[78-L] Desiderata... WAS Leah's Documentary

[I. Cubillo]

I think I MUST sign for ARSC too... it's like the "more serious face" of
78-L. For anyone interested in old records, and with an interest in serious
investigation, technical knowledge or mere experience in old machines and
records, it's a MUST!

I'm still not a member... but I will work seriously, trying to open a bit
more this marvelous world, putting my five pennies for these wonderful
people at 78-L and ARSC, trying to make available for all of you the records
of my side of the ocean, doing what I humbly can do, as a modest
afficionado, to contribute to your knowledge, and sharing with all of you
the music that I am so accostumed to listen to. Although my strongest
interests go for the american artists, whom you know well, there are other
interests in record collecting here in Spain. There's the french chanson,
the german dance orchestras, etc.

But perhaps more inconnu for you, and a thing to which I can contribute my
fivepence, and most important, call for the contribution of other important
spanish collectors and institutions, is the myriad of spanish musicians that
flourished here since the very beginning of the record industry.

Yoou all know that since the very beginning, Berliner people recorded
spanish artists. On the very first round trip of Gaisberg and Darby in 1899,
they recorded in Spain. Since then, the record industry had here an
important cornerstone. The british HMV made some other trips round Spain.
Then the french branch of HMV took charge of spanish territory exploitation,
since the early 190x, founding a spanish branch (still named after the Cie.
Française) that became so important so they decided to license a new spanish
branch in 1915.

Similar stories hapened with Odeon and Columbia, with vast outputs of
spanish recordings.

Parlophon and Polydor had a minor output, as they lasted only for a few
years as spanish independent branches. Others like Homokord, depended only
on foreign technicians' recording expeditions.

The recorded output of the spanish companies, considering only  EMI
(Gramofono-HMV + Odeon + Regal 1935-1956), and Columbia (Regal 1923-1935 +
Columbia 1935-1956), reaches 36,000 spanish matrixes, and this is only a
sample took from my own collection's database. There must be something here
that is worth a bit of attention!

If we look at the pressing side, considering that a great part of the output
was made of foreign recordings, the numbers o more or less the same. Only
the popular series of HMV (including classical AF and AB) plus Odeon, Regal
and Columbia (independent since 1935) reached the 24,000 mark. I'm leaving
apart the international HMV DB series, sold strongly in Spain. We could well
add the myriad of records of which I've been able to detect three or more
reissues. If we consider that 20% of the output may well have been issued at
least twice, adding a second repressing, and thinking about 500 records per
pressing run, we can sum a total of 17,000,000 78s pressed in Spain alone.

Am I telling a nonsense? Correct me, please, if you think this is a no-no.

But only judging by the huge number of 78s that you can find today in Spain,
70% in good shape, the output is reaonable.

WHERE can I upload MP3s of some records for you to examine?

There were magnific artists who recorded in Spain, vocal and orchestral.
Some of them were also exported to the US and UK. Some of our artists
entered the Metropolitan Opera, or were succesful at the main theatres in
the civilised world: Adelina Patti, Lucrecia Bori, Maria Galvany, Miguel
Fleta, Francesco Vignas, Maria Barrientos, Conchita Supervia, Corts, etc.
But there are many others that probably are less known to you, as they made
their careers in Spain and South America. Would you like to hear the
powerful voices of Marcos Redondo, Tino Folgar, Luisa Vela, Inocencio
Navarro, Emilio Sagi-Barba, Laura Nieto, Angeles Ottein, Ofelia Nieto...
and the like? Would you like a try of our dance orchestras as Gran Casino,
Casablanca, Tejada, Bizarros, Luis Rovira, Montoliu (father of the well
known jazz pianist Tete) and the like? Would you like a try from our spanish
jazz musicians as Sebastian Albalat, Pedro Masmitjá, Rogelio Barba or
Azarola?

Regards,

Iñigo Cubillo
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jeff Sultanof" <jeffsultanof at gmail.com>
To: "78-L Mail List" <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
Sent: Tuesday, May 26, 2009 4:08 AM
Subject: Re: [78-L] Preview Leah's Documentary NOW!!!!


> Dr. Biel,
>
> These segments are excellent. I can't wait to order the DVD.
>
> Jeff Sultanof
>
> On Sat, May 23, 2009 at 11:19 AM, Michael Biel <mbiel at mbiel.com> wrote:
>
> > "For The Record", my daughter Leah's documentary on record collectors,
> > will be given its world premiere next Saturday May 30 at ARSC and
> > thereafter will be available on DVD, but right now you can see a preview
> > of segments on YouTube.
> >
> > First is the Roll Call of Collectors, the segment of the closing credits
> > where the collectors who are profiled state their names.  You will hear
> > some familiar names -- and will now have the faces and voices to place
> > with them.
> >
> > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70gOLK-wUVE&feature=channel
> >
> > Next is a segment that discusses places where collectors used to meet --
> > The Record Research Associates, better known as "The Syndicate" -- and
> > where they now meet on the web -- the 78-L.
> >
> > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVJtdgs1fmo&feature=channel
> >
> >
> > Then comes a segment about another place where collectors and
> > collections meet -- The Association for Recorded Sound Collections.
> >
> > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiTPoctv9-Q&feature=channel
> >
> > And lastly, for now, is a segment featurinig Bill Bragg of
> > YesterdayUSA.com , a long established nostalgia network where I
> > broadcast on Sunday nights at 11:30 PM Eastern time.  Bill is also known
> > as the voice of Big Tex, the very tall greeter at the Texas State Fair.
> > Bill tells a story about how a recording resurrected a woman's long dead
> > father.
> >
> > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEJpwovG40w&feature=channel
> >
> > I cannot cite the usual disclaimers because I have a particular interest
> > in this program as the proud papa and one of the interview subjects, but
> > I hope you don't mind.
> >
> > Mike Biel   mbiel at mbiel.com
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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> > http://klickitat.78online.com/mailman/listinfo/78-l
> >
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