[COMPLETE]The desirable alien at home in Germany/V Hunt-ans

[barbara2]

The Desirable Alien at Home in Germany by Violet Hunt (1862 - 1942).

This project is now complete! All audio files can now be found on the catalog page for this project: https://librivox.org/desirable-alien-by-violet-hunt/

The author, Violet Hunt, was a flamboyant literary hostess in early twentieth century London. She was also a novelist, a suffragette and the mistress of several famous writers. “A Desirable Alien” is a lively, idiosyncratic record of the time she and Ford Madox Ford (then Ford Madox Hueffer) spent in Germany just prior to the First World War. Ford contributed chapters and notes under the initials “J.L.F.M.H.” His character of Sylvia Tietjens, in "Parade's End", is based on Violet Hunt.
( barbara2)

• Text source (only read from this text!): https://archive.org/stream/desirablealienat00huntiala#page/n7/mode/2up
• Type of proof-listening required (Note: please read the PL FAQ): standard
  
  
  
  IMPORTANT - soloist, please note: in order to limit the amount of languishing projects (and hence the amount of files on our hard-pressed server), we ask that you post an update at least once a month in your project thread, even if you haven't managed to record anything. If we don't hear from you for three months, your project may be opened up to a group project if a Book Coordinator is found. Files you have completed will be used in this project. If you haven't recorded anything yet, your project will be removed from the forum (contact any admin to see if it can be re-instated).
  Please don't download or listen to files belonging to projects in process (unless you are the BC or PL). Our servers are not set up to handle the greater volume of traffic. Please wait until the project has been completed. Thanks!
  
  
  

  Magic Window:

  
  
  BC Admin
  Genres for the project: *Non-fiction/Travel & Geography
  
  Keywords that describe the book: Germany - social life and customs, Ford Madox Ford
  
  ============================================
• The reader will record the following at the beginning and end of each file:
  No more than 0.5 to 1 second of silence at the beginning of the recording!
  START of recording (Intro):
  • "section [number] of The Desirable Alien at Home in Germany. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information, or to volunteer, please visit: librivox DOT org"
  • If you wish, say:
    "Recording by [your name], [city, your blog, podcast, web address]"
  • Say:
    "The Desirable Alien at Home in Germany, by Violet Hunt. [Chapter]"
  
  
  For the second and all subsequent sections, you may optionally use the shortened form of this intro disclaimer:
  • "Section [number] of The Desirable Alien at Home in Germany by Violet Hunt. This LibriVox recording is in the Public Domain."
  • If you wish, say:
    "Recording by [your name], [city, your blog, podcast, web address]"
  • Only if applicable, say:
    "[Chapter title]"
  END of recording:
  • At the end of the section, say:
    "End of [Chapter]"
  • If you wish, say:
    "Recording by [your name], [city, your blog, podcast, web address]"
  • At the end of the book, say (in addition):
    "End of The Desirable Alien at Home in Germany, by Violet Hunt. "
  
  There should be 5 seconds silence at the end of the recording.
• Example filename desirablealien_##_hunt_128kb.mp3 (all lower-case) where ## is the section number (e.g. desirablealien_01_hunt_128kb.mp3)
• Example ID3 V2 tags
  Artist: Violet Hunt
  Title: ## - [Section title]
  Album: The Desirable Alien at Home in Germany
  
  
  Transfer of files (completed recordings)
  Please always post in this forum thread when you've sent a file. Also, post the length of the recording (file duration: mm:ss) together with the link.
  • Upload your file with the LibriVox Uploader:https://librivox.org/login/uploader
    
    (If you have trouble reading the image above, please message an admin)
  • You'll need to select the MC, which for this project is: annise
  • When your upload is complete, you will receive a link - please post it in this thread.
  • If this doesn't work, or you have questions, please check our How To Send Your Recording wiki page.
  
  
  
  Any questions?
  Please post below

[annise]

I'll set it up later

Anne

[barbara2]

I'll set it up later

Anne

OK. Your post co-incided with my PM to you.

Best,

Barbara

[SkyRider]

Hi Barbara...

Are you looking for a DPL for this? If so, I'd like to volunteer...

Cheers,
Paul

[barbara2]

Hi Barbara...

Are you looking for a DPL for this? If so, I'd like to volunteer...

Cheers,
Paul

Excellent, Paul! Thank you.

Barbara

[annise]

Great , I'll add you to the MW
Welcome aboard

Anne

[SkyRider]

Thank you! It's always interesting to pick up on ideas from hearing others read so I might as well be useful while listening - plus I spent a little time in Germany so it'll be interesting to see how the war has shaped the modern republic.

Cheers,
Paul

[barbara2]

Ooops. I must have failed to hit "Submit". Anyway, here is the Preface:

http://uploads.librivox.org/annise/desirablealien_00_hunt_128kb.mp3
M:S
11:22

Best,

Barbara

[SkyRider]

Preface: PL notes

That was beautifully read, Barbara - I can see I'm really going to enjoy listening to you.

There's one small technical detail to correct - the file needs to be a mono one while you've submitted a stereo mp3. If you're using Audacity this is easy to fix - pressing Ctrl-A or clicking in the box to the left of the tracks will select the whole project then under the Tracks menu you'll find an option labelled Stereo Track to Mono.

Thanks,
Paul

[barbara2]

Preface: PL notes

That was beautifully read, Barbara - I can see I'm really going to enjoy listening to you.

There's one small technical detail to correct - the file needs to be a mono one while you've submitted a stereo mp3. If you're using Audacity this is easy to fix - pressing Ctrl-A or clicking in the box to the left of the tracks will select the whole project then under the Tracks menu you'll find an option labelled Stereo Track to Mono.

Thanks,
Paul

That's great Paul, because I'm going to relish reading it.

Dang. I hope I have uploaded the mono version correctly.


Best,

Barbara

[SkyRider]

Spot PL OK. The volume's dropped a tad but it's still comfortably within range.

Great work,
Paul

[barbara2]

Section 1, Paul, - How one becomes an alien:

https://librivox.org/uploads/annise/desirablealien_01_hunt_128kb.mp3
M:S
32:54

And, to get into the spirit of the thing, here's a reminder of the Heine setting that Violet Hunt was probably referring to:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88QYAWbVLsc

(why don't we sing along?)

Best,

Barbara

[SkyRider]

Grossartige Arbeit! Section 1 PL OK

You've clearly never heard my singing!

[barbara2]

Anne,

My author is describing an impressively highbrow German: "...while Oscar Strauss's "Salome", so long interdicted in England, was not much more than food for babes to him. ...'

Oscar Straus [correct spelling] was an operetta composer (he gave the world "The Chocolate Soldier").

The author has conflated the names of Richard Strauss who composed the notorious opera "Salome" and that of Oscar Wilde*, upon whose text the opera was based.

Is it OK to slip in, sotto voce, the words: "Readers Note, Richard" straight after the name "Oscar"?

I only ask because I suspect that any listener who's got that far mightn't find the error as funny as I do.

Best,

Barbara


*an old admirer! She claimed to have been lucky to have dodged marriage to him.

[barbara2]

Section 2: HAREM SKIRTS, STORKS AND SOME SOCIAL
AMENITIES


https://librivox.org/uploads/annise/desirablealien_02_hunt_128kb.mp3
M:S
25:14


I upgraded my OS, with all its apps, the other day. So I recorded with the new Audacity tonight and it's different! My first effort at Section 2 seems to have been made with the wrong settings so I had another go. Hope I got it right.

It's been a long night....

Best,

Barbara