School of Music treasures digitised in collaboration with the NFSA
A 1969 recording of a sonata by Emeritus Professor Larry Sitsky is among the school's tapes to be restored and digitised
The ANU School of Music is teaming with its near neighbour the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA) on a research project, restoring old reel-to-reel tapes from the school’s archives.
Among the treasures, which have lain in the School’s basement since the turn of the 1970s, are a Philosophy of Music recital conducted by Ernest Llewellyn, and a 1971 flute performance of a composition by revered Emeritus Professor Larry Sitsky.
Dubbed ‘School of Music RePlayed’, the project will restore and digitise an initial 50 tapes, some of which are in such fragile condition they need to be literally baked in an oven before restoration can begin.
“The combination of the ANU School of Music's archive and the NFSA's preservation and technical expertise will lead to teaching of the highest order,” The National Film and Sound Archives’ Chief Executive, Michael Loebenstein, says.
“RePlayed is an opportunity for students to gain practical, hands-on experience, and for the School of Music to increase access to 50 years’ worth of musical performance recordings.”
The School’s Dr Samantha Bennett says the research project is supported by a $20,000 ANU Linkage for Teaching and Learning Grant and work will start this month, led by Matt Davies, the Archive’s chief audio curator and herself.
“Much of the material, recitals and concert recordings, has been well-preserved and 90-per-cent of the tapes are in playable condition,” Dr Bennett says.
“We’re not going to tackle this in a particular order due to the fact that tape does decay, so it makes sense to do the earliest tapes first.
“When the glue that binds magnetic to the tape starts to break down, the tape can fall apart. To rectify that, you have to go through a process where you put it in a special oven and you bake it to bind it back together.”
Aside from the students and staff of the School and the Archive working closer together with a mixture of old and new technology, there’s another benefit, Dr Bennett adds.
“This is a way of preserving the school’s history and making it accessible to the wider public.”
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