THE COLLECTOR AND THE RECORDIST: A NEW THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK FOR METHODOLOGIES OF SOUND RECORDING

The Association for Recorded Sound Collections presents the following program from its 2012 ARSC Annual Conference at Rochester Radisson Riverside, New York on Thursday May 17, 2012:

THE COLLECTOR AND THE RECORDIST: A NEW THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK FOR METHODOLOGIES OF SOUND RECORDING
presented by Deirdre Chonghaile, University of Notre Dame

Studies of recorded sound collections of music frequently focus on professional collectors who have usually been affiliated with, and funded by, organizations for which preservation or broadcasting is a chief concern. Collections created by amateurs typically do not receive the same attention.

In this paper, I focus on one amateur, Bairbre Quinn (1935-1987) from Ireland’s Aran Islands, who was the first islander to own a sound-recording device. She saw her reel-to-reel tape-recorder not simply as a means to document performances but also as an instrument with which she could ultimately increase her participation in local communal music-making. The dual purpose of her recording inspires a new theoretical framework for considering methodologies of sound-recording.

I introduce the recordist as an entity that is different to the collector and propose a new paradigm that might help amateur collections to shed their appearance of unpredictability and seeming chaos and so reveal their unique value.

THE ASSOCIATION FOR RECORDED SOUND COLLECTIONS (www.arsc-audio.org) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and study of sound recordings, in all genres of music and speech, in all formats, and from all periods. ARSC is unique in bringing together private individuals and institutional professionals—everyone with a serious interest in recorded sound.

Videographers: Michael and Leah Biel
Editor: Nathan Georgitis