6/103 keywind cartel by unattributed maker - circa 1830/31
Bought from a private seller via eBay in October 2023.
Unusual rare tune sheet, intact, but glued to the inside of the lid.
Anthony Bullied's publication shows a similar tune sheet (no 259) for serial no. 6216, as unattributed.
There is little doubt that the maker was based in Geneva as stated by the term Musique de Genève, widely used from abut 1830 to 1860. The serial no. of this movement is 2861 so probably made sometime just after 1830. Tune 2, premiered in 1830 and appears to be the youngest, so 1830/31 is a good stab at the date of manufacture.
March 2025, fresh back from The Music Box Restorer where it's been for teeth, damper & governor repairs plus a full re-pin of the cylinder. Due to the number of damaged pins etc, today was the first time I've heard this box playing properly and I'm very pleased with the sound and arrangements. A keeper!
Just the case to restore now.
See it in the workshop
Unusual rare tune sheet, intact, but glued to the inside of the lid.
Anthony Bullied's publication shows a similar tune sheet (no 259) for serial no. 6216, as unattributed.
There is little doubt that the maker was based in Geneva as stated by the term Musique de Genève, widely used from abut 1830 to 1860. The serial no. of this movement is 2861 so probably made sometime just after 1830. Tune 2, premiered in 1830 and appears to be the youngest, so 1830/31 is a good stab at the date of manufacture.
March 2025, fresh back from The Music Box Restorer where it's been for teeth, damper & governor repairs plus a full re-pin of the cylinder. Due to the number of damaged pins etc, today was the first time I've heard this box playing properly and I'm very pleased with the sound and arrangements. A keeper!
Just the case to restore now.
See it in the workshop
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Tune 1 - Valse Cadencée - cadencée means 'trilled', and this is a "Trill Waltz". It's a sort of potpourri of various waltz motives by an unknown composer.
I'm advised that this is a trilled arrangement of Le Ranz des Vaches by Rossini. |
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Tune 2 - Duo no. 6 Muette Amour Sacré dela Patrie (Sacred Love of the Homeland) by Daniel François Auber (1782 - 1871 ) This is part of the famous duet (actually no. 8, not 6) of Masaniello and Piétro in Act II of the Grand Opera La Muette de Portici (The Mute Girl of Portici) written in 1828. "Amour sacré de la patrie" became known as the "New Marseillaise" because of its association with the performance of 25 August 1830, during which the duet. 'Amour sacré de la patrie' sung by tenor Jean-François Lafeuillade and the baritone Cassel, engendered a riot that became the signal for the Belgian Revolution that drove out the Dutch. La Muette broke ground also in its use of a ballerina in a leading role (the eponymous mute) and includes long passages of mime music.
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Tune 3 - Prière de Guilliame Tell - Rossini (Prayer of William Tell)
Guillaume Tell is a French-language opera in four acts by Italian composer Gioachino Rossini to a libretto by Victor-Joseph Étienne de Jouy and L. F. Bis, based on Friedrich Schiller's play William Tell, which, in turn, drew on the William Tell legend. The opera was Rossini's last, although he lived for nearly 40 more years. Fabio Luisi said that Rossini planned for William Tell to be his last opera even as he composed it. The often-performed overture in four sections features a depiction of a storm and a vivacious finale, the "March of the Swiss Soldiers". It was first performed by the Paris Opéra at the Salle Le Peletier on 3 August 1829. The piece is actually not a prayer sung by Tell (in fact Tell isn't even present on stage at that point) but rather a prayer sung by a chorus of monks as part of the "Hunters' Chorus" at the beginning of Act II. |
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Tune 4 - Valse Ipsilenti - Positively identified as No.3 Walzer des Ypsilanti by Johann Gottfried Arnold from 8 Faschings Watzer. (Thank you Peter Thorp)
This and tune 1 were possibly composed by the same person.because they show the same sort of formulaic composition. |
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Tune 5 - Été du Comique - Tolbecque
The Tolbecques were a family of Belgian musicians who settled in France after the Restoration. The original members were four brothers:—the eldest was composer/violinist Isidore Joseph (1794-1871) as was his brother Jean Baptiste Joseph 1797-1869). The third brother was Charles Joseph (1806-1835) also a composer. JBJ Tolbecque wrote a lot of pieces based on themes from opérettes played at the Opéra-comique. The Été is the second of the five parts of a Quadrille. This is probably the Été from (i.e., "du") his Le Comique, quadrille sur des motifs d' A. de Beauplan, Plantate et Carcassi, composé pour le piano, avec accompt. de flûte, violon, flageolet et cornet, (ad lib.). |
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Tune 6 - Grande Marche Imperiale
There are several Grandes Marches Impériales by various composers. Without the sheet music it is not possible to identify the composer of this piece. |