Ruben Collection
The oldest preserved sound recordings in Denmark are the Ruben collection - a total of 154 unique recordings on phonograph cylinders that were recorded in Copenhagen between 1889 and 1895 with Thomas Edison's improved phonograph. The recordings were made under the direction of merchant Gottfried Moses Ruben (1837–1897), hence the name of the collection. Together with his business partner, the instrument maker Theodor Valdemar Cornelius Knudsen (1844–1920), Ruben was the sole agent for the Edison Manufacturing Company throughout Scandinavia. At phonograph demonstrations, a paying audience could hear selected and mostly current recordings with contemporary Danish actors, singers and musicians. All in all, the recordings are an audio testimony to the theater and musical life in Copenhagen in the first half of the 1890s.
This almost forgotten collection of Danish cultural heritage is kept in the Royal Danish Library, Aarhus (formerly the State Library) and was digitized in 2007 . 127 of the roller mounts were subsequently restored and put online in 2015
The history of the collection
The production history 1889–1895
Edison's improved phonograph was first introduced in Europe at the World's Fair in Paris in May 1889. Consul General Gottfried M. Ruben brought him to Denmark a few months later in collaboration with the Cornelius Knudsen company .
The first demonstration of the phonograph took place at Fredensborg Palace on September 28, 1889. Here the royal family could experience the new device. In the months that followed, presentations were held for the press, members of the industry association and other associations. Finally, the phonograph, which had undergone noise-reducing improvements since its arrival in the country, was presented to the public on February 23, 1890. The phonograph was a sophisticated and expensive device for the time. The demonstrations were not cheap, such a device was only purchased by wealthy private individuals and business people. Most often the phonograph was presented at other entertainment events or exhibitions. For example, it has been exhibited at Tivoli several times , including in connection with a painting exhibition.
Interest in the phonograph lasted until May 1882, after which it ebbed until a new model appeared in 1894. The new phonograph was an improved and simplified version of the Edison phonograph. It was first presented at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893 and came to Denmark in February 1894.
The improvements made it easier to operate the device, and the new technology made it possible for the rollers to rotate at a constant speed, both when recording and when playing. This new model contributed to the spread of the phonograph and sound recordings . Attempts were also made to market the phonograph for office work as a dictation machine for letters which then had to be typed in on a typewriter. Primarily, however, the phonograph was an attraction and was exhibited, for example, at “Den Frie Udstilling” (German: The Free Exhibition) on the Town Hall Square in Copenhagen and later as a phonograph machine in Tivoli and in the Zoological Garden .
Although the novelty value of the phonograph gradually waned, Ruben continued to exhibit his phonograph recordings on new occasions. For example, he gave a performance with recordings of songs with the opera singer Peter Schram when he had just passed away. Only one of these recordings is preserved today as part of the Ruben collection. At the beginning of the 20th century the phonograph became cheaper and easier to use. This made it affordable for a wider section of the population and found its way into many Danish rooms.
In the hands of Hegermann-Lindencrone 1935–1990
The earliest recordings from phonograph cylinders onto shellac records
After Gottfried Rubens' death in 1897, part of his collection remained in the care of the family. In early 1936 , the son Victor Gottfried Nathan Ruben (1876–1942) gave the journalist and record collector Knud Alexander Berling Hegermann-Lindencrone (1907–1994) three boxes with (up to) 48 rollers each. Hegermann-Lindencrone later expanded his collection with three more boxes. These came from the inventory that Gottfried Ruben had given to the Polytechnische Lehranstalt (now Denmark's Technical University ) at the time.
On the occasion of the 70th birthday of the famous Danish tenor Vilhelm Herold (1865–1937) in 1935 , Hegermann-Lindencrone had dubbed six reels on three records. Herold had recorded both records, which were still available, and phonograph cylinders. However, the first recordings on phonograph cylinders in 1935 could no longer be found. The reels that were played over came from the years 1901–1903.
