Methods and aids im music educationnumber of times. This, however, is not their only contribution to music
education. The absence of visual distraction, which the concert-goer
can hardly avoid, is undoubtedly another advantage; it enables the
listener to concentrate entirely on the sound impressions. Further, as
the microphone is much nearer the source of the sound than is the
audience in a concert-hall, the recording gives a clearer and even a
more analytical rendering of a composition than can be received in
such a hall. All these features, it seems to me, destine the classical music
record for much more systematic and fruitful use in music education
than has so far been the case.
Since there is no doubt that old music is an essential factor in the
understanding of music in general, the importance of a reguIar pro-
duction of recordings devoted to the history of that art is evident. In
this respect, the spasmodic production of recordings of old music as
a commercial proposition cannot render the same services as produc-
tion for essentially cultural purposes. Further, a limited anthological
collection cannot replace a progressive, continuous form of produc-
tion. Lastly, the educational aim cannot be achieved as easily with
examples chosen for their instructive and demonstrational nature as
with representative masterpieces presented integrally. In short, if I may
resort to a medical analogy, instead of presenting music in the form of
anatomical preparations, we must present it in the form of living
organisms.
It is in accordance with these principles that the Deutsche
Grammophon Gesellschaft has established the Archiu production in
its musicology studio, to which I am attached.
[ Trmsiated from the French J