Talk to lift lid on early sound recordings

The Royal Asiatic Society Korea Branch will host a talk next week on early audio recordings made in Korea.

The recordings, made during three expeditions in the 1900s by England’s Gramophone & Typewriter and released in 1906, provide a rich source of premodern music in Korea, according to the speaker, Suk Ji-hoon.

He adds that G&T used “intermediaries” in the area, who sought out performers willing to make recordings, but also acted as sales agents for the recording companies.

The lecture will include a demonstration of recording and playback using equipment from the period. It will also include several sound clips from the 1906 recordings.

The lecture takes place Tuesday at Somerset Palace near Anguk Station in Seoul at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free for RASKB members, 10,000 won for nonmembers and 5,000 won for students.

(paulkerry@heraldcorp.com)