Award-winning professional audio transfer & remastering

Free Music Downloads

Non-copyright music restored by Pristine Audio

Pristine Audio is pleased to offer a short selection of audio material restored from vintage recordings that are now out of copyright, both as a demonstration of our restoration techniques and for your own musical pleasure. Scroll down the page and you'll find a range of material stretching from the very earliest days of recording right through to the vinyl era, encompassing jazz, classical, opera and popular song.

There are four sections on this page:

• Early Vinyl LPs (1950's)
• Jazz 78s (1940's)
• Acoustic Classical 78s (1900's-1910's)
• Electric Classical 78s (1920's-1940's)

We also have our online music store, Pristine Audio Direct, where you can download entire works and pieces or order our CDs at very modest prices - as well as checking out lengthier samples of our work.

The Greatest Recordings - The Finest Sound Music direct from the Pristine Audio Historic Collection

 

Early Vinyl 33rpm LPs

The earliest vinyl recordings are now coming out of copyright. Although vinyl albums of this era are relatively few and far between, the technology coincided with the development of tape recording and as a consquence the increase in available quality was significant - hence the quick demise of 78s through the 1950's.

 

Jean Sablon : "Le Fiacre (The Cab Song)" (2'15")
US Capitol LP L344 - "Songs of a Boulevardier"
Released 1953 - this was taken from a badly scratched copy.

Download (MP3 2.06MB)

 

 

Jazz 78s

These recordings date largely from the early 1940's and have all been restored from 78rpm discs issued at the time - from the (usually inferior) UK pressings of the American masters.

 

John Kirby: "Close Shave" (2'28")
John Kirby (bass) with Russell Procope (alto sax), Charlie Shavers (trumpet), Buster Bailey (clarinet), Billy Kyle (piano), O'Neill Spencer or Specs Powell (drums)
UK HMV pressing B.9289 - "Swing Music 1942 Series No. 526"
Recorded 15th January 1941

Download (MP3 2.25MB)

 

Duke Ellington - "Chelsea Bridge" (2'50")
Duke Ellington and his Famous Orchestra
UK HMV pressing B.9309 - "Swing Music 1943 Series No. 501"
Recorded Hollywood, 2nd December 1941

Download (MP3 2.60MB)

 

Artie Shaw : "Blues - Part 1" (3'14")
Artie Shaw and his Orchestra
UK HMV pressing B.9259 - "Swing Music 1942 Series No. 499"
Recorded early 1940's

Download (MP3 2.96MB)

 

 

Classical Music 78s

PART ONE: Acoustic recordings.

These were the earliest 78s, recorded before the invention of the microphone in 1925. Recordings were made using large horns to collect the sound and concentrate it into mechanical energy sufficient to cut directly onto a master disc. The dynamic and frequency ranges were severely limited!

 

Verdi - Aida: "Celeste Aida" (3'21")
Enrico Caruso (Tenor)
with orchestral accompaniment
HMV acoustic 78s, recorded 29th March 1908, Camden, New Jersey

Download (MP3 3.07MB)
(Download a 30 second excerpt of the unprocessed original - 461KB)

 

Gounod - Faust: "When All Was Young" (3'19")
Louise Kirkby-Lunn (Contralto)
with orchestral accompaniment conducted by Percy Pitt
HMV acoustic 78s, recorded London(?) 11th November 1915

Download (MP3 3.04MB)

 

Classical Music 78s

PART TWO: Electric recordings.

These were the later 78s, recorded after the invention of the microphone in 1925. The dynamic and frequency ranges were immediately much better, and continued to improve as recording technology advanced, though they remained far inferior to those attained by tape, LP and modern digital recordings.

 

Moeran: Symphony in G minor
Third movement: Scherzon (Full recording: 5'01")
Hallé Orchestra, Conductor: Leslie Heward
HMV 78s, recorded 25th November - 1st December 1942
Note: This is a specially encoded hi-fi MP3Pro file - although it will replay adequately on standard MP3 players, for optimal sound quality please use an MP3 Pro player. A free software player can be downloaded from MP3PROZone - it's worth it!

Download (MP3Pro 2.68MB)

 

Schumann - Violin Concerto in D minor (2nd mvt. - excerpt) (2'46")
Georg Kulenkampff (Violin)
Berlin Philharmonic, Conductor: H. Schmidt-Isserstedt
Telefunken 78s, recorded Germany, 20th December 1937
The best sound I've ever heard from any 1930's recording!

Download (MP3 2.53MB)

 

Studio Rates and Payments to Pristine Audio Studio rates are charged at €50/hr (+VAT) to the nearest half-hour. We require a €50 deposit payment on all work undertaken - you can make payment below. This payment will be deducted from your final invoice. €50 is approximately GB£35 or US$65. Deposit Payment can be made by debit or credit card online, or by PayPal online. You may also pay a deposit by Sterling cheque (£35, payable to Pristine Audio) or French bank cheque (€50, payable to SARL Pristine Audio). This cheque must be included with your media, and must clear prior to our returning final work. Your final total will be calculated and invoiced to you for payment online, less your deposit, and including airmail shipping where appropriate - we will try to provide an estimate of your final bill prior to starting work. If at this stage you prefer not to proceed we will retain your deposit and return your media. VAT/TVA will be charged at 19.6% to all EU customers - please contact us with an EU VAT registration number if you have one; if so, your VAT will be zero-rated (for customers outside of France). There is no VAT/TVA charge for customers outside the EU.   To make a deposit payment, click here: Payment by credit/debit card or PayPal Please contact us before booking in any work!