"THE PIANOLA NEWS" —
Sunday: January 25, 1998 - Vol. I, No. 3
[Updated Weekly]
Since the PIANOLA (a.k.a. Player-Piano and 'Reproducing' Piano) is a mechanical-pneumatic
musical instrument — often electrically-pumped in the expression player models
— one would not expect there would be much cross-pollination with electronic
musical instruments, such as the Hammond Organ™, the Solovox™ or the modern
synthesizer.
There have been uneasy relationships between the fields of "electronic"
and "mechanical" music, but many of these were short lived. Steinway Hall
tried, for a time, the retailing of Hammond Organs in the 'Thirties — but it didn't
last. There were the odd console pianos by Story & Clark and Janssen called 'Organos'
… combining the acoustic pianoforte with vacuum tube electronic organs; these were
offered in the 'Fifties. Pianos with radio amplification and phonograph units built
into them have been offered in the recent past ... and Janssen once sold an upright
Secretary combining a limited-scale 'Recordo'-style expression player, a desk, bookshelf
and radio. Earlier, at the start of the Great Depression, the Kohler Company built
a few Welte-Mignon (Licensee) keyboardless pianos with electric radios and phonographs,
looking something like an ultra-heavy Capehart™ record changer (for those of us old
enough to recall 78's being shifted and flipped about in solidly-built cabintry).
Enter
the THEREMIN — the first "electronic" musical instrument, ancestor
of many later developments which led up to the modern synthesizers. We'll let the
Britannica CD define this unique invention:
**********************************************************************************************
THEREMIN,
also called THEREMINVOX, or ETHEROPHONE, electronic musical instrument invented
in 1920 in the Soviet Union by Leon Theremin (also called Lev Termen). It consists
of a box with radio tubes producing oscillations at two sound-wave frequencies above
the range of hearing; together, they produce a lower audible frequency equal to the
difference in their rates of vibration. Pitch is controlled by moving the hand or
a baton toward or away from an antenna at the right rear of the box. This movement
alters one of the inaudible frequencies. Harmonics, or component tones, of the sound
can be filtered out, allowing production of several tone colours over a range of
six octaves.
**********************************************************************************************
At
the end of the 'Twenties, when the Radio Corporation of America used Aeolian Hall
as their quarters (prior to the completion of Radio City at Rockefeller Center in
1931), the young radio company joined with inventor Theremin and decided to produce
a commercial version of the instrument. This was the RCA #1264, offered from 1929
through the early 'Thirties ... and it received only marginal success with the general
public. On the vaudeville stage and on (live) radio programs it found a ready but
short-lived market, however — as a performance instrument. RCA farmed-out
the electronic components to General Electric and Westinghouse, while the odd-looking
"lectern"-style cabinet came from the Jamestown Mantel Company in upstate
New York.
While only 500 hundred models were supposedly built for RCA —
with 485 actually being sold in those Depression days — it's interesting to
note that The Aeolian Company also got involved with this "new
music" trend. The ARTCRAFT Studio has Model #503 ... a few serial numbers higher
than the Radio Coporation of America records indicate, and the instrument has a decal
designating it as an Aeolian-RCA product. (Aeolian Hall in New York City used
one of their Player-Piano labels for the Theremin pedigree!) Whether this particular
Theremin was made 'after' the RCA advertising campaign ... as a demonstration instrument
for use with the Duo-Art 'reproducing' pianos at Aeolian Hall ... or as a special-order
product, nobody knows today. Outside of the decal, it's a stock Model "AR #1264"
instrument, with the same features as the model marketed briefly by RCA.
We
interrupt this narrative to suggest that those interested in the fascinating history
of the Theremin (and its recent revival) check out The Theremin Home Page,
created by Jason Blue Barile. Here, you will find all sorts of information and features,
including a Registry of existing RCA #1264's ... and photographs of the surviving
historic models. Here's the Internet address: http://www.Nashville.Net/~theremin/
(It's worth a visit, and you'll be there a long time if you sample all the Theremin
resources!) There's also a daily newsletter called the LEVNET Digest,
named for the inventor ... and you can subscribe by writing to the Editor, David
Ball — c/o this E-Mail address: dball@esper.com [LEVNET Digest is not "monitored",
something that ARTCRAFT finds refreshing when compared to journals for the Pianola
sphere. Of course, words such as "edited" and "reviewed" are
used instead of the real word: censorship. Unvarnished Internet communications,
such as LEVNET Digest provides, have their ups and downs, but maintain a vitality
which the "monitored" equivalents do not, filtration being the great leveler.
We mention this for those used to the tranquil, often comatose publications for the
Player-Piano field.]
