From: Patent Tactics, George Brock-Nannestad Hello, on 1 December Jaqueline von Arb introduced the annual Advent Calendar from the Norwegian Institute of Recorded Sound (NIRS) on several lists, on ARSCLIST as shown below, and the website has been accessed. One of the lists is MUS-PERF-REC, dedicated to the documentation of performance by means of recordings and it was created out of the CHARM project that ran from 2005-2010 based at Royal Holloway and King's College. It mainly involves researchers who are engaged in the professional use of recordings. Many of these have moved on to matters more related to performance as such, and for this another list has been created, PERF-STUD- NET. On 12 December on MUS-PERF-REC a criticism of the offerings of NIRS was voiced, and I consider that it might also be of interest to ARSCLIST readers. It tallies well with some of the discussions that have taken place here. No response has been forthcoming from Norway on the MUS-PERF-REC list, and no changes to the soundtracks have been noted, and for fairness I would have preferred to include such items in the present posting. However, the text relating to 2 December was cropped on 15 December, and all reference to the Grenadier Guards have been removed. Google's cache still has it, however. My co-authors and I have reflected that our dour and academic approach to web presentations of historical content pales completely compared to the original jubilant presentation. Kind regards, George P.S. Just a few words on the authors of the posting: - Peter Craven is one of the acousticians/mathematicians who developed Ambisonics - Peter Adamson is a specialist on Berliner records and reproduction of coarse groove records - I am notorious on this list and need no introduction ------------- "From: Peter Craven <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [MUS-PERF-REC] 2011 Musical Advent Calendar (Norwegian Institute of Recorded Sound) Date sent: Mon, 12 Dec 2011 00:12:16 +0000 Dear list members, We refer to Jacqueline von Arb's recent posting concerning the musical Advent Calendar provided by the Norwegian Institute of Recorded Sound for the fourth year running. A delightful idea certainly, and the presentation on the website is most attractive, but we have been disappointed by both the technical quality of the transfers and the accuracy of the discographical information. Anyone can make a mistake, and the fact that Caruso was already dead by the alleged date (1924) of the first recording offered this year: http://www.recordedsound.no/english/exhibitions/christmas11/december1.php has already been pointed in two comments posted by listeners. We also note that the lyrics were not "trad." but were composed by J. Bertrand. The second offering is even stranger in this regard: http://www.recordedsound.no/english/exhibitions/christmas11/december2.php Band of the H.B. Grenadier Guards ? It doesn't sound like it. On further investigation we have determined that it wasn't recorded in 1926 either - it is a a 1948 recording of the Danish/Swedish singer Frans Andersson singing in Danish with the Copenhagen Chamber Choir, harp, strings, and organ (arranged and conducted by Arne Bertelsen) on the Felix label: Felix P9. We also note that a Columbia record would not have been published by His Masterīs Voice in 1926, as they were not merged into EMI until 1931. Turning now to technical quality, the undersigned are not frightened of a bit of crackle, and consider that the ear generally does a better job of separating crackle from music than do most electronic devices. So we are not complaining about that. Nor are we complaining about the stereo presentation - although this is unusual, it is arguably an advantage to have crackle emerging separately from one's two loudspeakers, while the music is heard as emanating from a point midway between. However, what we hear on some of these transfers is strange indeed. From the first note of the orchestral introduction onwards, Day 1's Caruso offering has severe burbles, sounding similar to those that sometimes occur with misapplied, or over-applied, crackle reduction. But no, the crackle is there too. We assume that the problem may be caused by an MP3 encoder that is reacting badly to certain characteristics of the non-smooth background noise. It is also possible that a poor choice of stylus size has contributed to the generally unsteady result. List members may find it interesting to compare this with the transcription on the National Jukebox: http://www.loc.gov/jukebox/recordings/detail/id/4387 We also note that the Caruso transfer has been made at 78.26 rpm.. Although there are sources stating that most records were recorded at speeds between 78 and 80 rpm from 1910 onwards, we believe this to be incorrect in the case of Victor, and that 76rpm would be correct in this case. Please see the postscript for further details. The difference between 76rpm and 78.26rpm equates to a speed change of 3% or a pitch change of half a semitone, which is hardly insignificant. (Unfortunately, the National Jukebox also seems to be unaware of the published evidence on this matter - their Caruso transfer is at 78.42 rpm.) Day 3 brings us a very uncharacteristic-sounding Gigli again with some burbling. The individual crackles are set on an over-smooth sounding record surface again suggesting that something has been lost in an MP3 encoding process. And so it goes on. Overall, we do warmly applaud this initiative, which is both pleasing and potentially instructive. However, our present concern is partly that today misconceptions abound regarding 78rpm records, not only among the general public but also on the part of broadcasters and journalists. It is becoming received opinion that recordings made before the LP era were terrible and can be rescued only by modern digital wizardry. We do not hold that view, but fear that the transcriptions presented here may serve to fuel it. We hope that for the Norwegian Institute may be able to enlist some more technical expertise, and maybe also some more discographical expertise, in preparing the Advent Calendar for 2012, to which we are looking forward very much. Peter Adamson George Brock-Nannestad Peter Craven Postscript re speeds -------------------- Recording speeds are discussed for example in: Brock-Nannestad, G., "The Objective Basis for the Production of High Quality Transfers from Pre-1925 Sound Recordings", Audio Engineering Society Preprint No. 4610, 103rd Convention 1997 September 26-29, New York. which quotes (on page 9) a letter dated 13th July 1910 from Mr. Haddon of Victor to the Gramophone Company in England: "We are about to dispense with the figures 76 on our standard dial speed regulator, substituting in place thereof figures 78, notwithstanding that the general speed at which our records are recorded is 76." The same paper quotes further contemporary references to the use of 76rpm for recording (but not playback) at Victor. Further evidence known to us suggests that 76rpm for recording remained Victor policy from 1910 until at least the end of acoustical recording in 1925, and we are not aware of contemporaneous sources that would suggest otherwise. " ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Jacqueline von Arb <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [ARSCLIST] 2011 Musical Advent Calendar (Norwegian Institute of Recorded Sound) Date sent: Thu, 1 Dec 2011 11:15:55 +0000 > Dear AV colleagues, > > The Norwegian Institute of Recorded Sound (NIRS) follows up the great > feedback we got over the last few years for our musical Advent Calendar with > more old, old... old recordings! After all, it has now become a > tradition! > > Today's contribution: > http://www.recordedsound.no/english/exhibitions/christmas11/december1.php > > Every day until Christmas Day, we will present a vintage recording, with its > original historical noises, where legendary singers and musicians from the > first half of the 20th Century interpret Christmas music. > > New sound clip(s) and text will be published every day on our > website<http://www.recordedsound.no/english/exhibitions/christmas11/>! and > you can also listen to the last two year's music! > > Do you wish to receive a daily reminder with the day's link(s)? - just > answer this email!<mailto:[log in to unmask]> > and/or you can also sign up as 'attending' on the Facebook > event<http://www.facebook.com/events/325333834160286/>. > > (NB: if you have received daily's before, you will automatically receive > this year's as well - no need to sign up again) > > Musically yours, > the archivists at the Norwegian Institute of Recorded Sound > Jacqueline von Arb and Tim Rishton > > > ------Useful links--------- > > NIRS Website in English: > http://www.recordedsound.no/english/exhibitions/christmas11/ > NIRS on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/recordedsound > Advent calendar Facebook event: > http://www.facebook.com/events/325333834160286/