composer  
Victor BVE-57154 10-in. 11/18/1929 The perfect song Nathaniel Shilkret ; Victor Salon Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Victor BVE-59683 10-in. 4/9/1930 Song of the soul Nathaniel Shilkret ; Victor Salon Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Victor BS-019859 10-in. 2/23/1938 The perfect song Guy Lombardo ; Royal Canadians Jazz/dance band composer  
Columbia 4326 10-in. ca. Jan.-Apr. 1910 Song of the soul Merle Alcock Female vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Columbia [W]149761 10-in. 1/15/1930 The perfect song The Danford Sisters ; Hotel Pennsylvania Music [Phil Spitalny Orchestra] ; Jack Miller Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo and female vocal duet composer  
Columbia 87431 10-in. approximately May 1921 Egyptian dancer Oriental Woodwind Orchestra Orchestra composer  
OKeh W403727 10-in. 2/4/1930 The perfect song Tommy Bohn Penn-Sirens Orchestra Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
OKeh W403757 10-in. 2/14/1930 The perfect song Seger Ellis Male vocal solo, with violin, cello, and piano composer  
Brunswick E30398 10-in. July 1929 The perfect song Brunswick Concert Orchestra Orchestra, with vocal composer  
Brunswick E35060 10-in. Oct. 1930 The song of the soul Vitaphone Orchestra ; Frederick Vittel Male vocal solo, with orchestra; without vocal (2nd title) composer  
Edison 4287 10-in. 11/22/1915 Song of the soul Blanche Duffield Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Edison 4456 10-in. 1/31/1916 Song of the soul Marie De Kyser Female vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Decca 69170 10-in. 5/9/1941 The perfect song Jesse Crawford composer  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Breil, Joseph Carl," accessed March 28, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/105961.

Breil, Joseph Carl. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved March 28, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/105961.

"Breil, Joseph Carl." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 28 March 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/105961

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