Lyrichord Discs is one of America's oldest, most respected collections of humankind's musical traditions. Part of the collection includes field and studio recordings of spiritual, ceremonial, tribal and folk traditions collected since 1950. In addition, it contains rare instrumental and vocal recordings of Western classical music traditions. Lyrichord was founded in 1950 by Peter Fritsch (1919-2004). Fritsch was born in the small Austrian town of Zellamoss and came to America in the mid-1930s. After trying his hand at several occupations, Fritsch's love of music eventually drew him to the record business, and in the late 1940s, he became an executive at the Musicraft Records label in New York City. In 1950, he founded Lyrichord - a venture launched largely with the $10,000 prize money won in a jingle contest by his wife, Theresa, who worked at his side at Lyrichord for over 40 years.