那一年，一個聲音如何「意外」炸開了整個綿延至今的音樂產業？
古殿殿主
殿主今天想跟大家聊一個很有趣的故事。每次我在店裡拿出那些厚重的老蟲膠唱片，看著唱針緩緩落下，發出那種特有的沙沙聲時，我常會想：這一切到底是怎麼開始的？
很多人會說：「喔，不就是愛迪生(Thomas Alva Edison, 1847-1931)發明了留聲機嗎？」或者是懂多一點的朋友會提到發明圓盤唱片的柏林納(Emile Berliner, 1851-1929)。沒錯，他們發明了「機器」。但在我看來，機器是冰冷的，它不會說故事，也沒有溫度。
真正讓這堆金屬和蠟塊擁有「靈魂」，甚至創造出我們現在所知道的「音樂產業」的，其實是一場發生在 1902 年，有點冒險、有點瘋狂，卻充滿「人味」的意外。
這不只是一個關於歷史的故事，這是一個關於「看見價值」與「相信直覺」，甚至是一個「直覺能預測未來」的故事。
機器有了，但靈魂在哪裡？
想像一下，在 1902 年以前，大家是怎麼看留聲機的？
那時候的留聲機，就像現在剛出來的某種高科技怪玩具。人們去博覽會看它，聽它發出像鴨子叫一樣的聲音，或者記錄一些名人的演講。大家會說：「哇！這盒子會說話，好神奇！」然後就走掉了。
那時候的唱片，被當成是一種「科學玩具」，或者是有錢人家客廳裡的炫耀品。沒有人真心覺得這是一個可以承載偉大藝術的載體。
直到1902年，這個「載體」遇到了一個「對的聲音」。
英國著名的樂評人諾曼·萊布雷希特(Norman Lebrecht, 1948-)說過一句我很認同的話：
真正的聲音紀錄史，不是從愛迪生的實驗室開始，而是從 1902 年米蘭的一間飯店房間開始的。
那一年，一位叫恩里科卡羅素(Enrico Caruso,1873-1921)的義大利男高音，對著一個大大的收音漏斗唱了幾首歌。就是這幾首歌，把「科學玩具」變成了「藝術」，把「機器」變成了「產業」。
一場賭上人生的 100 英鎊豪賭
這故事裡最讓我感動的，其實不是卡羅素本人，而是一位叫佛瑞德·蓋斯柏格(Fred Gaisberg,1873-1951)的唱片製作人。
蓋斯柏格當時在米蘭的史卡拉歌劇院聽到了卡羅素的現場演唱。那時候的卡羅素雖然有名，但還不是世界級的巨星，根本沒沒無名。可是，蓋斯柏格在台下聽著聽著，全身起雞皮疙瘩。他的直覺告訴他：「就是這個聲音！這個聲音如果錄下來，絕對會改變世界！」
這就是我常跟來到古殿的朋友分享的——在這個大數據都在算計未來的時代，人的「感知」與「直覺」才是最珍貴的。蓋斯柏格沒有在那邊算投資報酬率，他是被那份「真實的感動」給擊中了，完全不是計算與避險。
於是他做了一件很瘋狂的事。他馬上拍電報回英國倫敦總部，要求一筆預算：100 英鎊。他要付給這位年輕男高音，請他錄音。
你知道 100 英鎊在當時是什麼概念嗎？那大概是一個體面的英國工匠「整整三年」的薪水！
總部的那些大老闆們，反應完全在預料之中。他們回覆冷冰冰的一句話：「費用過高，取消錄音。」在那些穿西裝、看報表的人眼裡，花三年薪水去錄一個沒聽過的義大利人？這簡直是瘋了。這完全不符合商業邏輯，不符合競爭優勢分析。
但是，蓋斯柏格沒有放棄。
這就是我覺得最「人味」的地方。當全世界都用數據告訴你「不行」的時候，你願不願意相信自己的耳朵？願不願意相信那份感動是真實的？
蓋斯柏格決定：「好，公司不出錢，我出！」他賭上了自己的職業生涯，甚至可能是自己的身家，私自墊付了這 100 英鎊。他把卡羅素帶到米蘭的一間飯店房間，架起那個他隨身攜帶的錄音設備，在短短幾個小時內，錄下了十首詠嘆調。
事後證明，這不僅是音樂史上最成功的投資，更是人類錄音史上的一場「大爆炸」。
為什麼是卡羅素？一場物理學與生物學的奇蹟
為什麼偏偏是卡羅素？為什麼別的歌手錄起來像蚊子叫，他錄起來卻像雷聲？
這裡我要稍微講一點點技術，但我保證連 10 歲小孩都能聽懂。
1902 年是所謂的「聲學錄音時代(Acoustic Recording Era)」。那是個沒有電、沒有麥克風、沒有擴大機的年代。錄音的過程非常原始，甚至有點暴力。歌手不是對著麥克風輕聲細語，而是要對著一個巨大的喇叭（漏斗）大吼。
聲音是靠空氣振動傳播的，歌手必須用自己的丹田、肺活量，產生足夠強大的聲波能量，衝進那個漏斗，去推動漏斗盡頭的一根小針，讓那根針在軟軟的蠟盤上刻出紋路。
說白了，這不是唱歌，這是在發射「聲波砲」。
你的身體就是擴大機，你的聲帶就是麥克風。
