The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1916-05-11
A Music Cannery
By FREDERIC J. HASKIN.

day a man prominently connected with
great American opera house came to
Camden. One of the biggest phono-
graph factories in the world Is located
here, and all sorts Of musical folk are
continually visiting this grimy indus
trial city. The manager of the phono-
graph company asked the operate
gentleman what kind of a monograph
he owned.
81 don't own any kind" was the re-
ply. with the greatest artists In the
world singing for me in the flesh, what
do want with monograph"
But the manufacturers of canned music
are fraternity not easily comfited.
. The monograph manager seized that
gentleman and led him to a lonely,
shining cabinet in one corner. Il sup
pose you are familiar with most operate
music?" he demanded sternly. Know
what thing is when you hear it, and
all that?"
The gentleman modestly replied that
he thought he could recognize any
operate selection worth recognizing
Very WELL" said the manager. Then
what is this?"
He put on record and started the
machine. A trio of wonderful sweet
ness poured forth. The manager look
ed inquiringly at his guest, but the
latter shook his head. 1T is beautiful. "
he said, but do not know what it is. "
That is the trio from Verdi's opera,
"Lombardi," sung by Caruso, Aida and
Journet," the manager told him trium-
phantly. 1T has never been produced
in America, and the only chance any
body has to hear it is on the phono-
graph. Now do you see what you want
with monograph"
Behind that little incident lies one OF
the big romances of modern industry.
From a squeaky little toy grinding
bugle calls and alleged humorous mon
ologues off cylinder to magic cabinet
that credltably reproduces the voices of
the great singers and compels recogni-
ton from .he most critical is long
jump to make in few pears, but that
is what the photograph has done.
Did you know that the modern opera
singer makes a practice of rehearsing
with record of his own voice singing
the same air? That is because his
monograph record is absolutely cor
rect. When he made the record he sang
the record over and over again until he
got it perfect. The machine has an un-
pleasant way of magnifying the slight
est error in tone or execution until it
stands out as prominently as a yellow
flag on st. Patrick day. Hence, sing
ing into the little funnel that leads to
the recording disk is more severe test
of technique than singing in concert or
opera, where slight slip may pass un-
noticed. Caruso has probably the least
trouble of all great singers IN making
records, but the best of them have to do
one over occasionally.
Nowadays the photograph companies
have COTTON such commanding position
that before they will make a contract
with a new singer, even if it be some
one with a national reputation. they
first make a test record of his voice to
see how it will record. That in itself is
quite a step from the days not so very
long gone, when a singer of any note
who sang for the machine was regard
ed askance by his brethren. Some
voices that do well enough in the audi
forum record poorly, so the test record
is made with all the pomp and circum-
stance that attends making disk whose
duplicates will be run off by the thous-
ands Just to see if the voice is of the
right quality to record properly.
AS general rule the best voices
make the best records. The singer who
couples the greatest natural endow-
ments with the finest technique will
have the least trouble Very high
tones and very low tones, however,
present special difficulties. Something
of the same sort is true of instrumental
music. The piano is the most difficult
of all instruments properly to record.
Photograph manufacturers have a
prediction for passing over the me-
chanical side of their business as lightly
as possible. They seem to feel that a
look behind the scenes into the springs
and disks and pulleys breeds disillusion-
ment. 1t is here however, that the
real wonder lies. There is, perhaps, no
achievement of modern science that
comes as close to magic as the turning
of jagged square of gummy black
shellac into thing that stores up the
greatest music of the ages ready at the
turn of finger to release it as often as
you will, after composer and singer are
dust.
The actual process of making a re-
cord is simple enough. The singer goes
into a room specially constructed to
produce the best acoustical properties.
He faces a SQUARE funnel whose small