Why is the discovery of “Au clair de la lune” significant?
A. Until this discovery, the earliest recordings of the human voice known to be capable of reproduction were those made by Thomas Edison in 1877, and the earliest surviving recordings of certain date available to the public for listening were from 1888. “Au clair de la lune” proves that the human voice was recorded on April 9, 1860 well enough to allow the results to be played back and recognized, and it pushes our audible past back from 1888 by nearly a generation. When played back in March 2008, “Au clair de la lune” became the oldest recognizable sound recording made from the atmosphere, the oldest recovered musical recording, and the oldest recording of audibly identifiable words.
