As you will see from the critical reviews on this website, Immortal Performances Recorded Music Archive (IPRMS) is currently putting out some of the best sounding CDs of historic operatic and symphonic performances available anywhere in the world. They include the advanced restoration techniques of the IPRMS sound engineer, Richard Caniell. As a charitable organization, Immortal Performance functions on a nonprofit basis. The project has used almost exclusively volunteer labour from the beginning 30 years ago, to the present time.

Although the market for historic performances is rising and spreading to young people, it will never constitute a large percentage of music lovers. That means that the lavish effort that goes into each release and booklet can never be repaid by sales of the CDs, especially because it is Immortal Performances’ goal to make the restorations available at an affordable price. But the struggle for Immortal Performances to survive on the market has been made much more difficult because of competition by producers who saturate the market with CDs produced with a quick and careless approach and poor sound standards.

Charitable donations have always been needed to enable Immortal Performances to operate, but this is especially so at the present time. The sound engineer and his team are at the height of their productive capacities, releasing CDs that represent the pinnacle of Mr. Caniell’s 30 years of experience. While restoration work continues at an intense pace, production is being severely constrained by a lack of funding — so much so that it is questionable how much longer production can continue without a significant increase in donations.

Mr. Caniell is one of the very few restoration artists alive today who approach the sound problems of historic recordings with all the care, meticulous patience and skill of archeologists uncovering ancient treasures layer by layer. Many weeks or months are poured into each restoration, making every release a new creation. There are many more treasures in the archive that could be restored and released to the world, but time is short! While advancing age and health problems are now limiting the work capacity of various members of the team, the Society has also lost a huge amount of production time over the last few years due to skilled, experienced volunteer staff having to earn their living elsewhere and do archive work late at night and on weekends. The aim of restoring as many of the archive treasures as possible and making them publicly available now depends upon hiring some production staff, as well as being able to meet constantly increasing production costs.

Fortunately, IPRMS is a charitable organization, authorized to give a tax receipt for donations. (Outside of Canada we can only provide tax receipts for income tax purposes for the U.S. if the contribution is a minimum of $1000 (the funds can then be transferred through the Tides foundation). Please inquire with us for more details. By making a donation, you can have a very direct influence on the number of restorations that the Society can give to the world. Even the smallest donations can make a big difference when added to others, and are very much appreciated. But at the same time, large donations are desperately needed to increase our work capacity to enable the release of the wealth of music treasures currently on hold.

Immortal Performances has made a significant contribution to the availability and quality of an important part of the world’s musical heritage. If the work of Wagner, Verdi, Beethoven, Brahms and many other composers has meant something to you, this funding crisis is a key opportunity for you to make a donation and become part of the chain that passes on these great works in an improved condition, in a form that respects and truly conveys the greatness of this heritage.