Fred Gaisberg and his brother Will had been sebt to Milan in early 1902 to try to entice the superstar opera singer Enrico Caruso. When he was playing hard to get the brothers headed to Rome with the hope of recording the Pope. That proved impossible but they did get to record the last castratoContinue reading “When Fred Gaisberg set the Vatican on fire”
Category Archives: early recordings
Episode 3 of our podcast is published today – recording nineteenth comedy, pornographic and propaganda records
In the early days of recorded sound, no one can quite figure out the purpose of gramophones. Are they serious bits of kit for replicating music or are they toys? Should gramophone discs play music or comedy or something else entirely? One man trying to work out this conundrum is an American actor called RussellContinue reading “Episode 3 of our podcast is published today – recording nineteenth comedy, pornographic and propaganda records”
Actual record taken on the front line, France, near Lille, 9th October 1918
In honour of all those who lost their lives in the First World War. Actual record taken on the front line, France, near Lille – 9th October 1918. • Recording: Gas shell bombardment • Royal Garrison Artillery • Record: HMV 09308 • Company: The Gramophone Company • Location: Lille, near France • Date of recording:Continue reading “Actual record taken on the front line, France, near Lille, 9th October 1918”
Mystery Object of the week #12 Answer
Congratulations to Rob de Bie, Rolf Christian Holth Olsen and David James who correctly identified this weeks mystery object – Mae Starr by Universal Talking Toys Company – U.S.A, 1930. Mae Starr was made by the Universal Talking Toys Co., and uses the Averill Manufacturing Company’s cylinder phonograph motor. The cylinder mechanism is housed in a well constructedContinue reading “Mystery Object of the week #12 Answer”
Mystery Object of the week #11 Answer
Congratulations to Martyn Dowel, Rolf Christian Holth Olsen and Robert Spencer who all correctly identified this weeks mystery object – The Auxetophone designed by the British engineer Sir Charles Parsons. The Auxetophone was perhaps the most effective attempt, prior to the development of electrical amplification in the 1920’s, of increasing volume. Invented in 1904, it used air pressureContinue reading “Mystery Object of the week #11 Answer”
Mystery Object of the week #10 Answer
Congratulations to Rolf Christian Holth Olsen who correctly identify this weeks mystery object – The Lioretograph Model 2 phonogragh – created by the Parisian watchmaker Henri Lioret in 1898. This particular model – The Lioretograph Model 2 – came in a fitted case dating from 1899/1900. Lioret used his watchmaker’s knowledge to create a machine with a curious mixture of high-class clock workContinue reading “Mystery Object of the week #10 Answer”
Rare Recordings – From The EMI Vaults #2
Moo! Baa! Oink! Quack! or Happy New Year! We are proud to present another rare recording uncovered by our friends from the EMI Archive Trust. 118 years ago Trevor Lloyd Williams, legal eagle and first Chairman of The Gramophone Company, stepped into the newly established Maiden Lane studio to record his famous party piece of farmyard animal sounds! The resultContinue reading “Rare Recordings – From The EMI Vaults #2”
Rare Recordings – From The EMI Vaults
Miss Christabel Pankhurst – Speech on Suffrage for Women Christabel Pankhurst, a leading Suffragette, was one of the primary strategists of the campaign for women’s right to vote in the first decades of the twentieth century. Christabel was jailed in 1907 and 1909 and was dubbed the ‘Queen of the Mob’ by the media, asContinue reading “Rare Recordings – From The EMI Vaults”
Chekhov’s Band – Eastern European Klezmer Music from the EMI Archives,1908-1913
All recordings used in this the making of this CD form part of The EMI Archive Trust, a heritage organisation set up to preserve the first 50 years of the Gramophone Company (later EMI) 1897-1946 http://www.emiarchivetrust.org Produced by Renair Records www.jewishrecords.co.uk Distribution by Honest Jons www.honestjons.com
“The Dream of Gerontius”, Elgar’s opus 38 – Vivid memories from April 1945
By Ted Gadsby “The Dream of Gerontius”, Elgar’s opus 38 – Vivid memories from April 1945 April this year marked the 70th anniversary of the recording in Huddersfield Town Hall of the ‘Dream’, an occasion I witnessed at first hand. Could an 8-year old claim to have appreciated what was going on, and how muchContinue reading ““The Dream of Gerontius”, Elgar’s opus 38 – Vivid memories from April 1945”
Sound Of The Hound 