GRAMOPHONE HISTORY

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 772, 19 September 1929, Page 13

GRAMOPHONE HISTORY

“MECHANICAL NOVELTY” 25 YEARS AGO The gramophone, like so many of the modern wonders of the present day, has come to be accepted as an ordinary and every-day occurrence in our otherwise well-ordered lives, with possibly very little thought being given to the actual wonder of its invention. It is extremely doubtful whether there exists in the minds of the average man or woman even the slightest conception of the magnitude of the gramophone industry as it stands today. Perhaps, however, to those more fortunate beings who, with commendable foresight, and, at the risk of being regarded by their friends as hopeless imbeciles, invested their moneys in gramophone shares at some earlier date, the enormous strides which the gramophone has made, and the hold which it has established on the public imagination, has been very forcibly demonstrated, and their temerity has been amply repaid in soaring stocks and fat dividends. That a machine still regarded by some as of an infernal type, will produce some form of sound, musical or otherwise, and obtainable for a few pounds, is, of course, accepted by a certain section of the community as one of the world’s unnecessary evils, especially by that section which is condemned to live in the modern idea of “An Englishman’s Castle” —a flat, and, by the other, as an ordinary occurrence of no more consequence than the purchase of a postage stamp or tram ticket.

Yet, in spite of its very humble origin, and in the face of overwhelming difficulties, which few, if any other trades have had to contend with, the gramophone has progressed to the pre-eminence which it holds today, and it may safely be said without fear of contradiction that the modern gramophone and record is a vital factor not only in the life of the individual but in the very life of the nation itself, for it is beyond all dispute that music is definitely essential to our well being. In these days of keen commercialism, the history of the gramophone and all that it stands for, comes like a breath of fragrance from an old world garden—its perfume, the perfumed essense of romance, and to the owner of such an instrument, the endless treasures of life’s greatest store house—the store house of music is available. Little more than a quarter of a century ago, the gramophone, or as it was then known, the phonograph, with its cylindrical record was by compar ison to its present day offspring, more remote than the ox-wagon is from the high power luxury car. Yet, in that comparatively short space of time has been built up a large industry, employing thousands, in fact, hundreds of thousands of men and women of every nationality and creed. To that industry has been given, without stint, some of the greatest brains of the engineering, scientific, constructional chemical research, electrical, artistic, and financial professions. In fact, it is extremely improbable whether any other industry can claim, or ever will claim, to have embraced such diversified types of characters. It Is only of more recent years that at long last the urgent need for a greater understanding of what music is, and can be, to the individual, and to the nation, is being slowly realised. Great educational bodies all over the world are taking up the matter in all seriousness, and huge campaigns have been launched to instil into the minds of all, and especially the coming generation, the limitless delight that a real appreciation of music can give. It Is to the schools in particular that one must look for the musical education and appreciation of the future, and, while this is generally accepted, much pioneer work has still to be done before every school will no more think of being without its gramophone and library of recorded music, than it would be without its black-boards and school books. It is not sufficient merely to listen to a piece of music—it is essential that it should be listened to with an intelligent understanding. If an operatic aria, concerto, or a nocturne be played over to a gathering of people, the percentage there, if called upon to transcribe what the composer was endeavouring to interpret to their minds would, in all probability, be negligible. It is appalling that in a highly civilised age so little is actually known of music. Ask the average man in the street to give you the names of the instruments of the orchestra—can he do it? Ask him for the simple rules of melodic construction—could he give them to you? Ask him even to explain to you the difference between a concerto and a caprice, and when you have failed to obtain other than vague replies, it will be realised how little music is being understood. And so, in the future, when thoughts turn as they must invariably do, to music in the home, then the urgent need of a greater understanding of the gramophone and record will be realised, and in that realisation, that also of the romance of the gramophone. The j romance of a great industry that has ' captured and made immortal the very souls of the world’s greatest musicians, and has brought within reach of every and each individual’s grasp, : the greatest jewel of all—music—the ! key to the wonderland of romance. i