experiences anonymes was a new york record label devoted to early music, started in the mid-50s with the intent of producing quality recordings of early music, regardless of expense. the quality of not only the recordings, but the vinyl (the lps were advertised as being "custom pressed on pure vinyl", and its some of the thickest vinyl i own), the sleeves (always of sturdy construction of heavy cardstock) and the extensive liner notes (printed on heavy stock) make this evident. the label took great pride in their work, as you can see from this quote taken from a common insert in their lps:
"by far the larger part of the material described in this catalog has never been recorded; and most of it rarely - if ever - performed onthe concert stage today. and this is through no fault of the music: the melodies are fresh and lovely; the structures intricate and brilliant.
to produce these records and pre-recorded tapes, experiences anonymes has gathered the finest available artistry and authoritative scholarship. we have taken full advantage of technical knowledge, engieering skill and modern equipment at every step of the recording procces. records and tapes are handsomely and carefully hand packaged, and supplied with full notes and texts. for your further convenience, the same title and catalog number applies to both the record and the tape; they are identical as to length and contents.
our purpose is to bring you an awareness of the scope, vitality and beauty of early music; to make the truly magnificent musical heritage of the mimddle ages and of the XVIth and XVIIth centuries available ta an ever widening audience; and to introduce you to some of america's foremost young artists."
i originally picked up a copy of "catch that catch can" (ea-0312) on a whim, and was struck by the overall quality of the whole package, as well as the unique nature of the recording. this, combined with the simple yet pleasing design of their cover artwork, attracted me initially to the label, so i began to haphazardly collect it.
in the early 60s, the label was purchased by lyrichord records, who kept the back catalogue in print. ea had put out albums as an independant label from 1956 up until 1961, when new releases ceased shortly before lyrichord took over. ea catalogue numbers (of the format ea-0011 etc) appear to start with 1 or 2 filler zeros, followed by a number indicating the year of release (in the case of ea-0011, the year would be 1, or 1956), followed by a number indicating the release order in that particular release. following this pattern, ea-0312 would be the 12th lp released in 1958 (year 3). if this theory is correct, any ea lp with a number greater than ea-06* would have likely been released on lyrichord.
most, if not all of these lps were simultaneously released on high-quality stereo reel-to-reel tapes - the records are monophonic, though they rereleased many of the recordings in stereo versions on lyrichord, and many of them have been rereleased on cd more recently. the lyrichord releases tend to be on lower-quality vinyl, in lower-quality sleeves, with liner notes on thinner paper (or completely redone in different formats) and lyrichord center labels. cover art on the lyrichord rereleases also suffered, with the formerly colorful sleeves becoming noticably monochrome.
for the purposes of this discography, i'm concerned only with releases from the years prior to the decrease in quality of the vinyl and sleeves. i've included some of what i beleive to be post-1961 releases here only because i have yet to determine when exactly that change happenned in relation to the takeover by lyrichord - i tend to beleive there was some sort of transition period, as i have records with the high quality vinyl and sleeves that have been printed with lyrichord's perry st address rather than ea's east 11th st address, and records with lyrichord labels inside older ea-quality sleeves.
anyone reading this who happens to have material to add to this discography is encouraged to contact me.
i currently have extras of ea-0012, ea-0021, ea-0024, ea-0029, ea-0032, ea-0035 for sale, all in at least good condition, for $5 apiece.
my current wants as far as the label is concerned (ea labels rather than lyrichord) are:
ea-0011 - "the song of songs" lp
ea-0038 - "handel - keyboard music vol. III" lp
ea-0039 - "handel - keyboard music vol. IV" lp
ea-0310 - "handel - keyboard music vol. V" lp
ea-0311, assuming it actually exists
ea-0071 - thomas roseingrave lp
ea-0083 - the ars nova: vocal music of 14th century france and italy lp
| cat. # | title | notes | |
 |
ea-0011 | the song of songs | hebrew reading, morris carnovsky english reading, carol veazie |
 |
ea-0012 | troubadour and trouvere songs | music of the middle ages, vol. I russell oberlin, countertenor seymour barab, viol |
 |
ea-0013 | english keyboard music | from the tudor age to the restoration paul wolfe, harpsichord |
 |
ea-0021 | notre dame organa | music of the middle ages, vol. II russell oberlin, countertenor charles bressler and donald perry, tenors seymour bara, viol |
 |
ea-0022 | girolamo frescobaldi | paul wolfe, harpsichord |
 |
ea-0023 | del rey alfonso el sabio - las cantigas de santa maria | music of the middle ages, vol. III russell oberlin, countertenor joseph iadone, lute |
 |
ea-0024 | english polyphony of the XIIIth and Early XIVth centuries | music of the middle ages, vol. IV russell oberlin, countertenor charles dressler, tenor donald perry; baritone seymour barab and martha blackman, viols |
 |
ea-0025 | the psalms | in hebrew and in english - morris carnovsky |
 |
ea-0026 | spanish keyboard music of the 16th and early 17th centuries | paul wolfe, harpsichord |
 |
ea-0027 | thomas tompkins - vol. I: musica deo sacra | the ambrosian singers the in nomine players denis stevens, conductor |
 |
ea-0028 | thomas tompkins - vol. II: songs and consort music | the ambrosian singers the in nomine players denis stevens, conductor |
 |
ea-0029 | english medieval songs | music of the middle ages, vol. V russell oberlin, countertenor seymour barab, viol |
 |
ea-0031 | XIVth and early XVth century english polyphony | music of the middle ages, vol. VI russell oberlin, countertenor charles bressler, tenor gordon myers, baritone paul wolfe, organ |
 |
ea-0032 | handel - keyboard music vol. I | paul wolfe, harpsichord |
 |
ea-0033 | handel - keyboard music vol. II | paul wolfe, harpsichord |
 |
ea-0034 | john dowland - lute songs | russell oberlin, countertenor joseph iadore, lute |
 |
ea-0035 | the french ars antiqua | music of the middle ages, vol. VII russell oberlin, countertenor charles bressler and robert price, tenors gordon myers, baritone martha blackman, viol |
 |
ea-0036 | john dunstable - sacred and secular music | music of the middle ages, vol. VIII |
 |
ea-0037 | william byrd - music for voices and viols | russel oberlin, countertenor |
 |
ea-0038 | handel - keyboard music vol. III | paul wolfe, harpsichord |
 |
ea-0039 | handel - keyboard music vol. IV | paul wolfe, harpsichord |
 |
ea-0310 | handel - keyboard music vol. V | paul wolfe, harpsichord |
 |
ea-0311 | ||
 |
ea-0312 | catch that catch can | 17th & 18th centuries the new york catch club |
 |
ea-0500 | handel - suites | 5 lps w/booklet; compilation of the 5 volumes of handel keyboard works paul wolfe, harpsichord |
 |
ea-0071 | thomas roseingrave | leonard raver, harpsichord |
 |
ea-0072 | monteverdi - il ballo delle ingrate | |
 |
ea-0081 | thomas ravenscroft - the cries of london | music in honor of queen elizabeth the ambrosian singers denis stevens, conductor |
 |
ea-0083 | the ars nova: vocal music of 14th century france and italy | music of the middle ages, vol. IX |