Radio Moldova holds the country's largest media archive
Radio Moldova's archive is the oldest and most extensive media archive in Moldova. Its audio collection includes more than 128,000 recordings totalling over 380,000 hours. The earliest archived recording dates back to 1949 and features the song Of, leliță Mărioară, performed by Eugeniu Ureche.
Radio Moldova's archive is preserved on magnetic tapes, discs, cassettes, and vinyl records. It is managed by the Heritage editorial team, which has 11 specialists. Every year, the collection grows with new recordings that gradually become part of the broadcaster's historical archive.
"Some years we receive more musical works. In others, more radio programmes are added to the archive. Most of the musical recordings come from our own ensembles, primarily the Symphony Orchestra and the Moldova Choral Chapel," editor Victoria Radu said on Radio Moldova's Zi de Zi programme.
The national broadcaster's archive includes literary programmes and recordings of major events covered by Radio Moldova. It contains reports from the funerals of writer Vladimir Beșleagă and composer Eugen Doga, as well as recordings and statements from significant political events.
Archivist Tatiana Sinițina said all recordings on magnetic tape, cassettes, and CDs are catalogued by genre and identification number.
The Radio Moldova sound archive also preserves the voice of opera singer Maria Cebotari, as well as recordings of Maria Bieșu. According to journalist Daniela Gherman, the earliest recording in the collection is Strugurași de pe Colină, a song by Dumitru Gheorghiță with lyrics by Petru Zadnipru.
On June 9, the international community marks International Archives Day to highlight the importance of preserving archival collections. The observance was established in 2007 by the International Council on Archives (ICA). The date commemorates the creation of the ICA under the auspices of UNESCO on June 9, 1948.
Author: Valeria Cîrjeu, intern
