Regarding Olga's recording intentions (since there seem to be no
recordings), there is some correspondence that mentions Pound's efforts
to have her recorded. I don't have my notes in front of me, but I recall
the wording either specifically referred to, or suggested, the new
Blattnerphone recording machine, which he learned about from his BBC
producer in 1931. Olga had many reel-to-reel audiotapes in her Venice
home, and they are probably all labelled (and probably all of Pound
recording), but labels on audiotapes aren't always correct or complete.
It would be worthwhile listening to those tapes, which I presume are now
at the Beinecke (if they're not sticking; if they are, they'll have to
be "baked" by a professional). The Beinecke has a listening station (for
lack of a better term; I haven't seen it).
The Blattnerphone represented a break-through in audio recording because
it permitted immediate playback, which machines up to that point had not
done. Pound's producer had one of the final Le Testament rehearsals
recorded and played back to the players. But it seems to not have
survived the war. There's a tantalizing trail to Australia, where a
number of the steel tapes made on the Blattnerphone in England were
shipped, along with one of the machines. Only some of that material has
been identified. The machine shows up in pictures of Hollywood sound
labs, too. Related to this, I would add that in David Roessel's
interesting review of the letters of Langston Hughes and EP in the
penultimate Paideuma (Spring and Fall 2000), the blethnerphone should be
read as Blattnerphone. Information about Ernesto Cauda, also
unidentified in that article, can be found on the web. He published a
number of articles for professionals and hobbyists regarding sound film
and color film, and Pound referred to him as his inside source on
microphone technology. I include a photograph of the Blattnerphone and
more details in my book, scheduled for release by MIT this April: Ezra
Pound's Radio Operas, the BBC Experiments, 1931-1933.
Best wishes,
Margaret Fisher
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