After the Ruben collection had been forgotten for 40 years, Hegermann-Lindencrone published a shellac record with copies of selected recordings in 1936. These brought the Ruben collection back into the public eye.
The collection today
Digitization and restoration by the State Library
In 1990 Hegermann-Lindencrone's phonograph collection was offered for sale in the Aarhus State Library . The collection consisted of about 80 Ruben cylinders, mainly with spoken and vocal recordings. In 2007 the library acquired around 70 reels, mainly instrumental recordings, from a private Swedish collector. In addition, the Danish Revue Museum has given the library three reels. Two reels are knowingly still in private hands.
In 2004 the State Library acquired a so-called archeophone, which was specially built in limited numbers by the French Henri Chamoux. With this device, the digitization of the Danish phonograph cylinders was started. The device is designed so that the fragile wax rollers can be played as gently as possible. Reasons for the poor condition of the reels include improper storage (too warm, too damp) and improper playback by previous owners. Because of their fragility, the reels should only be scanned once for digitization if possible. In October 2007 one of Europe's leading experts in digitizing phonograph cylinders, Franz Lechleitner , was invited to Aarhus. In the course of a week he digitized the Ruben rollers. The audio signals from the Archeophon were digitized with a resolution of 24 bits and a sampling rate of 96 kHz.
Challenges when dubbing
Two problems in particular complicated digitization, firstly in connection with the analogue speed and secondly with the digital post-processing of the transfers.
Rotational speed: As there were no standard values for the rotational speed of rollers in the 1890s, the exact rotational speeds that were used when the rollers were picked up are not known. During the digitization process, this had to be considered from roller to roller. Claus Byrith and Steen Kaargaard Nielsen determined that the speed is probably around 100 to around 150 revolutions per minute (this results in a tonal deviation of about a fifth).
The speed has a special meaning for the first 80 rollers, which mainly contain singing and speech. It is impossible to know exactly how these voices sounded, as there are no comparable recordings with the respective artists.
Digital follow -up treatment: The following problems mainly occurred here; Firstly, large cracks (from cracks and scratches on the rollers), secondly, crackling (which is comparable to the noises when frying with a frying pan) and finally rustling or hissing in the background of the actual sound recording.
Content of the collection
Opera and drama at the Royal Theater
18 rollers from the Ruben collection could be identified as recordings of operas, drama or singing, where the performing artists belonged to the Royal Theater. Individual rolls can be dated precisely based on the so-called final announcement by the performing artist. This is the case, for example, with Olaf Poulsen in the role of Lieutenant von Buddinge in the Singspiel Genboerne (German: The neighbors from across the street) by Jens Christian Hostrup . Poulsen finally announced: “Olaf Poulsen, September 1894.” Most of the rolls are undated, but most likely originate from the period between 1890 and 1895, which can be confirmed on the basis of newspaper reports, advertisements or concert programs.
Three of the 18 reels are recordings by Danish opera singers, including Peter Schram and Niels Juel Simonsen, who perform arias from Mozart's Don Juan and Gounod's Faust . In both cases these have been translated into Danish. The former is particularly interesting, since Schram is in all likelihood the earliest born Mozart singer of whom a sound recording has been preserved. While Schram is performing his arias à capella, Simonsen is accompanied by an unknown pianist.
In addition to the internationally known operas, excerpts from several Danish plays have also been recorded. These recordings represent a central drama repertoire on the national stage - they included pieces by Ludvig Holberg , Adam Oehlenschläger and Jens Christian Hostrup . Among the actors in the recordings are the most famous and popular personalities of Copenhagen's cultural life around 1890. B. Louise Phister, Ludvig Phister, Olaf Poulsen and Emil Poulsen.
