Unlocking our Sounds: Historical Recordings from the Indian Subcontinent

Illustrated presentation by Janet Topp-Fargion and Shubha Chaudhuri

 

The British Library and the Archives and Research Centre for Ethnomusicology, American Institute of Indian Studies (ARCE) have been engaged in a collaborative project. As part of this project ARCE has received digital copies of very valuable collections of ethnographic wax cylinder recordings from the British Library. These include the recordings from the Linguistic Survey of India by George Grierson from 1913-1929, the Madras Museum Cylinder collection recorded by K. Rangachari and Edgar Thurston between 1905 -10, and the Baluchi cylinder recordings made in 1911. Prior to this, ARCE had also received the collection of A.H. Fox Strangways (1910-19110) and the Ladakh Recordings made by Arnold Bake in 1930s.

 

This programme presents these recordings which will be now available for access at the Archives and Research Centre of Ethnomusicology, American Institute of Indian Studies in Gurgaon. The online web catalogue of the ARCE will also be launched

 

(Collaboration: The Archives and Research Centre for Ethnomusicology, American Institute of Indian Studies; and British Library, UK)