而卡羅素，就是那個時代的「天選之人」。傳說他在大都會歌劇院唱歌時，聲音大到能讓天花板的水晶吊燈跟著共振。這雖然可能是傳說，但點出了一個事實：卡羅素的聲音有一種驚人的物理穿透力。他的聲音夠厚、夠亮、能量夠強，強到足以推動那根笨重的刻針，在唱片上留下深深的印記。
但是，只有大聲是不夠的。如果只是大聲，那找個大聲公來吼就好了。
帕華洛帝(Luciano Pavarotti,1935-2007)——就是後來的三大男高音之一——曾經說過：「論技術，我也許能碰到卡羅素的邊；但他在歌聲裡投入的那種情感深度，是我永遠無法企及的。」
這就是關鍵。
卡羅素厲害的地方在於，他既能發出雷霆萬鈞的聲音，又能瞬間轉得無比溫柔。他不被定義成「戲劇男高音」或「抒情男高音」，他是「為音樂服務」的歌者。
在那個充滿雜訊、設備簡陋的年代，卡羅素的聲音穿透了物理的限制，把那份最真實、最滾燙的情感，直接「刻」進了唱片裡。
1902年歷史上第一張卡羅素錄製的丑角詠嘆調「粉墨登場」，原始歷史首版，古殿收藏。
從「玩具」到「傳奇」：一個產業的誕生
這批在飯店房間錄下的唱片一發行，世界變了。
原本被當成玩具的唱片，突然間變成了搶手貨。人們驚訝地發現：「天啊！這個黑黑的圓盤裡，竟然藏著這麼巨大的靈魂！」唱片從此不再是機器的附屬品，而變成了藝術的載體。
卡羅素也因為這些唱片，從一個義大利名歌手，變成了人類歷史上第一位「全球超級巨星」。
這甚至改變了音樂的傳播方式。以前你要聽歌劇，你得飛到義大利，得買票進劇院。但因為有了唱片，音樂的感動可以跨越國界、跨越時間。像那首大家耳熟能詳的拿坡里民謠《我的太陽》（'O sole mio），就是被卡羅素唱紅的。這首充滿陽光與熱情的歌，剛好需要那種直接、龐大的能量，完美契合了當時的錄音技術。
這場1902年的錄音，奠定了後來一百多年唱片工業的基礎：發現好的聲音、投入資源錄製、透過唱片傳遞感動。
最後：在科技狂奔的時代，找回那份「真實」
寫到這裡，我心裡其實很有感觸。
我們現在身處一個科技與數據狂奔的年代，很多東西都變得越來越快速、越來越精準，但也越來越像是在「算計」。我們被教導要競爭、要贏、要追求效率。
但是，回頭看 1902 年的那個米蘭午後。
創造歷史的，不是精密的計算，不是總部的批准，而是一個製作人對「美」的堅持，和一位歌者毫無保留的生命力。
十五年前我離開學術圈，建立了「古殿樂藏」。
我當時想做的，就是把這些「失落的歷史遺跡」保存下來。當我在店裡播放這些一百年前的錄音時，我不是在懷舊，我是在進行一種「心靈的復健」。
我想邀請大家，偶爾把大腦裡的開關關掉，把那些焦慮的運算程式停下來。來到這裡，打開你的耳朵，聽聽卡羅素，聽聽那些雖然有雜訊、卻真實無比的聲音。
你會發現，不管科技怎麼變，人類想要被理解、想要感受溫暖、想要追求那份「真實」的渴望，是一萬年都不會變的。
當我們能在這些古老的聲音裡，重新感受到那份單純的力量時，我們的心就自由了。不再為了競爭而焦慮，而是回到自己的生命裡，找到屬於自己的節奏與價值。
這就是「古殿」存在的意義。
下次下班累了，不妨來店裡坐坐。我們不談大道理，就讓卡羅素的歌聲，幫你按摩一下疲憊的靈魂吧。
願大家都能在喧囂中，找到屬於自己的那份寧靜。
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活動資訊
- 活動名稱：【古殿歷史名曲音樂喫茶第37場】克萊斯勒協奏曲之夜
- 時間：2026年1月16日（週五） 19:30 - 21:00
- 地點：古殿樂藏
- 名額：限定10席（額滿即止）
「古殿歷史名曲音樂喫茶」將是台灣目前唯一固定舉辦此類深度歷史聆聽活動的空間。
（報名表單連結在留言中）
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活動名稱：【古殿歷史名曲音樂喫茶第37場】克萊斯勒協奏曲之夜：
👉 立即預約您的時空席位 (需匯款確認)： https://forms.gle/1E9v295gE5nNrdrD8
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That Year, How Did One Voice "Accidentally" Detonate the Music Industry We Know Today?
