Gauhar Jan_ Bhupali

Gauhar Jaan (or Gauhar Jan) (Hindi: गौहर जान) (1873-1930)_ At around 9.00 a.m. a young lady entered the studio with all her paraphernalia, including accompanists and relatives. Loaded fully with very expensive ornaments and jewelry, this 30 year old, fair, medium-built lady went onto the stage prepared for the recordings. Sarangi, harmonium, and tabla players began to tune their instruments. Gaisberg personally checked the equipment. A thick wax master record was placed on the turntable rotating at 78 rpm. A huge recording horn was fitted on the wall behind her and close to her face, and she was asked to sing loudly into the horn. At the narrow end of the long horn a diaphragm fitted with a needle was connected to the recording machinery, with a needle placed on rotating disc for cutting the grooves. Gaisberg requested her to sing for three minutes and announce her name at the end of the recording. At the end of the trial recording she announced - "My name is Gauhar Jan". (sound clip - Bhairavi ) This announcement was necessary since the wax masters were sent to Hanover in Germany for pressing the records and the technicians would make proper labels and confirm the name by listening to these announcements at the end of the three minutes performance.

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Music

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[shubhangiravindra]

in this way can we get balgandharv recording?

[Spiritakis]

Gentlemen,

This is a horn for making of acoustic recordings: it captures the voice directly on the wax master, not via electrical transformation like the microphone. Unfortunately, the microphone and the far better in terms of sound quality electrical recordings came a bit too late (1925) for Gauhar Jaan to benefit from it. By that time she was past his prime and indeed she died only five years later.

[thiagojust]

it´s the mic of a wax recording system. Like a backwards gramophone.

The singer sings into it and its air pressures the needle that cuts the wax disc.

[gomarathe]

I also think that it is a microphone.

[gomarathe]

I think you are right. Some of Gauhar Jan's recording was done in 1903!

[cactus1762]

I think it is a microphone, and the photo was apparently taken in a studio during a recording. I have read in memoirs of other singers from that period that the singer had to sing putting his/her head inside that cone-shaped microphone during the recording. The master recording was done on a wax disc. In this picture the singer and her accompanist musicians are obviously posing for the photo, possibly during a break.

[woodkk1]

Is that a gramophone in the background? If not what is it?

[deepaksgulvadi]

Thanks for posting this vintage song. Please upload more songs of Gauhar Jan, Mehbub Jan Sholapur, Junagadh etc.