His Master's Voice/Die Stimme Seines Herrn

The present volume is one of a series which will cover the output of the Gramophone Company from its beginning in 1898 to 1929, when recording methods had progressed from the primitive trumpet to the sophisticated microphone. The Company operated through ten branches, and the catalogues of two of these (Italy and France) have already been published by Greenwood. This new volume adds Germany to the list, but the coverage extends to Austria, Switzerland, and Czechoslovakia and to any other country (including the United States) where there was interest in records whose source or language was German. The principal intention of this volume is to produce a complete listing of material within this field, and not merely a selection (e.g., operatic records only). Thus, it lists not only the important recordings from Wagner operas, but those from other composers, together with all the songs, popular and serious, recorded by the most important record company of the age. Also included are all the instrumental records of the time--by pianists, violinists, cellists, and harmonica players--as well as military music played by celebrated regimental bands. Included with this is a remarkable amount of material where the executant was also the composer, an area of unusual interest. In previous years, most records from this time period were unavailable, and there was virtually no chance of ever hearing them, particularly where copies were so rare as to exist in only one collection. The introduction of the long-playing record changed the situation and the invention of the compact disc has improved availability to an extent undreamed of even a few years ago. This volume is intended to provide collectors and archivists with a comprehensive and reliable guide to the contents of their collections.