Born: Bardizag, Turkey on June 7, 1891
Died: Queens, New York on January 26, 1986
Active years (recording): 1917
Label Association: Columbia Records

Today's post features the stunning voice of Zabelle Panosian, an Armenian soprano and recording star of the early 20th century. Once a household name for Armenians in the 1910s and 1920s, the recent publication of Zabelle Panosian: I am Servant of Your Voice, a book and CD compilation by Canary Records, has taken great effort to bring Zabelle back into focus and let her voice be heard and celebrated again in the 21st century.

Of the four recordings presented here the first two in the sequence were transferred from the Museum's collection as part of our Sound Archive project and remastered by one of the book's authors, Ian Nagoski, for inclusion in the publication. The book was co-written by Harout Arakelian and Harry Kezelian, who also provide writing and research for the Museum’s Sound Archive project.

Zabelle Panosian was born Takhouhi Der Mesrobian on June 7, 1891 in Bardizag, a predominantly Armenian town roughly 80 miles east of Istanbul. She was a natural and dedicated singer, performing publicly by the age of 10, and going on to train and perform professionally throughout the United States and Europe. Zabelle emigrated to the United States in 1907 to marry Aram Sarkis Panosian, a successful postcard creator in Boston.

The book chronicles her career in detail so we’ll focus here on the recordings at hand. Readers of previous Sound Archive articles (click here) are likely familiar with the development of early recordings made by Armenian musicians for Columbia and Victor Records.

Zabelle’s story follows much the same form but is remarkable in the unprecedented success of her releases. She completed two sessions for Columbia in 1917, totaling an output of only 11 songs. However, each song was recorded in numerous takes, with an unprecedented nine takes of “Tzain Dour Ov Dzovag.” Her recording of “Groung” sold well over 1,000 copies and remained in print until 1931. The two recordings from the Museum’s collection presented here are two untraced takes of “Tzain Dour Ov Dzovag” as well as a take of “Caroun” which stands out for its omission of piano at the start of the song. This omission lends a focused and almost suspended atmosphere to Zabelle’s vocal performance.

The second two recordings represent the first takes of the same two songs and are included here courtesy of the publisher. As one can hear through this direct comparison, it is the subtle but striking variation across different takes that is part of what makes Zabelles recording career so compelling, allowing the listener to dive into the creativity and artistic range that Zabelle was able to commit to record. 

Nagoski’s label Canary Records has been committed to making available the early recorded output of various diaspora communities in the United States, including several releases focused on the work of Armenian performers. His relationship with the Museum's collection goes back to research visits in 2011 and 2015, facilitated by the Museum’s Collections Curator Gary Lind-Sinanian.

We are proud to have material from the collection represented in this publication and are grateful that through generations of work by researchers like Ian, Harout, Harry, and Gary, the recorded legacy of Armenian performers from more than 100 years ago is enjoying a new life and depth of attention today. If you’re interested in reading and hearing more, copies of the book are available online through Canary Records (click here) as well as in our Gift Shop.

A special thanks to the SJS Charitable Trust for their generous support of our work to digitize and share our collection of 78 rpm records.

Thanks to Canary Records for use of Caroun (Take 1) and Tzain Dour Ov Dzovag (Take 1), as well as restoration of the untraced takes from the Museums collection.