Vaudeville and comedy
For Ruben collection includes a large number of photographs of actors from current vaudeville and comedies of the late 19th century, the three private theaters Casino, Folketeatret were listed and Dagmarteatret. Take pictures of Marius Berggreen and Harald Kolling in disguise roles from the very popular vaudeville "Der Redaktionssekretär", which premiered at Folketeatret in 1863 and was performed 164 times until 1897, as well as excerpts from "Jeppe vom Berge" with Otto Zink as Jeppe. Incidentally, Zink was the first actor to play this role outside of the national stage, which otherwise had sole rights to the play.
One of the most original recordings in the collection is probably a sketch by the actor Viggo Lindstrøm, staged as a telephone conversation at a time when the telephone was a relatively new and not very widespread invention. The actor pretends to call a number of very different characters that he himself played on the Dagmarteatret. In this way he advertises his professional versatility. He portrayed the following five roles, both comic and tragic, through telephone conversations: the bricklayer Mattern from “Lille Hanne” (German: Kleine Hanne), the Rabbi Ben Akiba from “Uriel Acosta”, master blacksmith Henriksen from “Formaaende Venner” (German: Vermögensgende Friends), the caretaker Bergkvist from “Skandalen i Nat” (German: The scandal tonight) and the editor Jakob Knudsen from “Henning Tondorf”.
Revue songs
A smaller part of the Ruben collection includes works by some of the most popular revue artists of the era. Some of these recordings are well preserved while others are in very poor condition. One of the well-preserved recordings is Frederik Jensen's popular revue parce “Velkommen i det grønne eller Vores egne kinesere” (German: Welcome to the Green or Our Own Chinese ), which was performed 142 times at Nørrebro Theater during the winter season 1894–1895. Wilhelm Gerner, another very popular revue artist at the time, also appears in the Ruben collection. Since Gerner died suddenly in 1899, the photos in the Ruben collection are the only ones that exist of him. The best preserved of the two Gerner recordings is the song “Hva jeg nu'nte tror” (German: What I don't believe now) from “Byens fædre eller Sommerrevyen” (German: The city fathers or the summer revue) from 1895, where he alludes to some contemporary people and events in the text of the song, for example the industrialist CF Tietgen .
Nordic songs
Recordings of some well-known contemporary concert singers are also part of the Ruben collection. Their songs are representative of a concert repertoire of popular and folk songs and tunes. In particular, we find Danish and Swedish songs here, but Norwegian, English and French songs have also been recorded. These songs were usually recorded à capella or with piano accompaniment. The songs were often modified for the short reel format.
Augusta Lütken is the singer of whom there are most of the recordings in the Ruben collection, including "Home, Sweet Home" (from the English opera Clari or The Maid of Milan ), Godmorgen (German: Guten Morgen, mit Musik by Edvard Grieg ) and “I Würtzberg ringe de klokker til fest” (German: In Würzburg the bells ring for the festival, with music by PE Lange-Müller ). Ms. Lütken is accompanied by an unknown pianist on all recordings, the oldest recording is from 1890 . In the last two lines of “Home, Sweet Home”, the coloratura soprano Lütken shows what she can do with a vowel melism and a long trill at the end.
The collection includes the following recordings by the very popular concert singer Niels Juel Simonsen: “Aftensang” (German: Abendlied), “Flyv, Fugl, Flyv” (German: Flieg, Vogel, flieg), as well as two duets with Anne Christine Thorning -Lembcke, “I skoven” (German: In the forest) and “La brise est douce” (German: The light breeze) from Gounod's opera “Mireille”. The accompaniment on the piano most likely played Anne Christine Thorning-Lembcke's husband, the opera repetiteur Gustav Adolph Lembcke. These recordings are from May 31, 1894, which will be announced at the end of the recordings.
The bass-baritone August Stitz, who appeared as a concert singer, alongside his work as a goldsmith, there are two images in the collection, by Svinaherde and you gamla, du friska , the latter being an early edition of the Swedish national anthem is. With Per Svinaherde in particular , Stitz's deep voice comes into its own in an interpretation that ends with staged applause.