Aeolian-RCA Theremin #503 was used at The Musical
Wonder House by Mr. Henderson, playing duets with the Steinway "AR" Duo-Art
grand piano ... and featuring special accompaniment rolls made for the purpose. These
custom-made rolls for Guided Tours were inspired by the RCA-Victor 78's of the period,
all of which featured salon orchestra — OR — pianoforte accompaniment.
The old 'Orthophonic' recordings presented contemporary ballad tunes, and so music
such as PAGAN LOVE SONG was performed at the museum in that long-ago period
called "The 'Sixties". As with Aeolian Hall in the late 'Twenties, there
was a Player-Piano connection between the two types of instruments!
Time marches
on. The other day the latest QRS Player Roll Catalogue [1997-1998] arrived, featuring
on page 70 ... guess what? A Theremin advertisement, with the implication
that it could be used in connection with player roll performances! History repeats
itself for a third time! (Note: You can obtain a catalogue from QRS Music
Inc., at 1026 Niagara Street, Buffalo NY 14213.)
Perhaps the reason why
the PIANOLA and the THEREMIN joined hands at several points in history
was due to the fact that they were both promoted in the same manner. "Anyone
can play it" was the old Player-Piano catch-phrase. RCA said in 1929: "An
absolutely new unique musical instrument anyone can play — not a radio, not a phonograph
... not like anything you have ever heard or seen" . QRS says in 1998: "Instructions
are included...so that you can master the basic moves. Once you've mastered the basics,
you can develop your own style." It helps to "read rolls" and "know
musical structure" when playing the Player-Piano. It helps if you are already
a violinist or a 'cellist when learning the Theremin.
And what of Aeolian-RCA
#503? Mr. Henderson got re-interested in the instrument when, by chance, the First
Theremin Festival was held in Portland, ME (of all places!) from June 16-21, 1997,
under the auspices of Olivia Mattis. Among the speakers at the Theremin Symposium
on the 21st were Robert Moog (who started the revival of the instrument), Albert
Glinsky (who has a forthcoming book called Out of Thin Air: Theremin and
the Age of Ether), Dennis James (known for this theatre organ performances) and
Lydia Kavina — Leon Theremin's last protégée and an absolute wizard on the instrument!
Ms. Kavina's peformances of Gershwin's SUMMERTIME and Kern's SMOKE GETS
IN YOUR EYES rank high in the memories of those who witnessed her stellar interpretations
on the Theremin.
One of the highlights at the Theremin Festival was discovering
Reid Welch from Florida ... who has devoted so much study to the electronic instrument,
that one is amazed whenever he posts an historical or technical text in the LEVNET
Digest. Currently, he's working on the transformer of old #503 which went silent
after several decades of storage. If you own an antique Theremin or know of someone
interested in having their instrument restored, here's his Internet addresss: rewelch@earthlink.net
(As you can guess, Theremin experts are hard to find these days!) Reid is part of
the movement within the Theremin community aiming to recreate the "original
sound" of the instruments, as they had with vacuum tubes. He, like ARTCRAFT,
believes that the instrument is at its best playing MELODIES rather than being used
for sound-effects. The Theremin, of course, can be coaxed into electronic burps and
noises for rock bands and horror movies ... and has. The schism in the Theremin revival
parallels the current one for player piano instruments: tubes vs. transistors [plus
the musical content or lack thereof] ... and ... Pianola pneumatics
vs. computer-operated solenoids for electronic player actions.
We, who lean
toward MELODY — wish the "return to good music" Thereminists the best of
success. Meanwhile, it might not be long before the old Aeolian-RCA model joins forces
with the pneumatic instruments in Maine, thereby continuing an seemingly odd musical
partnership. If you have ever heard the old 78's from the late 'Twenties and early
'Thirties, some featuring the inventor as the soloist, then you can imagine the eerie
and 'cello-like tone which is possible with the instrument. We also recommend the
virtuoso recording, now on CD, featuring Clara Rockmore playing her Theremin. (Mrs.
Rockmore, by the way, was the sister of Nadia Reisenberg, whose name appears on Aeolian's
Duo-Art roll labels. It's a small world in music, isn't it?)
We've all seen the scenario: The Player-Piano (or 'Reproducing' Piano) owner inserts
the roll …stares at the Tempo Number stamped on the leader … slowly, carefully sets
this Number as indicated … and then starts the music, without ever recalibrating
the paper travel speed again.
The first minute to a minute-and-a-half
of the Pianola performance is pleasant. Those who have a sense of metre in their
psyche begin to wish that the Tempo had been set a bit lower about the time that
the second minute arrives. Performing musicians and concert pianists start getting
anxious over the "creeping accelerando" (roll speed-up) by two-and-a-half
minutes. Finally, anyone who REALLY LISTENS to the music knows that
something is WRONG — and reaches out to readjust the Tempo Lever, or considers leaving
the room where the instrument is located.
