five old records from the parlour cabinet, labels and all
The cabinet holds the game’s period recordings: five actual 78 rpm records, found in the attic, in Pettigrew’s occasional stock or in the post from a housemate. Their labels are their credits. Sweet Street also lets three cleared modern performances drift quietly through the party wall; those are ambience, never passed off as old records, and they are listed separately below.
found: through the party wall from No. 3 — the street’s own waltz, most evenings
found: in the post from a housemate — a whole chorus singing in the next room
found: in the attic, the day you moved in — bright brass, dedicated to the King himself
found: in the post from a housemate — the other great Lehár waltz, a full band at its richest
found: Pettigrew’s occasional stock — for playing close up in the parlour, never through the wall
All five recordings were published before 1923 and are in the public domain in the United States and the United Kingdom, recordings and compositions both. The transfers come from the Great 78 Project (the Internet Archive with George Blood L.P.), from the UCSB Cylinder Audio Archive’s Edison transfers, and from independent collections on archive.org. Credit is not required; it is given here with thanks. More records join the cabinet as each one is cleared.
Three further pieces in the game are not 78s and are not presented as any such thing: they are modern concert recordings of compositions old enough for Sweet Street, released rights-free by Musopen. They drift through the party wall as ambience — and the Chopin is the night music, someone downstairs still up, playing quietly.
| Morning Mood | Edvard Grieg (1843–1907) · performed by the Musopen Symphony, recorded 2012 · public domain release |
|---|---|
| Romanza, Op. 51 | Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904) · performed by the Musopen String Quartet, recorded 2012 · public domain release |
| Nocturne, Op. 55 No. 2 | Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849) · a Musopen recording, 2013 · CC0 release |