There is also a Danish seaman's song , I sund og i bælt (German: In Sund and Belt), sung by Peter Cornelius with piano accompaniment by Robert Henriques, and the Swedish song Längan till landet (German: The longing for the land), sung by a male choir accompanied by the Berggreen Quartet are part of the collection.
In the closing announcement of the Norwegian song Killebukken, sung by the operetta singer Anna Norrie, one can hear how unusual it must have been to hear the recording of one's own voice and perhaps also to perceive the importance of the technical limitations. Typically, the date and name were given in the closing announcement, Anna Norrie, on the other hand, stated her dissatisfaction with the result of the recording: “Jag tycker min stemma låter förskräckligt [i] fonografen. Jag vill aldrig sjunge i den mer. Anna Norrie. “ (German: I think my voice sounds terrible in the phonograph, I will never record a song again. Anna Norrie). However, the singer later changed her mind and recorded records in Stockholm in 1905 and 1912.
Danish literature
Hans Christian Andersen is represented in the Ruben collection by the story “Det er ganske vist” (German: It is quite certain) in a shortened edition. The actor Elith Reumert is presumably reading the story, but the label on the roller is missing. The theater historian Torben Krogh describes Elith Reumert as a valued and popular reader because of his classically influenced interpretation of the language. According to Krogh, the portrayal of the gossiping poultry, the main characters in the story, is lively and nuanced. In the mid-1920s Elith Reumert wrote two books about Hans Christian Andersen, HC Andersen som han var and HC Andersen and det Melchiorske Hjem . In addition, he attracted attention at toounées in England and the USA with his interpretations of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales.
The Ruben collection also contains fragments of a funeral sermon by Holger Drachmann , which comes from the poetry collection “Sange ved havet” (German: songs by the sea) from 1877. The funeral sermon is one of the few examples of poetry in the Ruben collection. The funeral oration for a drowned fisherman was read by the actor Benjamin Pedersen, he belonged to the Folketeatret (1876-1889) and the Dagmateatret (1889-1897). The recording is mentioned in the Danish newspaper Adresseavisen on December 4, 1895 as part of a phonograph program in Den Frie Udstillingsbygning. This fact and the good sound quality indicate that the recording was made in 1985. A handwritten label in the Ruben collection documents that Benjamin Pedersen also made a recording of Emil Aarestrup's poem “Pater Hugo” from the “Digte” collection (German: Poems, 1838), but this has been lost.
In the mid-1890s, Carl Maglekilde-Petersen published several books with short, lovingly humorous stories. These depict the contemporary Zeeland folklore. According to literary historian Peder Hesselaa, Maglekilde-Petersen was known for roaming the country and visiting various manors to appraise furniture. He was also known as a good storyteller who could entertain any audience. On December 17, 1895, he himself made a recording of one of his stories, "Købet af min bog" (German: The purchase of my book). In the same year the story came out as a book. The recording documents Maglekilde-Petersen's sparkling Zeeland peasant dialect and its rambling linguistic expression.
Master of music
The Ruben collection includes several excellent Danish musicians. Among the most famous musicians of the time are the composer and violinist Fini Henriques, the multi-instrumentalist Peder Pedersen - better known as "Jydepeter" - and the brothers Dominico and Florindo Variali, both lively musicians. With the Variali brothers, there are five recordings from 1894 in the collection. Here Dominico plays the piano and Florindo plays the violin and piano. These recordings are among the best preserved recordings in the collection. The piano was one of the most difficult instruments to make good recordings back then.
There is also a recording of the Torero's song from the opera Carmen , violin with piano accompaniment.
The instrumental recordings also include three recordings with Luren from the Bronze Age made by the Danish National Museum . The Lurs had been restored in 1892 for sound demonstrations. The 3000 year old national treasures were immortalized in 1894 by the royal band musician August Petersen senior and the first trombone player of the Tivoli concert orchestra Carl Christensen on Edinson rolls .