Stereo Review magazine wrote
a number of years ago, when a letter to the Editor complained about Gershwin's RHAPSODY
IN BLUE racing along (on an LP record of the time), "The tempo on player-pianos
is the same as it is on phonograph records: 33, 45 and 78 … and the rolls were recorded
by following the EXACT tempo indicated on each one."
Exact Tempo? Player-Pianos
have no capstan as do tape recorders; these assure a constant linear speed for the
recorded material. Turntables for LP's can be checked with strobe attachments for
a correct speed. Music rolls are something else: the paper thickness and spoolbox
braking systems differ, causing the "paper build-up" on the lower spool
to vary, even with repeated plays on the same instrument! The diameter of the take-up
spool was never standardized, and some designs — such as the Janssen 'Palestrina'
or the Christman 'Attachable' — had spools with smaller-than-normal diameters …
and these instruments 'forced' the Pianolist to readjust the Tempo control every
15 seconds, following the first minute of performance!
This means,
of course, that no musical person can walk away from an electric expression player,
such as the Duo-Art, and consider that they are hearing a 'recorded' performance
— if they really listen to the musical results.
As the vacuum fluctuates
during a Player-Piano's rendition of the perforated roll, there's an added "braking
effect" at the end of many long arrangements. This happens when the pneumatic
stack is running at FULL POWER, which is often the case for a musical finale. Added
'friction' occurs as the paper passes over the tracker bar, slowing down — and
often stalling — the perforated roll.
While the Tempo Lever is part of
the accenting operation for pedal players, its dual function for speed recalibration
exists on all models, including the electrically-pumped 'reproducing' actions.
The
ARTCRAFT Studio uses an old spring-wound Seth Thomas™ metronome for the Interpretive
Arranging process, as well as for many "verification" activities, which
include checking the tempo norm on an audio recording and matching the playback of
a 'test strip' against the Master Roll. After over four decades of roll-making experience,
Mr. Henderson finds it difficult to accept it when someone says "That's the
way Ferruccio Busoni played LA CAMPANELLA." A good listener has the metronome
running in his/her mind, and the Liszt transcription on any player would be 'off'
after the second minute, noticeably. One has two responses when confronted with this
false performance statement: "PHONY-Busoni!" (which will anger the 'reproducing'
piano owner and might destroy a friendship) or "Do you have a rest room?"
(or some suitable exit line).
Let's face facts. The Tempo Lever has been added
to the pneumatic player for a reason. Its presence eliminates the claim of "record/playback"
for the medium, which was often the original selling point. Roll manufacturers rarely
took the roll's acceleration into account with their perforated arrangements (as
some historical revisions often claim) … and even when crude stepping changes were
introduced, to correct this defect, the variables of the roll transport system usually
negated these features.
It's no wonder why so many Ampico and Duo-Art expression
rolls were weighted-down with "time-wasting" and meaningless arpeggios
with broken chords and long pauses. (Armbruster and Susskind rolls are good examples
of this kind of arranging.) The idea was to get the listener to forget the tempo,
and it works with background music — the industry staple of the 'Twenties. The hammy
device has no place in classical music or virtuoso performances, however.
Fortunately,
there's a solution to the irritating music roll accelerando. Listen to the performance
and reset the Tempo Lever, preferably at logical "musical intervals" which
are usually at the end of a major phrase or melodic theme. Personal involvement
is the key to any artistic music roll presentation.
The ubiquitous Tempo
Lever is the place to begin, when taking control of the musical performance. It's
the "baton" for your "orchestra", viz. the player action. Take
charge of your Pianola and prepare to enjoy the musical benefits!
Back issues of "The PIANOLA
News"
Vol. I, No. 1 (1-10-98)
Vol
I, No. 2 (1-17-98)
Vol. I, No. 4 (2-1-98)
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- L. Douglas Henderson, dba ARTCRAFT
Music Rolls, P.O. Box 295, Wiscasset, Maine 04578 (USA)
Telephone:
(207) 882-7420 - E-Mail: artcraft@wiscasset.net
A second ARTCRAFT Website? Not really, but a "toe in the water" featuring some basic information has been on the Internet for close to a year. There's a short bio on the business which might be of interest to 'hard-core' ARTCRAFT fans. Check out this URL: http://people.whowhere.com/pages/artcraft (Make sure that "www" isn't in this URL!)
Check out the new 'QUICK LIST' - Now all the available ARTCRAFT titles/composers/prices are in one quick-to-download location. The Duo-Art and Ampico offerings have been completed already. The 88-Note ARTCRAFT Rolls are being posted daily. [QUICK LIST of ARTCRAFT Music Rolls]