The early story of recording is more than just the history of an invention and an industry. Although the pioneers and entrepreneurs played important and fascinating roles, their work would hold little interest for us today had it not coincided with the unique artistry of Caruso and Melba, Chaliapin and Ponselle. It was the Golden Age of Singing and Prima Voce preserves this archive of great voices from the first half of the century in transfers which capture the immediacy of the original performances.
Prima Voce puts the performance first. Our aim in transferring 78s to compact disc is simple: to allow the full musical enjoyment of these recordings without the distraction of intrusive surface noise between the performer and the listener. This is achieved by a process which re-records rather than re-masters the original sound, a combination of the best of the latest and earliest technologies in sound reproduction.
Each disc in the Prima Voce Series features:
- A comprehensive recital programme of each artist's finest recordings
- A full biographical introduction
- Booklets illustrated with rare archive photographs
- Track by track synopses of all selections or full libretto with opera box sets
- Over 70 minutes playing time on the vast majority of discs
- Transfers made only from mint condition 78 rpm pressings manufactured from the finest materials of the time
Following are articles written by the engineers responsible for the Prima Voce series describing the techniques we use to transfer 78s to compact disc. These articles cover:
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