Music recorded in April 1895
April 1895 was a month of major change in international relations in East Asia, with the Treaty of Shimonoseki being signed on April 17, 1895, as a peace treaty for the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895). The Triple Intervention between the Russian Empire, the German Empire, and the French Republic took place on April 23, 1895, making diplomatic pressure over the terms of the peace treaty more visible. In the cultural sphere, Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) was arrested on April 6, 1895, and his criminal trial began on April 26, 1895. In the art world, the first La Biennale di Venezia exhibition opened on April 30, 1895, marking the beginning of the modern large-scale international exhibition. On the technological front, the Kinetophone, a project by Thomas Alva Edison (1847–1931), was introduced in April 1895, giving concrete form to the idea of combining video and sound recording.
Confirmed recordings this month: 0
Summary of information on recordings made in April 1895
April 1895 marks the period when information on disc record supplies was organized into "new release lists" and "catalogs," along with attempts to connect recordings to visual devices. The Discography of American Historical Recordings cites the United States Gramophone Co.'s "New Release List" dated April 20, 1895, as a reference, and also locates the company's catalog dated May 10, 1895. Furthermore, a Library of Congress explanation notes that the Kinetophone was introduced in April 1895, indicating a trend toward connecting recordings to "visual media experiences" that emerged at the same time.
Kinetophone
According to an explanation from the Library of Congress, the Kinetophone was introduced in April 1895 and is positioned as a concept that combined the viewing experience of the Kinetoscope with the sound of the cylinder phonograph. This demonstrates the expansion of recording from an independent form of entertainment into a composite media that also included video, making it an important contemporary document for considering how sound was presented in the late 1890s.
United States Gramophone Company
The Berliner User's Guide in the Discography of American Historical Recordings lists the United States Gramophone Co.'s April 20, 1895, "New Recordings List" as reference information for unconfirmed items. It also lists the company's May 10, 1895, catalog as held by the Library of Congress, providing a document that traces the process by which disc records were organized as a distribution unit through lists and catalogs.
- https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/resources/detail/224
- https://www.immigrantentrepreneurship.org/documents/united-states-gramophone-company-catalog/
Latham's film projector unveiled
A Library of Congress commentary states that the Eidoloscope projector, built by Woodville Latham (1837–1911) and his sons, was unveiled in April 1895, indicating a shift from individual viewing to projection. When this information is combined with the fact that the Kinetophone was also introduced in April 1895, it becomes clear that the question of how to connect recordings was being tackled at the same time as the format for releasing images was changing.
- https://www.loc.gov/static/collections/edison-company-motion-pictures-and-sound-recordings/articles-and-essays/history-of-edison-motion-pictures/shift-to-projectors-and-the-vitoscope.html
- https://www.loc.gov/collections/edison-company-motion-pictures-and-sound-recordings/articles-and-essays/history-of-edison-motion-pictures/early-motion-picture-productions/
