From a vault in Paris: The sound of opera in 1907
On Dec. 24, 1907, a group of bewhiskered men gathered in the bowels of the Paris Opera to launch a project which, by definition, they could never see to fruition. First, 24 carefully-wrapped wax records were placed inside two lead and iron containers. These were then sealed and locked away in a small storage room, with instructions that they remain undisturbed for 100 years.
The man behind this musical time-capsule was Alfred Clark, a New Yorker who headed the London-based Gramophone Company and provided the records. And, in truth, once the ceremony was over, he had achieved his primary objective of drawing attention to his company and to the new flat disc records that it was promoting to compete with better known cylinder records.
"I know of no other case where a commercial firm has obtained so much free publicity as we have," he wrote to a colleague two days later.
The Paris Opera displayed a more elevated sense of history. Through this selection of opera arias and instrumental pieces, it announced, future generations could discover the musical taste and the quality of sound recording of the early 20th century.
French officials also predicted radical changes in recording technology. So, in 1912, when they added 24 records and two more containers to the trove, they included a new hand-cranked gramophone, along with instructions on how it worked and a score of spare stylus needles.
The 100 years were up more than a year ago and, after lengthy examination, cleaning and digitizing of the records, EMI, the heir to the Gramophone Company, is reissuing them in three CD's. The collection will be released in France later this month as "Les Urnes de l'Opéra" and in the United States in early April with the English subtitle, "Treasures from the Paris Opera Vaults."..
Read entire article at International Herald Tribune
The man behind this musical time-capsule was Alfred Clark, a New Yorker who headed the London-based Gramophone Company and provided the records. And, in truth, once the ceremony was over, he had achieved his primary objective of drawing attention to his company and to the new flat disc records that it was promoting to compete with better known cylinder records.
"I know of no other case where a commercial firm has obtained so much free publicity as we have," he wrote to a colleague two days later.
The Paris Opera displayed a more elevated sense of history. Through this selection of opera arias and instrumental pieces, it announced, future generations could discover the musical taste and the quality of sound recording of the early 20th century.
French officials also predicted radical changes in recording technology. So, in 1912, when they added 24 records and two more containers to the trove, they included a new hand-cranked gramophone, along with instructions on how it worked and a score of spare stylus needles.
The 100 years were up more than a year ago and, after lengthy examination, cleaning and digitizing of the records, EMI, the heir to the Gramophone Company, is reissuing them in three CD's. The collection will be released in France later this month as "Les Urnes de l'Opéra" and in the United States in early April with the English subtitle, "Treasures from the Paris Opera Vaults."..