A History of the World's Earliest Recorded Sounds

82811713 seeable

Taught by Richard Exelbert

Richard Exelbert does not have any degrees in English or Literature, and he does not claim to have completely mastered the works of James Joyce.  He has, however, devoted much time to understanding Joyce and why his body of work has created such a unique impact in the world of literature and art in general.  He regularly attends a Finnegans Wake reading group, and has recorded a portion of the book for a musical project based on The Wake featuring musicians from around the world.  He would like to share his insights on this strange, majestic work with you.

 

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You won't believe your ears! Come listen to and learn about a fascinating world of eccentric audio scientists, experimental guitar noise, dolls talking, alarm clocks shouting, Tchaikovsky whistling, shockingly vulgar comedic material (even by today's standards), revealing private home recordings, and more... all recorded before 1900!

This entertaining history class will take you from the very beginnings of recorded sound to the onset of the 20th century. You'll learn about the personalities and technologies that created the miracle of audio recording - and you will listen to lots of sound samples along the way. Perhaps most importantly, these recordings will give us a glimpse into the culture and lives of those who lived during those times.

And we will have an in-class recording session on a wax cylinder recorder. So feel free to bring an instrument and/or your singing voice if you would like to participate.

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