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discography (long post)
28 Mar 08
Foreman, Lewis. Systematic Discography. Hamden, CT: Linnet Books, 1974.
Rust, Brian. Brian Rust’s Guide to Discography. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1980.
Both Foreman and Rust (especially Rust) seem more interested in early recording, mainly 78s. Rust makes it clear that this in part because his musical interests focus on that era, but consider this:
A truly comprehensive world discography will probably now never be compiled, but through a large number of ad-hoc subject discographies. . . access to the history of performance in the twentieth centuryas it took place is gradually being made possible. (Foreman 11)
Imagine trying to do a full discography of a contemporary artist whose work exists in umpteen digital formats. The very obsolescence of the LP makes it a tempting target for discography, only because it will stand in one place. And I imagine, in the 70s, discontinued formats from the early 20th century would have been tempting in the same way.
My notes from Foreman and Rust are below the fold.
history
- [In 1948] CBS. . . introduced their revolutionary [no pun intended] long-playing record, with minute grooves, playing speed of 33 1/3 revolutions per minute. . . . RCA, Decca, and the relative newcomer, Capitol, followed suit, producing also a seven-inch disc playing at 45 rpm principally for popular music. (Rust 12)
- In the 1960s and after, a new form of discography has made its appearance: the label listing. It may be appropriate to term this “pure” discography, since its primary concern is with the recording of all kinds of music and sound, not with the music and sound themselves. (Rust 44)
principles
- The starting point for any discography must be, of course, a combination of at least some of the records themselves, and the publicity material announcing them. . . . (Rust 23)
- Four sources may be regarded as primary for the purpose of the discography of published recordings.
- The records themselves
- Manufacturers’ catalogues
- Manufacturers’ unpublished documentation
- Manufacturers’ advertisements (Foreman 39)
- It might seem to be a simple matter to acquire a set of catalogs of the company or companies known to have recorded the subject of the discography, but because human nature is what it is, and the catalogs of yesterday. . . cost little or usually nothing at all, those who possessed these catalogs. . . tended to destroy them as out-of-date waste paper once a new edition had been published. (Rust 23)
- Having established at least a framework of what records were made of a given artist and issued. . . the next step is to track down a copy of each of the records and note all the numerical details shown on it. (Rust 25)
- The description of the work as it appears on the documentation with a recording. . . is therefore only to be taken as identification of the contents, and not the way in which the entry will be made. [Hence, something like a uniform title should be used.] (Foreman 46).
- To understand the nature of the material on which the recording is preserved is important. The discographer should be able to exercise his judgement to ensure that he is not merely listing material, but is a vital link. . . in the chain that ensures the preservation as well as the dissemination of the recorded sound. (Foreman 18)
- In the matter of performance, we find one of discography’s most important contributions to scholarship. (Foreman 36)
- Many problems arise in the dubbing of music from 78rpm discs to LP. When entering such transfers in the discography, it should be possible to indicate the source of the dubbed sound (ie record and matrix number), and whether it is a faithful transfer. (Foreman 42)
- (Foreman has a lengthy chapter on options for how to arrange a discography; this doesn’t seem relevant in a digital environment where indexing is possible on any number of access points, although it might need some though if one were to produce a printed version)
key sources
- Atlantic Records. Michel Ruppli, Greenwood, four volumes (1979)
- Bibliography of Discographies. (1977-??) Bowker, four volumes.
- Bielefelder Katalog. (1960-??; biannual) Originally Der Grosse Schallplaten Katalog (1953-1959) and known familiarly as “Die Langspielplatte’; German
- The Gramophone Classical Record Catalogue. (1953-??; quarterly) Originally The Gramophone Long Playing Classical Record Catalogue. Functions as an index to reviews in The Gramophone; UK
- Historical Records. Roberto Bauer, rev. ed. Sidgwick and Jackson, 1946.
- Music on Records: A Critical Guide. Peter Gammond and Burnett James, originally published by Hutchinson in four volumes (1962-63), reissued in paper by Arrow Books in five volumes (1963-64)
- Penguin Guide to Bargain Records. Greenfield, March, and Stevens (1966-??)
- Schwann Record and Tape Guide. (1949-??; monthly) First Schwann Record Catalogue, then Schwann Long Playing Record Catalogue; American
- The Stereo Record Guide. Greenfield, Layton, March, and Stevens; The Longplaying Record Library Ltd, eight volumes (1960-72)
- Voices of the Past series, J.R. Bennett, Oakwood Press, nine volumes.
- World Encyclopedia of Recorded Music. Francis F. Clough and G.J. Cuming, Sidgwick and Jackson (1952, and subsequent editions)
periodical sources (reviews and discography)
- Antique Records (UK)
- The Art of Record Buying (UK)
- Audio Record Review (UK, defunct)
- The Gramophone (UK)
- Hi Fi News and Record Review (UK)
- Hi-fi Stereo Review (US)
- High Fidelity (US)
- International Piano Library Bulletin (US)
- Journal of the Association of Recorded Sound Collections (US)
- Notes (US)
- Phono Record (UK)
- Phono Trader (UK)
- Phonograph and Talking Machine Weekly (US)
- Record Advertiser (UK)
- Record Collector (UK)
- Recorded Sound (UK)
- Records and Recording (UK)
- Sound Wave (UK)
Posted by pzed on March 28, 2008 at 2.19pm
Categories: none of the above
