Carmen Rodríguez Godino

ERNEST BERK SOUND ARCHIVE: RESTORE, PRESERVE, ENGAGE

The ‘Ernest Berk Sound Archive’ is a three-year initiative aimed at preserving the history of electronic music. Since late 2023, Researchers from the Department of Electronics at the University of Huddersfield, in collaboration with the Historical Archive with the Rheinisches Bildarchiv in Cologne, have been working on the complex task of restoring and digitising 700 magnetic tapes from the estate of the visionary choreographer and composer Ernest Berk. As a pioneer of electronic music in modern dance, Berk left behind a remarkable and largely unexplored sound archive.

Particularly challenging are the conservation problems caused by the natural ageing of the tapes, adhesive residues, and the damage resulting from the collapse of the Historical Archive of the City of Cologne in 2009. Many tapes are severely deteriorated and require elaborate restoration techniques. In parallel, the Project is developing a sustainable, third-party funded packaging concept to ensure their longterm preservation.

The restoration measures themselves – along with the many questions that have emerged throughout the process regarding the nature and context of the works – will be at the core of this presentation. This reflection on the material, technical, and curatorial challenges highlights the importance of the project in documenting and reactivating a unique artistic legacy.

Carmen Rodríguez Godino is a conservator specialising in analogue and digital audiovisual media. She earned a degree in Fine Arts from the University of Seville, with a focus on the restoration and conservation of paintings and polychrome objects. She then completed a Master’s programme in ‘Conservation of New Media and Digital Information’ at the State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart, where she specialised in audiovisual media conservation. Since 2017, she has been working at Historisches Archiv mit Rheinischem Bildarchiv in Cologne, responsible for the conservation and restoration of analogue and digital audiovisual media. Her main focus is the restoration, digitisation, and proper storage of collections affected by the 2009 archive collapse. Her work also includes preventive conservation and management of new audiovisual archive Acquisitions from both municipal and private provenance.