NEW DELHI: HERE’s good news for music lovers. What was once a passion for music collectors is now for the world to savour. If you love old classics or like a rare gem from the past, log on to the website of the British Library, which has uploaded over 1,200 songs in the Odeon record label collections and over 1,000 in the Young India Records company collection, from 20th century.
Sourcing from private collections, particularly Odeon shellac discs issued in India between 1912 and 1938, the library uploaded digital versions of rare recordings, most of which are not commercially available.
The Odean company produced over 2,000 titles of north and south Indian music, though only 600 titles (1,200 songs) survived and are with private collectors. The collection is significant as they are the only extant version of a 200-year-old Carnatic music tradition.