Charles D'Almaine

Charles D'Almaine (; June 13, 1871 – June 17, 1943) was an American violinist with the New York Metropolitan Opera, a chiropractor, and a pioneer recording artist.

Biography Charles D'Almaine was born in Kingston upon Hull on June 13, 1871. He grew up an orphan in the London area. At some point he came to the United States and played first violin at the Grand Opera House in Chicago in the 1890s.

He married his second wife, Cornelia Helen (d. September 25, 1933, known as "Helen") on December 24, 1897.

One of the earliest violinists to make recordings, D'Almaine's first ("Miserere") was recorded in 1899 and released on Edison cylinder #7324. When a standing orchestra was established at the Edison studios, D'Almaine was made concertmaster. he eventually became concertmaster of the house unit, the Victor Orchestra. In addition to performing, he also made several violins. In addition to classical pieces and straight renditions of popular songs, his output of fiddle-tunes was significant to the genre, often because of Edison's penchant for marketing to rural markets. D'Almaine was the fiddle player on Len Spencer's immensely popular "Arkansas Traveler", as well as the first to record "The Irish Washerwoman" (1904), "Flowers of Edinburgh" (1905), and "Tom and Jerry" (1905). He also made novelty records such as "Donkey and Driver", which includes sound effects generated on his instrument. As the violin soloist of choice for Victor Records and Edison Records, D'Almaine's output was prolific. His wide repertoire and varied duties demanded a formidable technique, which he rarely got to fully display; the most virtuosic of his "classical" recordings is probably his 1906 rendition of Jean-Delphin Alard's "Brindisi-Valse" for violin and piano, opus 49 no. 16 (recorded with orchestral accompaniment and released as Victor 31542). He also recorded for Berliner Gramophone, Columbia Records, and other, smaller companies. Among his most popular recordings were "Shepherd's Dance", a 1902 release on cylinder for Edison, and "Medley of Old-Time Reels", a 1906 release on a 12-inch Victor disc.