Today, I want to share a fascinating story with you all. Every time I pull out one of those heavy, old shellac records at the shop, watch the needle slowly drop, and hear that characteristic hiss, I often wonder: How did all of this actually begin?
Many people might say, "Oh, didn't Edison invent the phonograph?" Or friends who know a bit more might mention Berliner, who invented the disc record. You're right—they invented the "machines." But in my eyes, machines are cold. They don't tell stories, and they have no temperature.
What truly gave this pile of metal and wax a "soul," and even created the "music industry" as we know it, was actually an accident that happened in 1902—a bit adventurous, a bit crazy, but full of "human touch."
This isn't just a story about history; it is a story about "seeing value," "trusting intuition," and how a gut feeling can sometimes predict the future.
We had the machine, but where was the soul?
Imagine for a moment, how did people view the phonograph before 1902?
Back then, the phonograph was like some high-tech weird toy you’d see today. People went to expositions to look at it, hear it make sounds like a quacking duck, or record speeches by famous people. Everyone would say, "Wow! This box can talk, how magical!" And then they would walk away.
At that time, records were treated as "scientific toys" or show-off items in the living rooms of the wealthy. No one genuinely believed this could be a vessel for great art.
Until 1902, when this "vessel" met the "right voice."
The famous British music critic Norman Lebrecht (1948-) once said something I deeply agree with:
The real history of sound recording did not begin in Edison's laboratory, but in a hotel room in Milan in 1902.
That year, an Italian tenor named Enrico Caruso (1873-1921) sang a few songs into a large recording funnel. It was these few songs that turned a "scientific toy" into "art," and a "machine" into an "industry."
A Gamble of a Lifetime: The 100-Pound Bet
What moves me most about this story isn't actually Caruso himself, but a record producer named Fred Gaisberg (1873-1951).
Gaisberg heard Caruso singing live at La Scala in Milan. At that time, while Caruso had some fame, he wasn't a world-class superstar yet; he was relatively unknown globally. But as Gaisberg listened from the audience, he got goosebumps all over his body. His intuition told him: "This is the voice! If this voice is recorded, it will absolutely change the world!"
This is what I often share with friends who come to Gu Dian—in this era where big data calculates the future, human "perception" and "intuition" are the most precious things. Gaisberg didn't sit there calculating the return on investment (ROI); he was struck by that "authentic emotion." It wasn't about calculation or hedging risks at all.
So, he did something crazy. He immediately wired the London headquarters asking for a budget: 100 pounds. He needed to pay this young tenor to record.
Do you know what 100 pounds meant back then? That was roughly the salary of a respectable British craftsman for three whole years!
The reaction from the big bosses at headquarters was exactly as expected. They replied with a cold sentence: "Fee exorbitant, forbid recording." In the eyes of those men in suits looking at spreadsheets, spending three years' salary to record an unheard-of Italian? That was pure madness. It completely defied commercial logic and competitive analysis.
But Gaisberg didn't give up.
This is the part I find most "human." When the whole world uses data to tell you "no," are you willing to trust your own ears? Are you willing to believe that your emotion is real?
Gaisberg decided: "Fine, if the company won't pay, I will!" He bet his entire career, and perhaps his life savings, and paid that 100 pounds out of his own pocket. He took Caruso to a hotel room in Milan, set up the recording equipment he carried with him, and in just a few short hours, recorded ten arias.
History proved that this was not only the most successful investment in music history but also a "Big Bang" moment for human recording history.
