SINGERS OF TO-DAY WILL BE HEARD AGAIN A HUNDRED YEARS HENCE.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXIX, Issue 7813, 4 June 1909, Page 4

SINGERS OF TO-DAY WILL BE HEARD AGAIN A HUNDRED YEARS HENCE.

Buried under the magnificent Opera House m Paris, are the silent voices of the greatest .singers living m the world to-day- One hundred years from now these singers will sing tor ft strange people, people not yet born, who will be assembled by official decree to lleaf. them; ... , . It is not tile least remarkable phase of this ingenious enterprise of the French authorities that its originator and the' one who is carrying out the plaii at his owii expense is ftri Andean, Aifred Clark, formerly pi New York. The idea of preserving; by phonographic record the milsic ot the world's masters came to him several years ago, and when he sp6ke Of the plan to members of the Government they entered into it with enthusiasm. Two things were necessary m order to give permanency to the undertaking One was to have, the affair under the direction of the Government, and the other was to obtain a permanent and appropriate place m which to keep the discs that held the mute voices of the singers, or the imprisoned music of famous pianists, violinists and orchestras. For-this part of the plan no place seemed worthier or better than the Opera House, one ot the architectural monuments of the world, which has a museum of relics interesting to the student or lover of music. Beneath the Opera House are small winding passages with vaulted ceilings that remind one of the crypt of a cathedral or of catacombs built of stone. It was here that the long resting place of voices th&t have thrilled thousands was chosen. , ' „■, In the foundations of the big building excavations were made and places hollowed out m which the flat discs could rest. ..The records will be added to from time to time as new artists win fame or new selections are desirod. . When the urn that contains the records placed there at the inaugural ceremonies is opened a century hence those who are" summoned to_ listen to the great ones of the past will hear Patti, Melba, Mme. Schumann-Heink, Calve, Tetrazzini, Pol Plancon, Tamaeno, Caruso, Scotti, and Kubelik. The greatest care is taken m the preservation of the records. The urn m which each set is placed is hermetically sealed by experts acting under the direction of M. Charles Malherbe, the learned archivist of the Opera. It is believed that when the urns are opened the discs will be found unimpaired by their century of silence .m the vault m the Opera House foundations.