For @user-934218622

My arrangement for the 8Bit Music Theory Discord's Summer Santa, 2024

Musical Sounds

A flavour of the material that Sounds of the South West will digitise, preserve and share.

With thanks to Lottery Players, The National Lottery Heritage Fund generously awarded £175,000 to Sounds of the South West, a new regional audio digitisation project. Audio archives, currently stored on outdated formats such as reel-to-reel tapes and cassettes, are in danger of being lost due to format degradation and reliance on machines that are no longer in use. Without this project, important local audio heritage will be lost. 

The funding allows Bristol Archives to undertake a year of developing the project into a multi-year, multi-partner project for the whole of South West England.

For information on Bristol Archives policies https://www.bristolmuseums.org.uk/bristol-archives/archives-policies/

Introducing Sounds of the South West

Today we're opening up the vault to share an extraordinary archival recording from one of the most influential figures in Esalen's history, Frederic Spiegelberg — and while that name might not be as immediately recognizable as some of the luminaries who graced Esalen's grounds, like Joseph Campbell, Alan Watts, or Gabrielle Roth, understanding Frederic Spiegelberg and his place in Esalen mythology might be key to understanding Esalen itself . . . because in truth, without Frederic Spiegelberg, there might well never have been an Esalen at all.

In 1950, Esalen co-founder Michael Murphy was just another Stanford student when he, by complete accident, attended one of Friedric Spiegelberg's philosophy courses. As recounted in Jeffrey Kripal's fantastic book, “Esalen: America and the Religion of No Religions,” that single class would become an initiatory event that transformed Murphy's life forever, providing a pivotal bridge into the metaphysical, the mystical, and the psychical realms, dimensions that would go on to define the course of his life. 

The recording you're about to hear takes place in 1968, nearly two decades after Michael Murphy’s satori. Frederic Spiegelberg, as you'll hear, is still a force to be reckoned with. He speaks of the convergence between Eastern and Western thought, the transformative power of spiritual experience, and the boundless capacity for human growth. 

And as you listen to this beautiful recording, originally made on half-inch reel to reel tape that we've recently uncovered in the Esalen vault, dusted off, digitized, and are in the process of joyfully rediscovering, maybe consider this: that you're not just hearing a lecture from the past. Instead, you're taking part in a transmission. A thread that connects the early days of Esalen to the present moment. You're stepping into the very space where minds were opened and spirits awakened and the seeds of some sort of transformation were sown. 




Frederic Spiegelberg's 1968 Talk at Esalen: "India and the Saints"

"Voices of Esalen" features provocative, in-depth interviews with the dynamic leaders, teachers, and thinkers who reflect the mission of the Esalen Institute.

For more about the Esalen Institute, head to esalen.org 

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New tracks tagged #Archival audio