Edison phonograph cylinder (1888): Sir Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900) - The Lost Chord & Speech

On 5th October 1888 (yes, you read that year right), Sir Arthur Sullivan was present at a "phonograph party". At this event, he made a recording of his own voice to send to Thomas Edison (who had the idea that the phonograph may be used in a way similar to the letter). His comments are made having heard various recordings played to him at the event.

Also, earlier in 1888, a press conference was played a recording of Sullivan's "The Lost Chord" (amongst others). This recording is thought to be the same recording, made in 1888, and is performed by anonymous artists on cornet and piano. While not all that interesting musically, the recording is of supreme historical interst as being the first properly listenable recording of music ever made. One musical observation I have is to note the restrained attitude towards rubato - the presumably British players don't seem to be indulging in the sometimes wayward rhythmic tos and fros of the Austro-German piano school in this recording. There is still a degree of non-sychronisation between cornet melody and piano accomaniment though, typical of the treatment of melody and accompaniment in piano solo recordings from a few years later.

Anyway, afterwards (the cylinder runs out before the work has been completed, and irritatingly just as it starts to rise to its climax) you hear Sullivan's voice from the other event. He is first introduced, and then makes the following speech - rather perspicacious all things considered!:

Dear Mr. Edison, if my friend Edmund Yates has been a little incoherent it is in consequence of the excellent dinner and good wines that he has drunk. Therefore I think you will excuse him. He has his lucid intervals. For myself, I can only say that I am astonished and somewhat terrified at the result of this evening's experiments: astonished at the wonderful power you have developed, and terrified at the thought that so much hideous and bad music may be put on record for ever. But all the same I think it is the most wonderful thing that I have ever experienced, and I congratulate you with all my heart on this wonderful discovery. Arthur Sullivan.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• thomas
• edison
• arthur
• sullivan
• speech
• cornet
• lost
• chord
• piano
• recording
• classical
• historic
• earliest
• cylinder
• phonograph

[IgnatzKolisch]

The historical value of these two recordings is absolutely incalculable, especially the preservation of the voice of one of the Greatest (yes, GREATEST) composers who ever lived. Sullivan never gets his due from the so-called musical intelligentsia.

By the way, Anton Rubinstein and Pyotr Tchaikovsky's voices are also preserved, if you're interested and haven't heard them!!

[d60944]

@IgnatzKolisch

The voices of Rubenstein and Tchaikowsky are "probably" preserved. What there is is extremely brief, almost inaudible, and the ID of the speakers relies on second-hand witness.

[christobell123]

oh my days, how old is this recording?

[d60944]

120 this year :-)

[BSNFabricating]

If Edison knew the music industry would lead to Britney Spears and Marilyn Manson he'd have said, "Never mind, I'll invent the toaster instead..."

[lilysea]

Wow!

How right was he about the hideous and bad music though? We certainly have a glut of that, as he feared.

: )

[EmmetEarwax]

"Lost Chord" appears to be badly damaged near the end, mostly surface noise. Wax cylinders prior to 1890 appear to be rare and ruinous. None of the original tin foil recordings are playable.

[pianopera]

There's a very interesting article online, "Could Liszt have made a recording?"

Who knows? In 1886, Liszt visited London. Colonel Georges Gouraud represented Edison's interests in Britain from 1873, and had also demonstrated Edison's earliest phonograph (recording on tinfoil) in London before 1880. By 1886, Gouraud had been experimenting with the phonograph himself, and he also made this recording of Arthur Sullivan in 1888.

Liszt *could have made* a primitive tinfoil recording in London...!

[Professor6871]

Remarable recording of somebody of over a hundred 121 years ago.

[verdew8181]

Gilbert & Sullivan's "semiclassical" operettas are some of the most wonderfully entertaining and also most underappreciated music ever written. I would estimate that something like 99% of the world's people will never hear any of them and will never know what they missed.

[aLcatrazConnectioNz]

Vay amk.

[ferociousgumby]

Whew. That's primitive. But by 1900, recordings had improved substantially. By 1920 they had very little surface noise, except if they were scratched.

[DeutscheRossiya]

@ACDC392333 everyone copies deary,Edison was no thief,rather a great man who used his brain for business all he did was improve other people's lousy work. Edison was great,Tesla was an idiot who couldn't do stuff on his own. One man makes a car then everyone else does,that makes them thieves? and if Graham didn't make the phone no one would have even called each other at all,people want free socialism and when a man like edison uses his intelligence for money people go off and talk slander.

[ACDC392333]

@DeutscheRossiya I dont really get what you mean. Edison took credit for his assistants' work. Tesla has no notorious historical record like that. Alexander Graham Bell fucked people over in the invention of the telephone. Its the way science works/

[DeutscheRossiya]

@ACDC392333 Tesla was a very horrible person a traitor to his own country and very mean in reality,anyone who met him thought he was an urchin.

[DeutscheRossiya]

@ACDC392333 So is everyone else a theif if you think about it seriously.