Thanks to crucial financial support from the German Federal Foreign Office, two projects relating to the digitization of historical audio documents were launched on 26 March 2012, at the initiative of the German consulate in Kolkata.
Some 800 shellac records owned by a private collector from Kolkata are to be digitized in the project; the majority of the recordings are of Bengali music for the theatre, as well as complete plays. The second part of the project entails the digitization of a private collection of musical recordings on tape and cassettes dating from the period 1960 to 1985; this collection was also amassed in Kolkata.
The projects were initiated, planned, and technically equipped by the Department of Ethnomusicology, Media Technology and the Phonogramm-Archiv of the Ethnologisches Museum. It was also responsible for the training of local staff, who are currently conducting the work at source. The department aims to make the recordings and related background content available online. Appropriate agreements have been made with the collectors.
Coordinator: Prof. Dr. Lars-Christian Koch, head of Ethnomusicology, Media Technology and Phonogramm-Archiv at the Ethnologisches Museum
Partners: German Consulate in Kolkata, India
Funding: German Federal Foreign Office
Duration: 2012 to 2013