| Profile: | Archive Of Folk Music
- A Statement Of Purpose -
With the current renaissance of folk music there has come a proliferation of so-called "folk" recordings. By its very defination, folk music cannot be "manufactured." Most of these efforts are rather slick and facile popularizations of either traditional tunes or "composed" folk tunes. Though pleasant, these are not folk music.
Authentic performances of indigenous and unselfconscious music of the people by the "minstreis" of the people seldom have enjoyed the benifits of big-city recording studios and techniques. However some of these were recorded, albeit under rather difficult conditions and on not so high-fi 78 r.p.m. discs during the thirties and forties. Most of them have been out of print for years and exist only as well worn 78's in the collections of a few buffs.
It is the avowed purpose of the Archive of Folk Music to seek out original recordings and to selectively and carefully make them available to the public as relatively high quality LPs at reasonable prices.
The illustrious names repesented in this line have long been known and revered by dedicated folk buffs. Now for the first time these historic recordings may be enjoyed by the modern generation, most of whom were not even born when these historic slices of folklore and heritage were performed.
In order to transcribe these oft-times worn, poor quality 78 r.p.m. discs our engineers spend literally hundreds of hours tediously splicing, editing and adjusting. A microscope has to be used just to select the proper stylus for playback. As many as 500 splices may be made in one recording to eliminate the "pops" and distortions with-out impairing the performance. In any case - the performance comes first and you will find yourself ignoring the distortions as you become enthralled with the sincerety and soul of the artists.
The Archive Of Folk Music is proud to bring these recordings to you. If your reactions are favorable, we can continue the "good fight" and bring you more great performances - Good Listening!
Statement Of Purpose - from back-cover of the Everest Records FS-209
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