Series 4: Soldatenlieder der k. u. k. Armee / Series 4:Soldier Songs of the Austro-Hungarian Army

The historical material of the Phonogrammarchiv, the world's oldest sound archive, comprises ca. 4000 recordings, so-called Phonogramme and gramophone discs. The decision in favor of a complete edition was to a large extent motivated by increased interest in these recordings from outside the narrow circle of research institutions concerned with sound archiving. In many cases, the historical recordings are the earliest of their kind, documenting cultures and languages which have since been subject to fundamental changes. Some of the recordings preserve cultures or styles of expression that no longer exist in the form preserved here. These collections, therefore, are also attracting the attention of a general public interested in culture and history, especially in the regions of their origin. The series of the Complete Edition of the Historical Recordings 1899-1950, begun in 1999 on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the existence of the Phonogram Archive, is continued in series 4, Soldier Songs of the Austro-Hungarian Army. Together with the recordings of Russian prisoners of war (Gesänge russischer Kriegsgefangener) the collections of the soldiers' songs is the second official project which has been carried out during World War I upon recommendation of the former k.u.k. Kriegsministerium. The songs of the soldiers of the various nations of the Austro-Hungarian army will certainly attract the interest of ethnomusicologists. It is, however, the general political aspect of the project which, beyond ethnomusicology, will contribute to a more detailed understanding of that time. The edition of these historical sound documents on CD is meant to make possible easy access, not only to the sound documents as such. They are therefore accompanied by the original protocols, published on a CD-Rom as digital images, while a commentary section briefly discusses the historical material from a modern perspective in order to facilitate further evaluation. Of course, although these commentaries cannot anticipate or replace a more exhaustive treatment, they can provide useful information about the circumstances under which the recordings were made. Transliterations/transcriptions of the recorded melodies and texts will help in gaining access to the recordings' contents, which, due to their historical sound quality, are often difficult to hear. The Historical Collections 1899-1950 were included by UNESCO into the world register of the Memory of the World Programme. UNESCO thereby confirms the universal significance of these early documents of orally transmitted cultures from a time when acculturation pressure imposed by Western civilisation was less intense, yet also from a time when, due to the complicated recording procedures, phonographic field research work was far less common than in later days of the magnetic tape technology.