b. Recording

The recording process would take place in the two permanent studios of the company, in concert halls or during live concerts. Due to its limited space, the “Tomis”

studio was used mainly for recording small bands, quartets, or chamber orchestras.

92 Stela Nachi for Adevarul.ro: https://ziarmm.ro/maramuresul-la-casa-de-discuri-electrecord-interviu-cu-prof-stela-nachi/, accessed on 02.02.2022.

93 Interview with ethnomusicologist and member of the folklore committee, Speranta Rădulescu.

94 Ibidem.

The “Marble Hall”, located in the “House of the Spark” (Casa Scanteii), was used only for symphonic recordings, as it could accommodate big orchestras. Recordings were also made at the Romanian Athenaeum and the Palace Hall in Bucharest, philharmonic halls, athenaeums throughout the country and cultural centres. Some recordings were made by Electrecord in the studios of the House of Radio Broadcasting (Casa Radiodifuziunii), according to the contractual agreements between the record company and the Romanian Society for Broadcasting and Television⁹⁵.

Image III.2 – Electrecord’s “Tomis” studio

Recordings were made by the technical and artistic personnel, which included sound engineers, technicians, editors and producers. The dynamic between the actors involved in this process was determined by their specific responsibility: the sound

95 According to the 1960 Convention between the two institutions, Art 6, the Romanian Society for Broadcasting and Television charged Electrecord 750 Lei for the use of its studios.

engineers made decisions in matters of sound caption (microphone positioning, sound effects, volume etc.) with the help of the technicians, musicians, editors, producers, and conductors (in the case of orchestras); the technicians oversaw the recording set-up (arrange the microphones, instruments, cables etc.). For symphonic music recordings, the editor was the “musical supervisor”, alongside the conductor, making sure that the music sheet was being followed, the instruments were in tune etc. This dynamic was not always permanent, as sometimes the sound engineer would instruct musicians on how to sing according to their stylistic and aesthetic preferences. This was the case with most of the folklore recordings made by one specific sound engineer, according to Speranța Rădulescu: “The roughness in the voice was not accepted, he had his own aesthetic criteria. They had to sing as clean as possible, so he would tell them 'do this, do that'...”⁹⁶. However, there were also situations when the musicians had the last word when it came to sound effects, as singer-songwriter Nicolae Covaci recalls:

“In 1968, during the making of our first disc at Electrecord – there is a distorted guitar in one of the songs – the sound engineer came rushing in to tell me that the guitar was too loud, and it became distorted. Of course, I knew it. This was my intention when setting up the volumes and effects. In the end, because he didn't like it, he sent in another sound engineer and left”⁹⁷.

The technology used by Electrecord during 1965-1989 in the recording studio is not thoroughly documented, as no acquisition documents or official inventories exist. However, the sound engineers, technicians and artists interviewed for this research have provided information about existing equipment. Some information can also be found in the Billboard and Gramophone magazines. According to William Mann, in 1967, the Romanian record company had BASF tape recorders and “EMI recording technology”. The journalist criticized the “bad balance” of some stereo recordings, claiming that “voices are too near the microphone and the orchestra two distant”, also highlighting the poor quality of some discs, which carried high surface

96 Interview with Speranta Rădulescu.

97 Nicolae Covaci in “Integrala Phoenix Part I - The 60's”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfWsTskDrsc, accessed 12.09.2021.

noise and had distortion in comparison to releases from foreign record companies⁹⁸. In the period between 1970 and 1980, the company upgraded its studio equipment and the technological apparatus used in the pressing plant. The equipment was purchased exclusively from abroad, namely: 8-track Neve consoles in the “Tomis” studio and 16-track in the “Marble Hall”, produced and imported from the UK; AKG, Shure, Electrovoice and Ampex microphones imported from Austria and the USA, and Neumann microphones were acquired during the 60s from Germany; 4-track Electrosound, 8-track Studer and 16-track STM tape recorders were imported from China, Switzerland and Hungary; and BASF, AGFA and ORWO tapes were imported from Germany⁹⁹.

The recording studio had only a cimbalom, a piano, a vertical bass and a reverb effect¹⁰⁰, therefore, most of the time, musicians would bring their own effects and instruments, amplifiers or synthesizers. Regarding the recording equipment, the technical department was constantly up to date with the latest technology on the market and had subscriptions to industry magazines and catalogues from other countries. The final decision on equipment acquisition was taken by the general manager and chief engineer and was also discussed with the economic department and the Party secretary before being sent for approval.

After the recording was completed and the backup copies made, two committees were formed for the validation of the master tape in terms of technical and artistic points of view. The committees usually included the same members that approved the repertoire. The aspects analyzed at this stage by the committees were the musical arrangements, artistic interpretation and the quality of the recording. This was an important test for novice sound engineers, according to Gheorghe Grosaru: “If you

98 William Mann, “Records from Rumania” in Grammophone Magazine, no 57 (1967), pp. 2-3 99 Information provided and confirmed by former sound engineer Gheorghe Grosaru, artistic director Paul Enigarescu, mastering engineer Ion Fratila, cassette manager Mircea Stanica, sound engineer/editor/editor-in-chief and current general manager Cornelia Andreescu and musician Cristian Madolciu and Ilie Stepan. Also, some information can also be found in Billboard articles signed by journalist and advisor of the record company, Octavian Ursulescu.

100 Interview with Mircea Stanica.

did not pass these committees two times in a row, especially if you were a beginner, as I was [...] no one worked with you anymore, you were finished.”¹⁰¹. Therefore, the advisory committee validated the repertoire twice during the production process.

The final step in the production planning and decision stage was to send the recordings to the SCAC/CSEC, which then decided if they could move on to manufacturing and distribution. Details about this step are provided in the following subchapter and in Chapter 4, where I will delve into Electrecord’s editorial policy.