Dear MMD readers,  Thanks to Nicholas Simons for his useful and complete
advice to play the Tanzbär paper roll accordion (MMD 10.12.04).  It's
true that it is hard to play it correctly and, unless you play it every
day, it is painful for the right hand!

Nicholas mentioned the Hohner Magic Organa accordion and I would like
to add a little about this wonderful instrument, as it really is a love
affair for me.  That is why I am writing today.

The Magic Organa is an automatic chromatic accordion built by Hohner
of Trossingen, licensed by René Seybold who invented it.  It plays paper
rolls that are 11.5 cm wide, providing a gamma of 43 notes.  The rolls
play for up to four or five minutes!

I do not know if any other such pneumatic instrument that small was
ever built, playing so many notes on such a narrow strip that is 4
holes per cm [10.16 holes per inch].  With apologies to Sir Winston
Churchill, "Never was so much played by so little (paper) to so many
(notes)."

Most of the owners of Magic Organa accordions say that, of all the
mechanical instruments they play, it is the one that gives the greatest
pleasure.  Why?  Because while playing it you keep full control of
expression as you can choose the speed, loudness and strength.

I must confess that while playing the Magic Organa, I often forget I am
not able to play the accordion!  Yet this accordion is not easy to play.
It is hard to pull and push, and as with the Tanzbaer you have to
disassociate the rhythm of foot pumping from the music rhythm.  (Most
of the players use an electric pump as a seat to avoid this difficulty.)

And that's not all: the Magic Organa is heavy, rather scarce (so are the
rolls!), and it is complicated as it uses three sources of energy:

- a clockwork motor drive to pull the roll, but cleverly -- when you
rewind the roll you wind up the spring motor at the same time;

- foot pump or electrical pump for reading the music;

- strength of arms to produce music!

But anyway I love it and it is really worth it!  With 40 notes you can
play anything and the creator, René Seybold, also did a very good job
as a recorder of artists -- there are no bad rolls!  You might prefer
one or another but they are always well arranged.

So why is the Hohner Magic Organa so little known?  Did it arrive too
late (1930), with too little distribution?  I think it did not spread
much overseas but it is well-known in France and at least in Germany,
as René Seybold was an Alsacien living in Strasbourg.

I nearly forgot to say that three of the holes can be used to control
percussions: cymbal, bass drum and snare drum with reiterating beaters,
and that makes a complete show!

Want to see it?  Visit http://www.boite-accordeon.com/index2.html 
(go to Galerie), the web site of professional restorer Laurent Jarry,
showing pictures of the different instruments built by René Seybold
with his famous Accordéon-jazz -- nice pictures of the old time.

Want to hear it?  Visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWV7SHuM-Z0 
Here is a friend of mine playing the Magic Organa.  You can hear
"The Third Man" from the famous film of Carol Reed with Orson Welles
from 1949.  This is a recut roll as the Magic Organa was available
during the 1930s.  The accordion is in a good shape; as you see, it
is playing with a great economy of air!

If you want to know more or if you have to advise me, do not hesitate
to contact me.  I am looking for information about the Magic Organa or
other mechanical accordions such as

- the "concertion", an accordion with pinned cylinder, seen in
"Automates et instruments de musique mécaniques" by Weiss-Stauffacher
or in "Les instruments de Musique Mécanique" by A. Buchner.

- A bandoneon with an unknown name that I saw once at a market
(but I didn't decide to buy it quickly enough!) playing discs directly
operated by the end of the fingers on the right hand, without a motor?!
Was it a unique work?

Do you think Santa Claus uses a real accordion or one of those?
Santa Claus can't be the cheater that we are, can he?  Otherwise
I would prefer him not to exist...

Merry Christmas to all of you!

Jean Nimal (France)

 [ Jean says he learned the Churchill quotation about the Battle of
 [ England, "Never was so much owed by so many to so few," when he
 [ studied English in school, since it illustrates "few, much, many."
 [
 [ As portrayed in the Coca-Cola adverts of the 1930s, Santa Claus is
 [ quite rotund and so I think he would play a 20-key belly organ!  ;-)
 [ -- Editor (Robbie)