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MMD > Archives > February 1999 > 1999.02.15 > 03Prev  Next


Verbeeck Street Organ "Australia Fair"
By A. B. Bonds

Having conquered most of my jet lag, I found the info sheet on Australia
Fair, the 74-key Verbeeck street organ spied in Hobart, Tasmania.  It
was completed in late 1992 and has 442 pipes.  It rides on a trailer, is
4 m high x 6 m wide x 1.5 m deep and weighs 2.5 ton(ne)s.  In addition
to pipes has 24-note glock, snare, cymbal, wood block and bass drum.
The ranks include:

  Melody:  Violin, bourdon flute, harmonic flute, undamaris,
    trumpet, mixture and glockenspiel
  Counter melody: Celeste, cello, bass cello, baritone
  Accompaniment:  Bourdon, flute, violin, cello
  Bass:  16', 8', 8' violine, 16' trombone

Except for one rank of trumpets, all pipes are wooden.

The elaborately decorated case was erected in Australia.  It has two
lady "conductors" whose batons ring bells.  The approximate cost was
200,000 USD.

The owner has pulled this wonderful artifact all over Australia over the
past seven years, averaging 30,000 km per year.

There are five CD's/tapes available, with music of all sorts appropriate
to a proper street organ.  I have listened to two of them, and they are
quite well recorded, though the tempo of disk 1 ("In the Mood", big band
stuff for the most part) seems a bit breathless.

Contact is

  Organ on the Move,
  47 Cowles Road,
  Mosman 2088 Australia,
  tel: (02) 9969 7462, fax: (02) 9969 4201.
  E-mail: streetorgan@ozemail.com.au

A. B. Bonds


(Message sent Mon 15 Feb 1999, 15:47:02 GMT, from time zone GMT-0600.)

Key Words in Subject:  Australia, Fair, Organ, Street, Verbeeck

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