The harmonium edition of “Postludium Nr. 1” from “Seks postludier for organ” (German: Six postludies for organ ) by composer and organist Hans Matthison-Hansen , played by an unknown candidate Grønbech (possibly Vilhelm Grønbech ), is also part of the collection . Apart from the psalms “Det er så yndigt at følges ad” played by a trombone quartet, Postludiuim No. 1 is the only church music in the Ruben collection. A smaller number of reels contain recordings with incomplete labels, so the instrumentalists are still unknown. They play pieces by Hartmann , Grieg and Mendelssohn , both solo and in duets with instruments such as cornet , trumpet and piano .
The military music is playing
In 1890 the military marching bands made up a large part of the musical life in the larger cities of Denmark. They served as an accompaniment for military purposes, but also served as free public entertainment at open-air concerts, in squares, in parks and on various memorial days. Since this orchestral music was thus accessible to everyone, the sharp budget cut for regimental music in 1911 meant a great loss in music culture. Edinson's phonograph, however, made it possible for us to have records of the music played back then, including Kong Christian stod ved højen mast (German: King Christian stood on the high mast) and dronning Louise March, both from the marching band of the engineering troop around 1894 recorded.
Foreign guest performances
The Ruben collection mainly contains sound recordings from Copenhagen, but there are also some recordings from, for example, England, France and the USA. These were able to fascinate the audience with famous voices and virtuoso orchestral recordings from abroad and at the same time show that Edinson's device could reproduce all kinds of noises, voices, music, etc. from all over the world, anytime, anywhere.
The collection includes pieces by the English military musician Arthur Henry Smith recorded in London, as well as a recording from New Jersey, a popular American " laughing song " The Laughing Song, which its author sang himself. Despite its now very politically incorrect lyrics with a negative stereotypical portrayal of Afro-Americans, The Laughing Song was one of the best-selling songs in early phonography. It is also the template for one of the greatest successes of the Danish revue theater. The song, the chorus of which was sometimes sung as laughter, was particularly successful in the summer of 1898. The popular revue actor William Gerner had sung the song in the revue "Lige ud ad Kongevejen" (German: always straight ahead on the Kongevej ) at the Frederiksberg Morskabsteater.
Access to the collection
There are several ways to access the audio files (digital copies of the sound recordings) of the Ruben rollers. A full list can be found on the homepage of the Royal Library, Aarhus (former State Library). There is also the possibility to download the audio files (mp3). The copyright has expired and the files have been published under the Creative Commons license CC-by. This means that you can use it at any time, even for commercial purposes, provided you cite the source. The recordings can also be researched on the Europeana portal, thematic collection “Europeana Music”.
literature
- Nielsen, Steen Kaargaard and Claus Byrith: Danmarks ældste lydoptagelser - Edisons fonograf i 1890'ernes København , Aarhus Universitetsforlag, 2017, ISBN 978-87-7124-965-1
- Holzapfel, Jan-Philipp (2012): Phonography as a field of literary experimentation: The Danish Ruben sound recordings (1889–1897) . In: Grage / Schröder (2012) ISBN 978-3-89913-933-4 , pp. 193-224.
Web links
- The Ruben Collection, Statsbiblioteket
- Europeana sounds
- How did and how does Denmark sound? Cultural heritage at Statsbiblioteket (accessed June 5, 2018)
- The world's oldest Mozart recording (accessed June 5, 2018)
- Europeana Music (accessed June 5, 2018)
- You can find the entire Ruben collection with this search input (accessed on June 5, 2018)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Steen Kaargaard Nielsen and Claus Byrith: Danmarks ældste lydoptagelser - Edison's phonograph i 1890'ernes København , Aarhus Universitetsforlag, 2017, ISBN 978-87-7124-965-1
- ↑ lecture by Claus Byrith, Statsbiblioteket, October 26, 2016
- ^ Homepage, Royal Library, Aarhus Department