A Son's Journey to Reconnect with a Father's Voice
The author recounted a profound personal journey to reconnect with his father's voice, a quest ignited by the film "The History of Sound." Set in 1919, the movie depicts two music conservatory students, David and Lionel, as they record folk songs on wax cylinders in rural Maine.
The author recounted a personal journey to reconnect with his father's voice, inspired by the film "The History of Sound."
This cinematic narrative prompted the author to reflect on the early history of sound preservation. He noted Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville's 1850s phonautograph, which could capture sound waves visually, and Thomas Edison's 1877 phonograph, which pioneered sound playback. By 1919, Edison's company had advanced its technology to utilize wax cylinder recordings, as portrayed in the film.
A Personal Loss, A Renewed Search
The author had previously lost the only existing audio of his father—an 87-year-old voicemail message—due to an unfortunate phone system change. Inspired by a poignant scene in "The History of Sound," where a character unearths a lost recording of a loved one, the author initiated his own comprehensive search for any existing audio of his father.
A Voice Discovered in the Archives
His father, a government lawyer, had once presented a significant case at the Supreme Court. A friend, aware of this detail, suggested checking the Supreme Court archives, which have meticulously preserved recordings of oral arguments dating back to the 1950s.
The search proved successful. On February 18, 1963, a recording was located featuring his father, then 43 years old, arguing a case before the nation's highest court.
The recording captured his father's younger voice, speaking for 49 minutes.
This extraordinary discovery unveiled his father's younger voice, speaking for a total of 49 minutes. During the argument, Justice Hugo Black even offered a compliment, despite the Supreme Court ultimately ruling 9-0 against the government's position two months later. The author described the find as a deeply significant personal experience, enabling him to hear his father's voice from a distinct and earlier period of his life.