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Date: | Tue, 14 Dec 1999 18:15:39 -0800 |
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Donald Satz ([log in to unmask]) wrote:
>1. I'm going to start acquiring more historical recordings. Increasingly,
>I feel that I'm missing out in this area.
Bravo Don! If you pass over a recording simply because it is
analogue/mono/whatever then you are indeed missing out on some of the
great recordings of the century. Especially of what used to be considered
the "core repertoire". You'll search in vain, for example, (at least
AFAIK) for mono-era recordings of composers such as Zelenka and Biber; but
if you're looking for an Eroica, for example, then I can think of at least
a dozen from before 1955 I'd not want to live without.
You will find that the more you listen to, e.g., mono recordings,
especially 78-derived ones, with their attendant pops, clicks and hiss
(the "frying bacon" syndrome), the more tolerant your ear will become
and the more you will find yourself hearing the music and ignoring the
background noise.
When I first started collecting historical material (longer ago than I
care to think about right now) I limited myself to post-1950 on acoustic
grounds. But gradually I found myself pushing the boundaries further back
until eventuially I found I could even derive pleasure (admittedly only
when in the correct frame of mind) from acoustic-era recordings (i.e.
those made without microphones, where the entire sound was channeled down
a horn to the cutting head).
Deryk Barker
[log in to unmask]
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