78 rpm Recordings — LEMKO.org

This collection brings together early commercial 78 rpm recordings connected with Lemko musical life in the United States. LEMKO.org preserves the physical-label, linguistic and discographical context; LemkoHUB provides current audiovisual access to digitized source discs.

Samuil Pilip — the five Columbia records, 1929

Five Columbia double-faced 78s document Samuil Pilip i Jeho Lemkiwska Orchestra in two New York recording sessions: two issues from March 1929 and three from May 1929. The entries below preserve catalog and matrix numbers, LemkoHUB serials, titles and label identities without silently smoothing historical wording.

First session · March 1929

Columbia 27177-F · HVP-032
Жиндранівска полька / Żyndraniwska Polka — matrix 110462
Лемківскый штаєр / Lemkiwskyj Sztayer — matrix 110461

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Columbia 27179-F · HVP-035
СКРИПКА ГРАЄ, БАС ГУДЕ, Танець / Skrypka Hraje, bas hude. Taneć — matrix 110464
ДАЛІВСЬКИЙ ТАНЕЦЬ / Daliwskyj Taneć — matrix 110517. The second title preserves the name of the Lemko village Daliowa in the repertoire itself.

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Second session · May 1929

Columbia 27186-F · HVP-031
Лемківська тряска / Lemkiwska Triaska — matrix 110717
Лемківський мадяр / Lemkiwskyj Madyar — matrix 110716

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Columbia 27189-F · HVP-036
МУЗИКА В КОРЧМІ, Танець / Muzyka w korczmi, Tanec — matrix 110714
ДЕ ТИ БУВ ЯНІЧКУ, Полька / De ty buw Yaniczku? Polka — matrix 110715

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Columbia 24117-F · HVP-037
Chytry Tanečne Čardašy, Parts 1 & 2 — matrices 110716 and 110868. The performances are by Samuil Pilip i Jeho Lemkiwska Orchestra, issued here under the Slovak-market name Michal Štruhala a Jeho Ciganska Hudba.

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Shtefan Shkymba — selected recordings

Columbia 20250-F · HVP-033

Shtefan Shkymba with Cyganska Orchestra Kalma i Piszkor. Matrices 104805 and 104804.

МИЛЫЙ НИЧЪ НЕМАМЕ — matrix 104805.
ВЪ АМЕРИЦЂ СЫПАНА ДРАЖЕЧКА / V Ameryci sypana drazeczka — matrix 104804. Literal translation: “In America there is a road covered with gravel.” The image is of a gravel-surfaced road rather than the dirt roads familiar from Lemkovyna.

The companion performance is a risqué immigrant comedy: Shkymba's character is preparing to sail back to Europe and to his wife, while his English-speaking American lover expects him to return. The language barrier is part of the humor.

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Reading the labels: old Columbia ethnic-series type can defeat automated transcription. On 20250-F, СЫПАНА was once machine-read with Г in place of П, creating a different word and sending the translation toward “Gypsy” rather than the gravel-road meaning. LEMKO.org therefore treats the physical label as evidence and checks transcription against Lemko language, context and discographical sources. Literal translation comes first; interpretation is kept separate.

Preservation approach: original labels, matrix numbers and historical catalog descriptions remain distinguishable from later research. The Pilip five-disc group is presented as a complete 1929 Columbia subset; Shkymba will be represented by a smaller selected group, while the eight-record Lemko Wedding cycle is treated separately as a coherent work.

Early recording primary-source guide → Lemko-Soyuz Calendars → Lemko Wedding →