On April 29 at 3 pm, Denmark will hand over to Estonia 151 sound recordings with Estonian music dated from 1939. Ceremonial conferral in National Library of Estonia will take place with the presence of Danish ambassador Ms Kirsten Geelan and Estonian Minister of Culture Ms Laine Jänes.
In May and June 1939, the Scandinavisk Grammophone Company and the Estonian State Broadcasting Union prepared a series of extensive recordings in Tallinn with the assistance of sound technicians and equipment from Denmark. The beginning of World War II interrupted the process of further production and the general understanding was that these sound records were lost in war.
In virtue of the research of members of musicology department of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre appeared that almost all recordings have preserved State and University Library in Århus, Denmark and EMI Archive Trust in Hayes, England.
Sound recordings will be placed in the archives of the National Library of Estonia. Recordings are digitalized and will be released on disc set of 8–9 CD-s by the end of the year 2008.
Agnes Toomla