Oldest recorded voices sing again

News Type: Event — Seeded on Fri Mar 28, 2008 10:21 AM EDT

Article Source: BBC News

technology, edison, recoring

Seeded by Dr Know

An "ethereal" 10 second clip of a woman singing a French folk song has been played for the first time in 150 years.

It was not meant to be played back. It may be the first time it was heard.

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2.8

{"commentId":1629808,"authorDomain":"DrKnow"}

Dr Know

Edison is still the first to record AND play back. His first recording is a nursery rhyme.

{"commentId":1629808,"threadId":"241518","contentId":"1396043","authorDomain":"DrKnow"}

1 vote

#1 - Fri Mar 28, 2008 10:22 AM EDT

{"commentId":1629830,"authorDomain":"epiphany-sorbet"}

epiphany sorbet

Dr. Know,

Very interesting article. The first voice "recording" seems much like the way they make rolls for player pianos? I wonder what the purpose in making the smoke "recording" was if it couldn't be played back.

{"commentId":1629830,"threadId":"241518","contentId":"1396043","authorDomain":"epiphany-sorbet"}

1 vote

#2 - Fri Mar 28, 2008 10:27 AM EDT

{"commentId":1630102,"authorDomain":"raatkiraani"}

Raat ki Raani

Fascinating.

Wish there was a way to bring back sounds from yesteryear that have never been recorded! The BBC had a series last year on the The Story of India which included a bit on how much of the knowledge and wisdom during the Golden Age of India was captured in hymns and chants that passed down through generations. Much of this was never captured in any other form although there are still some remnants of chants in Sanskrit practised by a few people. In most cases, nobody fully understands the message being chanted. Lost in translation and relevance.

{"commentId":1630102,"threadId":"241518","contentId":"1396043","authorDomain":"raatkiraani"}

3 votes

#3 - Fri Mar 28, 2008 11:27 AM EDT

{"commentId":1631491,"authorDomain":"agio"}

agio

My girlfriend's father (who is Bengali) tells a funny story along these lines. It seems a common trick at some Hindu temples is, when pilgrims comes to visit, the priests will have prove their worthiness by reading a few lines of Sanskrit, which most people no longer understand very well if even they can read the devangari.

Then they will tell them, "Oh by the way, you just promised the deity that you would donate so many rupees to the temple, so pay up."

{"commentId":1631491,"threadId":"241518","contentId":"1396043","authorDomain":"agio"}

3 votes

#3.1 - Fri Mar 28, 2008 5:42 PM EDT

{"commentId":1631853,"authorDomain":"raatkiraani"}

Raat ki Raani

Yep. Most of those Hindu temples are run by corrupt con-merchants. To be avoided like the plague. They claim to be Hindu priests. Most are not.

{"commentId":1631853,"threadId":"241518","contentId":"1396043","authorDomain":"raatkiraani"}

3 votes

#3.2 - Fri Mar 28, 2008 7:36 PM EDT

{"commentId":1641248,"authorDomain":"witchofthenorth"}

Glinda

Hey I just learned something! I voted each of your comments up :-)

{"commentId":1641248,"threadId":"241518","contentId":"1396043","authorDomain":"witchofthenorth"}

1 vote

#3.3 - Mon Mar 31, 2008 5:52 PM EDT

{"commentId":1641467,"authorDomain":"raatkiraani"}

Raat ki Raani

Glad to have played a part. Getting Smarter is like a communal orgy. In the best possible way:-)

{"commentId":1641467,"threadId":"241518","contentId":"1396043","authorDomain":"raatkiraani"}

3 votes

#3.4 - Mon Mar 31, 2008 7:07 PM EDT

{"commentId":1630949,"authorDomain":"le-lapin"}

le-lapinDeleted

{"commentId":1631542,"authorDomain":"ottawahitech"}

othDeleted

{"commentId":1634776,"authorDomain":"caroleroach"}

Carole R

Wonderful, thank you for the seed Dr Know.

{"commentId":1634776,"threadId":"241518","contentId":"1396043","authorDomain":"caroleroach"}

#6 - Sat Mar 29, 2008 5:57 PM EDT

{"commentId":1641270,"authorDomain":"witchofthenorth"}

Glinda

My favourite thing about this story was hearing BBC newsreader cracking up:

Charlotte Green was covering the story about the very early sound recording that's been found of someone singing the french folk song Au clair de la lune, and someone apparently whispered to her that it sounded like a bee buzzing in a bottle. As soon as she was into the next story (unfortunately about someone who has died) she collapsed into giggles and struggled to get to the end.

Radio 1 played it back, then later on Radio 4 repeateded it because there had been so many requests to hear it again. Somewhere in there they apologised to the dead man's family, hoping that they understood.

Guaranteed laugh -> here

{"commentId":1641270,"threadId":"241518","contentId":"1396043","authorDomain":"witchofthenorth"}

2 votes

#7 - Mon Mar 31, 2008 6:00 PM EDT

{"commentId":1641478,"authorDomain":"raatkiraani"}

Raat ki Raani

LOL - I had heard about it but not actually heard it. A total breakdown of standard BBC news fare:-)

{"commentId":1641478,"threadId":"241518","contentId":"1396043","authorDomain":"raatkiraani"}

2 votes

#7.1 - Mon Mar 31, 2008 7:10 PM EDT

{"canLink":false,"threadId":"241518","isPrivate":false}

DR KNOW

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Oldest recorded voices sing again

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