The Complete Trebitsch Collections on CDs

The Phonogrammarchiv of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the world`s first, houses about 4000 mechanical sound carriers (phonograms and gramophone records), dating from the beginning of this century up to 1950. Occasionally, these recordings represent the only surviving evidence of cultures that either died long ago or have at least considerably changed. Hence such documents are of eminent interest not only for scientific reasons; they are invaluable for the countries of origin, forming part of their cultural heritage. However, since these recordings are not readily accessible to the researcher, they have to be transferred onto modern carriers. Moreover, it is necessary to enhance the signal because of the sound and condition of the originals. Apart from these technical improvements, the historical protocols accompanying the recordings often warrant additional explanation. As a result, it was decided to establish a systematic, critical complete edition containing virtually all historical (i.e. mechanical) recordings up to 1950. Such a complete edition is an undertaking unparalleled among other scientific sound archives - once again, the Phonogrammarchiv is breaking new ground. This project - the third part of the complete edition of the historical collections of the Phonogrammarchiv - will be devoted to an edition of the complete Trebitsch collections, which include sound documents (music and speech recordings) of West-European minorities from Scotland, Wales, Brittany and the Basque Provinces as well as Inuits from Greenland. Because of their early recording date (1906-1913), these sound documents are of great interest particularly to linguists and ethno-musicologists; indeed, sometimes they represent the earliest sound documentation at all. The aim of this project is to establish a critical edition which will be published as a series of CDs accompanied by a book providing transcripts and in-depth commentary. The innovative aspect of this project is twofold: establishing a critical edition and making available for comparison very early - and often unique - musical and linguistic documents. Particularly scientists interested in diachronic research will welcome the easy access to the wealth of edited material which will no doubt make an important contribution to the sources already in existence.

Founded in 1899 as the world`s first sound archive, the Phonogrammarchiv of the Austrian Academy of Sciences houses about 4000 mechanical sound carriers (Phonogramme and gramophone discs) recorded between 1899 and 1950. In 1999 the historical collections were included as documents of universal significance into the World Register of UNESCO`s "Memory of the World" programme. More often than not, these recordings represent the only surviving acoustic evidence of cultures which either became extinct long ago or have at least considerably changed. Hence such documents are of eminent importance not only for scholarly reasons; they are invaluable for the countries of origin, forming part of their cultural heritage. However, since these recordings are not readily accessible to the researcher, they have to be transferred onto modern carriers; moreover, both the sound quality and the physical condition of the originals require signal processing and other technical improvements. The historical Protocols accompanying the recordings also frequently warrant additional explanation. As a result, it was decided to establish a systematic and complete critical edition containing virtually all historical (i.e. mechanical) recordings up to 1950. Such a complete edition is an undertaking unparalleled among other scientific sound archives. The present project - to appear in three volumes arranged geographically and according to the respective languages - has been devoted to Trebitsch`s recordings and forms Series 5 of the Complete Historical Collections of the Phonogrammarchiv. Made among the Inuit in Greenland, the Celtic populations of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany and the Isle of Man as well as the Basques in the Basque Provinces of France and Spain, they include both music and speech recordings. Due to their early recording date (1906-1913), these sound documents are of great interest notably to scholars of linguistics, ethno-musicology and cultural studies. Indeed, sometimes they can even be regarded as the earliest acoustic sources available: thus the recordings of Manx, a Celtic language which died out in the course of the 20th century, clearly represent the oldest of their kind. The aim of this project has been to prepare the master CDs and manuscripts ready for publication. The critical edition will comprise a series of CDs accompanied by booklets providing transcriptions and in-depth commentary, supplemented by CD-ROMs containing image files of the original Protocols. The research required has been undertaken with the help of experts from both Austria and abroad. Particularly scholars engaged in diachronic studies will welcome the easy access to the wealth of edited material which will no doubt make an important contribution to the sources already in existence. Experience has shown, however, that such documents are also enthusiastically received by a public interested in the history of civilisation generally, especially in the countries of origin.