Herbert Müller's qin recording

Herbert Müller's qin recording

Around 1990 the Museum for Folk Arts (30 Arnimallee, Berlin) inherited a very large collection of wax cylinder recordings dating from the early 20th century. They previously had been in storage in East Berlin and in the Soviet Union.

The original recordings are made on soft wax, and so one should avoid replaying them as they will quickly wear out. From these soft wax masters a mold was made, and from the mold the final hard wax cylinders were made. Most of these hard wax cylinders are apparently in very bad shape. A Japanese person recently invented a laser mechanism for reading the reverse tracks on the molds. However, the Museum has not had the opportunity yet to copy many of these cylinders onto tape. Perhaps if some interest were expessed to them in the following cylinder, it would improve its chances for prompt taping.

In September 1997 I discovered in their catalogue mention of a qin recording made in 1912 by Herbert Müller. They also have a letter from Müller to Von Hornbostel, giving details of this recording.

Here is the relevant part of the letter:

24 July 1912

It's 1 o'clock (in the morning) but I must write to you my fresh impression, having just listened to qin music. The player, Xu Lüyuan, is the blind (former) director of the emperor's orchestra, so he is a man we can trust - we can believe he can play the instrument well. The qin was made in 1712 - there is an inscription on the bottom. Three of my Chinese friends listened as well - one with German education, one with English education and the third no European education; but all three were well-educated Chinese. None had ever listened to qin music before, (but) everyone told me about the wonderful strength of qin music. Maybe it is enough to say that the qin playing was a real disappointment for everyone. To convey the sense of qin music I would have to make not just a recording but a film. While the right hand plays, the left one is always sliding on the strings, sometimes varying the tone, sometimes without connection to the play and without influence on the sound. The left hand stops the strings to determine the tone, and sometimes doesn't influence the tone. Each of these movements has a name and is notated with a special character. It is the strangest music I have ever heard and seen in my life.... (letter goes on to say he needs more cylinders and that he would like to make a film)

The index indicates that the recording includes:

qin
Pingsha Luo Yan
Gao Shan
Pu'an Zhou
Si Da Jing
testing

Return to the Qin ToC or to miscellanea.