This page is to discuss compositions by Kelar-Bela called "Lustspiel Ouvertuere" (Comedy Overture) and including "Ungarische Lustspiel Ouvertuere" (Hungarian Comedy Overture).

Christofer Nöring's published manuscripts all bear the title "Lustspiel-Ouvertuere, Opus 73".  Therefore the other work, heard played by the 38er Voigt organ, is possibly "Ungarishe Lustspiel-Ouvertuere, Opus 108".

See also Unknown Overture heard on 38er Voigt Concert Organ -- by William Griswold Jr. (031002 MMDigest)

MP3 audio files:

1.  38er Voight Concert Organ, courtesy William Griswold Jr. (031002 MMDigest)
1.0  griswold_38voigt0.mp3  (8,349 kb) plays 8:54 complete song
1.1  griswold_38voigt1.mp3     (834 kb) plays 2:22 moderato theme mf & ff, finale galop
1.2  griswold_38voigt2.mp3     (150 kb) plays 0:25 moderato theme mf
1.3  griswold_38voigt3.mp3     (  70 kb) plays 0:11 galop extract

2. 48-key organ arrangement by Melvyn Wright (031009 MMDigest)
2.0  mwright_comedy.mp3 (1,802 kb) plays 5:07

3. organ arrangement by Johan Liljencrants, adapted from piano 4-hands version
3.0 johan_keler956.mp3 (2,187 kb) plays 5:19

MIDI sequencer files:

3.  Piano 4-hands arrangement, sequenced by Christofer Nöring (031009 MMDigest)
3.0  cnoering_Lustspiel_Op73.mid (52 kb) plays 5:46
3.1 johan_kelerb3a.mid (44 kb) plays 5:15 adaptation by Johan Liljencrants

#2 and #3 are the same tune, #1 is a different tune.

Sun, 2 Nov 2003 23:23:54 +0100
rev. Tue, 18 Nov 2003 22:24:54 +0100

Dear Robbie,  After some research I found:

The Hungarian composer Keler Bela, (with original hungarian accents: Kéler Béla) was born in 1820.II.13 in Bártfa (Nord Hungary, today Slowakia)
died in 1882.XI.20. in Wiesbaden (Germany).  He was a violinist at the Theater an der Wien 1845-1854, 1855-1860, military conductor, 1861-1863 he lived in Pest, then until 1866 in Wiesbaden. After 1872 he was an independent conductor, and gave concerts (only his own works!) in London (1874), Manchester, Berlin, Munich (1875), Zürich and Luzern.

His ouverture compositions, from the original catalogue of his publisher, C.F.W. Siegel, Leipzig:

Op.   73  Lustspiel-Ouverture (Es dur)   [Comedy Overture, E-flat major)
Op.   74  Ouverture comique (B dur)   [Comic Overture, B-flat major]
Op.   75  Ouverture romantique (E dur)   [Romantic Overture, E major (also for military band in E-flat major)]
Op.   76  Rákóczy-0uverture (F moll)   [Rakoczy Overture, F minor]
Op.   95  Tempelweihe Festouverture (C moll)   [Tempelweihe (Holy Temple) Festival Overture, C minor]
Op. 108  Ungarische Lustspiel-Ouverture (A dur)   [Hungarian Comedy Overture, A major]
Op. 111  Französische Lustspiel-Ouverture (Es dur)   [French Comedy Overture, E-flat major]
Op. 131  Italianische Schauspiel-Ouverture (E dur)   [Italian Pageant Overture, E major]
Op. 132  Jubiläumsfeier. Fest-Ouverture (Es dur)   [Anniversary Celebration Festival Overture, E-flat major]
Op. 136  Ungarische Konzert-Ouverture (F moll)   [Hungarian Concert Overture, F minor]
Op. 137  Spanische Lustspiel-Ouverture (A moll)   [Spanish Comedy Overture, A minor]
Op. 139  Csokonai Ouverture (D moll)   [Csokonai Overture, D minor]

These are separate pieces.  These original printed scores are preserved in the Library of the Hungarian Academy of Music.  I don't know about manuscripts of Kéler Béla, that needs more research.

Best wishes, üdvözlettel, e-musically,

Janos Macsai
Mácsai János <macsaijanos@axelero.hu>

Janos is a musicologist and a professional piano restaurateur at the Institute of Musical Sciences of the Hungarian Academy of Science, Budapest, Hungary.  He kindly provied the incipits below which are photocopies of the first edition of the piano 2-hands musical scores published by C.F.W. Siegel's Musikalienhandlung, Leipzig.

Overturen_von_Keler_Bela.jpg (356 kb)  Image of catalog page