Fairground organ
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Image:Berger-markt-nacht002.jpgA fairground organ is a pipe organ which is not played from a keyboard, but rather by mechanical means such as Music roll or Book music, and designed to be used on a fairground. In the US fairground organs are called Band organs.
Fairgound organs were popular as a means of playing music for a large number of people before the invention of devices for recording sound. They were most popular in Europe around the end of 19th and beginning of the 20th century.
Fairground organs are sometimes referred to as a Hurdy gurdy. This is incorrect, since a Hurdy Gurdy is a manually played string instrument. The Hurdy Gurdy involves turning a handle, and some people assume an association with mechanical organs, as some early organs and street organs were (and some still are) hand-turned.
Historically these organs have been found travelling with fairs, often powered by a Showman's engine. Medium sized organs were often used in the centre of rides such as the carousel. The largest instruments were used to front the Bioscope shows, an early form of travelling cinema.
More recently they can be found at outdoor events such as fetes or steam rallies. There are numerous websites devoted to the preservation of the machines and music of the music machines. One of the best is WWW.BANDORGANMUSIC.COM, which features histories and music of the fair and band organs.
A permanent collection is housed at Thursford in Norfolk.
Also other interesting collections to visit are:
St. Albans Organ Theatre (C.H. Hart collection) www.stalbansorganmuseum.org.uk/
Amersham Fair Organ Museum (Teddy Reed collection) www.silcocks.com/links-other/teddy-reed.htm
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[edit] Operation
Early organs were primitive, with only a few pipes and rarely with percussion, the pinned barrels were expensive and had limited tunes.
The adaptation of the 'cardboard book system' by Alphonse Gavioli greatly improved the organs' size, performance and provision of music. Alphonse Gavioli is among the most famous mechanical organ builders and has built many instruments in their factory in Paris. A reasonable number of these instruments survive today, the majority of them in Europe.
Most organs are operated by cardboard 'books' or paper rolls. These are read through a 'keyframe' or 'tracker bar' using rollers operated by a motor or wheels and a belt connected to the main drive. The 'books' and the 'rolls' have holes in them, with the books usually having square holes and paper rolls having round holes. The holes in the music pass over holes in the keyframe/trackerbar and thus operate the organ using a mechanism. Most organs are 'keyed' or 'keyless', the 'keyed' organs have sprung metal keys that are pushed through the holes in the music. The 'keyless' system has no keys, instead air pressure compensates the action of the keys. The keyless method has been popular because wear on the cardboard books is greatly reduced. Books used on the 'keyed' system are toughened with 'shellac' (as used to harden piano hammers), and this helps resist wear from the metal keys.
All the pipes are glued in drilled holes on top of the 'windchest'. This is an area where air is under pressure before being sent to the appropriate pipes. Air is let into the pipes by a small leather mechanism that fills with air and opens a valve. Percussion is operated by sprung pneumatic motors that fill with air and then released. This motion can be used in many ways to operate drums and other instruments using 'striking'. These pneumatic motors have their own supply of air and valves.
[edit] Modernization
A recent trend is adding an electronic MIDI control interface in addition to or instead of the traditional roll or book system. This makes operation easier because it shifts the storage medium to disks or a computer, and eliminates the problem of wear on the books or rolls. An additional advantage is that music can be created or copied for the instrument without punching holes in the medium.
[edit] Builders
A non exhaustive list of builders, past & present, categorised by the type of organs they built/build;
+ company still operatinging/new company - defunct company
Fairground organ builders:
- Gavioli & Co. (Paris, France) -
- CH. Marenghi (Paris, France) -
- A. Ruth & Son (Waldkirch, Germany)-
- Louis Hooghuys (Grammont, Belgium)-
- Wilhelm Bruder (Waldkirch, Germany)
- Alfred Bruder (Waldkirch, Germany)
- Gebr. Bruder (Waldkirch, Germany)
- Limonaire (Paris, France)-
- Gaudin -
- Chiappa (London, England)+
- Dean organs (Bristol, England)+
- J.Page (London, England)+
- J.Verbeeck (St Job, Belgium)+
Street organ builders:
- G.Perlee (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
- Koenigsberg (Netherlands)
- F.Krull (Netherlands)+
- A.Pell (Spalding, England)+
- Heesbeen (Netherlands)+
- J.Verbeeck (St Job, Belgium)+
Dance organ builders:
- T.H. Mortier (Belgium)
It is believed that the Decap & Mortier families have an early connection.
- Fr. Decap (Antwerp, Belgium)-
- Gebr. Decap (Antwerp, Belgium)+
- Gaudin
- A.Pell (England) - they are starting a new line of dance organs.
[edit] Societies
The Fair Organ Preservation Society (FOPS) www.fops.org
The Mechanical Organ Owners Society (MOOS) www.moos.org.uk
The Australian Mechanical Organ Society (AMOS) homepage.mac.com/ozorgans/
Automatic Music Collectors Association (AMICA) www.amica.org
(added so far)
[edit] Online Discussion Forum
There is an increasingly popular online forum called iMOD (Independant Mechanical Organ Discussion). Here you can discuss organs and ask questions, there is also a photo gallery and event diary.
www.fairgroundorgan.com/forum
[edit] References
Bopp, Ron: The American Carousel Organ: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Grove, OK: Ron Bopp, 1998.
Bowers, Q. David: The Encyclopedia of Automatic Musical Instruments. Vestal, NY: Vestal Press, 1972.
Reblitz, Arthur A.: The Golden Age of Automatic Musical Instruments. Woodsville, NH: Mechanical Music Press, 2001.
Reblitz, Arthur A. and Bowers, Q. David: Treasures of Mechanical Music. Vestal, NY: Vestal Press, 1981.
Cockane, Eric V. "THE FAIR ORGAN - HOW IT WORKS" (UK) published by The Fair Organ Preservation Society
