What organ music are you listening to right now?

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I have really been enjoying my CDs of Dave Wasson's "Trudy." I have particularly liked his Carl King arrangements, as well as several of his "classical" pieces. i.e The Marriage of Figaro overature. As far as I know the only way to get them is to buy them from him. I bought mine at rallys this year. "Trudy" was designed and built by Dave and he does all the arranging and punching himself. He does use MIDI for editing and punching, but plays from paper rolls. Although he is currently President of COAA, he says that he has no nostalgia about carousel or fairground organs. He built his own because he enjoys arranging band music. There is a clip of Trudy on YouTube at http://youtube.com/watch?v=o-huUEKJjmY The description says "Amaizing music machine from 19th century " but it is very much a 21st Century band organ. There is a good picture of the pipework at http://www.pipeorgan.org/gallery/2005-6/DSC01675

Ontario Beach Park's (Rochester, NY) Stinson 165 playing "Yes, We Have No Bananas". Next is "Beside A Babbling Brook".

The Carrousel Music Wurlitzer 153 playing the Blue Danube waltz. Next is "Sweet Rosie O'Grady".

Same organ playing "Over The Waves". In my opinion, this is the best arrangement of it.

I’m presently listening to “Washington Greys” on “De Kluisburg”, a march composed by Claudio Grafulla in 1861. Interesting to note that every mechanical organ book I’ve ever heard of this march contains the same mistake. Roughly 3 mins into the piece on most versions there’s a bar which before leading into the final phrase of the march repeats four times. The longest (and highest) note lasts for approx three beats of each bar after the ‘run up’ of 6 notes each time, and is a little shorter on the fourth repeat. In all the organ versions I’ve heard this note is the same on all four repeats, whereas the brass band version has it a semitone lower the first three times, which really give a lot more ‘colour’ and flavour to the music. It could of course be that the band music I’ve heard (and played during my Ludlow Town brass banding days) was ‘wrong’. However I suspect that perhaps the piece of music was made for a non-chromatic organ and hence a comprise made here, which has stuck over the years. Do American band organ arrangements e.g. Wurlitzers have all four notes the same. If you hadn’t heard the band version before you’d swear that the organ version was correct; but hearing the former you realise what a glaring error this part is if the same note on all four repetitions.

These compromises were, and still done all the time. When faced with the limited scales of the organs the arrangers went to the next note up, or down, or sometimes just repeated it, in comparison with the original score. For instance, compare "Robinsons's Grand Entry" as played by a brass band, a Wurlitzer 153, a Gebruder Bruder 107, and so forth on up. While each arrangement is easily recoginizable as Robinson's Grand Entry, you can detect where the arranger had to deviate from the original score in order for it to fit the organs scale. While the Wurlitzer and the Bruder are similar in size as far as number of pipes, the scales are sufficiently different that the end result can be very different. I'm acquainted with a gentlemen who has arranged music for both Wurlitzer band organs, and for various European organs. I can recognize his arranging style by listening to it, but the organ itself puts it's two bits in. Is one better than another? I like them all. Each has it's own charm that brings that particular piece to life.

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What a varied list! Makes me drool just imaging the sounds :lol: I had the good fortune to visit Sydney last month mainly to go to a private viewing of Craig Robson's Fairground Follies - a private museum, rarely open but the individual instruments get out and about. The Mortier Taj Mahal just returned from a prolonged stint at Sydney's Luna Park and was sounding just fabulous. I heard her some years back just after Craig had her all put back together from her trip to Oz and time and effort has been repaid. So far there's no CD of Taj in her present (and most complete) guise but what's playing on iTunes as I type is a digitised version of the Taj recorded in California. All of us in the Australian Mechanical Organ Society who went to Craig's are suffering from "Taj mania" even though his many other organs looked and sounded wonderful. <quote>The Calife of Bagdad, La Vie Parisienne and Coppelia on this mystery "Gavioli", I just can't get in the car without listening to it!<quote> Now I've been fortunate to play these luscious pieces in another lifetime when I twiddled a clarinet in a civilian military band. On a suitable organ, they'd be just as delightful. Best regards Elaine

The 100-key Wurlitzer Style 155 "Monster" at the Kit Carson County (Colorado) carousel playing "Royal Trumpeters". What a great way to start a recording! The bell rings, then the organ fires up and you hear the bellows pump for a good 5-10 seconds before the trumpets blast the fanfare starting this great march. Up next is "Coppelia"

I've been listeing to The World Of Mechanical Organs on CD,I used to have the LP which I cleaned up some of the noise off and transfered it on to CD so I can listen to it. The LP is now in an chairty shop in Nottingham.

The "Carrousel Music" W153 playing "Officer of the Day". Up next is the Blue Danube waltz.

The Roehl's W146 playing "The Merrimac" by Al. Hayes, from 6 tune march roll #13250 Edit: Changed "rolls" :P Same organ playing "Mighty lak' a Rose"

I've been listening to: The Whites Mammoth Gavioli,89 key Leach & Overington & the 112 key Marenghi/Carl Frei at the organ museum in Holland. Ben :D

Seabreeze Park's old W165 playing "My old Hawaiian Home". Next is "Say it While Dancing".

The late Ken Smith's replica Waldkirch style G4 Gavioli playing "Wine, Women, and Song". It has a beautiful sound and the bass trombones sound like real tubas! Next up is his freelanced 63 key Ruth playing "Harlekino". This one has a loud and penetrating tone.

Thanks, John, for mentioning the late Ken Smith. I well remember the hospitality he offered myself back in 1985 at his home, when he allowed me to record both these organs. The questions which come next are: where are the organs now, and who owns them? Regards, John

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