This is a review of a new pair of sound recordings just issued this
weekend by Ted Brown, past president of Musical Box Society of Great
Britain, 'Sounds from the Past No. 1' is entitled 'Strings' and No. 2
is 'Reed Organs, Musical Boxes and More Piano Recordings'.

The recordings were professionally recorded and produced and have over
70 minutes of automatic self-playing musical instruments on each disc.

On CD No. 1, 'Strings', many of the instruments will be well-known
and include a George Hicks Barrel Piano from the 1820's; a Faventia
miniature street barrel piano from the 1960's with percussion; a
Chiappa 48-note clockwork barrel piano; a Racca Piano Melodico of 73
notes, the largest model made playing cardboard book music with full
expression; a Steck Duo-Art reproducing Player Piano and a Triola 25
note roll playing zither.

The Triola is particularly unusual as the roll only plays the 25 melody
notes and the operator plucks the six chords containing a further 24
strings, with the left hand according to instructions written on the
roll.  This is an easy task, just like patting your head and rubbing
your tummy at the same time, but you have to keep perfect time...

On CD No. 2 we hear a Cabinetto 25-note paper roll Organette; an
Ariston organette, made in Germany, playing card discs on single
pressure reeds; an Ariosa German organette playing metal doughnut rings
with double steel reeds tuned celeste like an accordion; a Celestina
20- note paper roll Organette; An Aeolian Orchestrelle 58 note roll
playing reed organ, model "V" which cost more than a house when new;
a Regina 15-1/2" double-comb table-top disc musical box; a Polyphon
15-1/2" upright coin-in-the-slot model and a few more tunes from the
Racca piano and the Steck "Pianola" piano.

This would make an ideal birthday or Christmas present for any reader,
or a family friend or visitor, as not only are some of the most popular
types of instrument heard, but also some of the rarer ones.  There are
a total of 47 tracks across the two recordings in this set which
include Ave Maria (Schubert), O Sole Mio, Santa Lucia, Jigs and
Hornpipes, Ask a Policeman, Daisy Bell, Goodnight Ladies, Serenata
Napolitana, Ritual Fire Dance, three piano pieces by Chopin, three
by George Gershwin including the full version of Rhapsody in Blue;
Paderewski playing his own composition Minuet, Lily of Laguna, Irish
Jig, After the Ball, Vilja, William Tell Overture, Ave Maria (Gounod),
Daybreak, American Fantasy, Tommies Patrol, Pathetique Sonata by
Beethoven, Canon, Policeman's song, The Honeymoon March,
Tritsch-Tratsch Polka, Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 and many others.

The Racca Piano is a favourite of mine, (after the Orchestrelle of
course), and sounds just as it does in real life with one exception.
At the Victorian Music Room there is a suspended wooden floor and the
sound of the machine which re-iterates every note played can be felt
very much vibrating through the floor.  No matter how loud I turned my
recordings I could not get the concrete floor in my house to vibrate!
I did not notice any unwanted mechanical sounds on any of the tracks
except the coin operation of those instruments.

I certainly hope there will be a lot more recordings to follow from
this wonderful collection; to quote the sleeve, "The recording has
been produced to show some of the many varied sounds and arrangements
obtained from self-playing instruments".

These recordings are available as a pair only from me at £20 + P&P
as Mr. Brown is not Internet connected.

Kevin McElhone
Northampton, England