Why Caruso? A Miracle of Physics and Biology
Why did it have to be Caruso? Why did other singers sound like mosquitoes when recorded, while he sounded like thunder?
I need to explain a tiny bit of technology here, but I promise even a 10-year-old can understand it.
1902 was the "Acoustic Recording Era." It was a time without electricity, microphones, or amplifiers. The recording process was extremely primitive, even a bit violent. Singers didn't whisper into a mic; they had to scream into a giant horn (funnel).
Sound travels by air vibration. The singer had to use their diaphragm and lung capacity to generate sound wave energy strong enough to rush into that funnel, push a tiny needle at the end of it, and physically carve grooves into a soft wax disc.
To put it simply, this wasn't singing; this was firing a "sound wave cannon."
Your body was the amplifier; your vocal cords were the microphone.
And Caruso was the "chosen one" for that era. Legend has it that when he sang at the Metropolitan Opera, his voice was loud enough to make the crystal chandelier on the ceiling resonate. While that might be a legend, it points to a fact: Caruso's voice had an astonishing physical penetrating power. His voice was thick enough, bright enough, and powerful enough to push that heavy stylus and leave a deep imprint on the record.
However, being loud alone isn't enough. If it were just about volume, you could just get a megaphone.
Luciano Pavarotti (1935-2007)—one of the later Three Tenors—once said: "Technically, I might be able to touch the edge of what Caruso did; but the emotional depth he poured into his singing is something I can never reach."
That is the key.
What made Caruso amazing was that he could produce a thunderous sound, yet instantly turn incredibly gentle. He wasn't defined as a "dramatic tenor" or a "lyric tenor"; he was a singer who "served the music."
In that era full of static noise and primitive equipment, Caruso's voice pierced through the physical limitations, carving that most authentic, burning emotion directly into the record.
From "Toy" to "Legend": The Birth of an Industry
Once these records recorded in a hotel room were released, the world changed.
Records, previously seen as toys, suddenly became sought-after items. People were amazed: "My God! Inside this black disc hides such a massive soul!" From then on, records were no longer an accessory to a machine; they became a carrier of art.
Because of these records, Caruso went from being a famous Italian singer to becoming the first "Global Superstar" in human history.
This even changed the way music spread. Before, if you wanted to hear opera, you had to fly to Italy and buy a ticket to the theater. But because of records, the emotion of music could cross borders and time. Like that Neapolitan folk song everyone knows, 'O sole mio—it was made famous by Caruso. This song, full of sunshine and passion, needed exactly that kind of direct, massive energy, perfectly matching the recording technology of the time.
That recording session in 1902 laid the foundation for the record industry for the next hundred years: finding good voices, investing resources to record them, and transmitting emotion through records.
Finally: Finding "Realness" in an Era of Runaway Technology
Writing this, I actually feel quite emotional.
We now live in an era where technology and data are running wild. Everything is becoming faster and more precise, but also increasingly like a "calculation." We are taught to compete, to win, to pursue efficiency.
But look back at that afternoon in Milan in 1902.
History wasn't created by precise calculations or headquarters' approval. It was created by a producer's insistence on "beauty" and a singer's unreserved vitality.
Fifteen years ago, I left academia and established "Gu Dian Le Cang."
What I wanted to do back then was to preserve these "lost historical ruins." When I play these recordings from a hundred years ago in the shop, I'm not just being nostalgic; I am engaging in a kind of "spiritual rehabilitation."
I want to invite everyone to occasionally turn off the switch in your brain, to stop those anxious calculation programs. Come here, open your ears, listen to Caruso, and listen to those voices—which, despite the static, are incredibly real.
You will discover that no matter how technology changes, the human desire to be understood, to feel warmth, and to pursue that "realness" hasn't changed in ten thousand years.
When we can rediscover that simple power in these ancient sounds, our hearts become free. We are no longer kidnapped by the anxiety of competition, but can return to our own lives and find our own rhythm and value.
This is the meaning of "Gu Dian's" existence.
Next time you're tired after work, why not come sit in the shop? We don't talk about big theories here; just let Caruso's singing massage your weary soul.
I wish everyone can find their own piece of tranquility amidst the noise.
Event Information
Event Name: [Gu Dian Historical Masterpieces Music Café No. 37] A Night of Fritz Kreisler's Concertos Time: Friday, January 16, 2026, 19:30 - 21:00 Location: Gu Dian Le Cang Capacity: Limited to 10 seats (Registration closes when full)
"Gu Dian Historical Masterpieces Music Café" is currently the only space in Taiwan that regularly hosts this kind of deep historical listening event.
(Registration link is in the comments)