EMI Group Archive Trust: Current Project
The Metal Masters Check Project
The EMI Archive holds original metal masters for almost 80,000 78 rpm recordings. It recently became clear that our database containing the information associated with these masters was not as detailed as it might be.
Accordingly, and in conjunction with Historic Masters Ltd, the Metals Check Project was developed. This project involves a full and detailed check of every metal master held in the vaults. Errors in the database are amended, whilst gaps are in information are filled through extensive research.
As can be imagined, this is not a task that can be completed in a short space of time. To date, all 27,000 ten inch masters have been checked, and work on the remaining twelve inch metals is now well advanced. The project is likely to continue for several years to come.
The Metals Check Project has already paid dividends, with many important discoveries being made, including previously unknown recordings by Jussi Björling, Beniamino Gigli, and Feodor Chaliapin.
In addition to these 'lost' recordings, the project also casts light in other directions. The discovery of recordings made by Salome Pinkasowicz, for example, tell of the repatriation of pre-1914 masters, just before hostilities began, from Eastern Europe. The cultural significance of this cache, extending far beyond the sounds etched on their surface, is considerable and only survives due to the foresight of those early pioneers.