The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Inigo wrote:Argh! Danse Macabre is one of my favourite records. I own the two Stoky/Philadelphia versions, plus a Brunswick one by Cleveland Orch conducted by Solokov, abridged to fit one 12" side. In later times I acquired an acoustic version on Odeon by the Paris Opera orch, squeezed in one 11" side, matrix XP-5039, reported to have been recorded in 1910, as per marvelous matrix compilation made by Christian Zwarg, from GHT . . .

There is another early (acoustic) version by the Goossens Orchestra, conducted by Eugene Goossens III, on the Edison-Bell Velvet Face label. This is complete on two sides; the recording is rather murky (even for the time) and one is very conscious of the fact that seven or eight violinists at most are trying to do the work of twenty-four or more; but the xylophone* comes out quite well, as do the violin and oboe solos, the latter played by the conductor's brother Leon.

Would 'When the night wind howls' from Sullivan's Ruddigore qualify for this thread? (Gilbert's text ends 'Oh, then is the spectres' holiday,/ Then is the ghosts' high noon', and Sullivan's setting is so rich in macabre atmospherics that some early listeners, including Gilbert himself, found them excessive.) The first complete or nearly complete recording dates from 1919, but there may be earlier versions of this number.

Oliver Mundy.

*No instrument, I think, has changed more in the last hundred years than the xylophone. At the beginning of that period the bars were actually made of wood (as the Greek name, 'wood-voice', implies) and were arranged transversely in four overlapping rows so that anyone playing a simple scale passage had to skip constantly from one row to another. All the xylophone solos which abounded on two-minute cylinders would have been played on instruments of this type.

wjw wrote:[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=654xv6DX2D0[/youtube]

Nice!

Would 'When the night wind howls' from Sullivan's Ruddigore qualify for this thread?

I think it would, and I haven't heard this G&S piece for decades, the 70s! So I forgot about it. Thanks for bringing it up. Maybe I'll dust off my old G&S opera boxes and give them a fresh listen. Ruddigore, or the Witch's Curse is one of the lesser known of the G&S operettas along with Princess Ida. But I like the lesser known ones. Ruddigore has some other good songs in it like the duet with "Poor little man" "Poor little maid". But other than The Mikado, my favorite is Patience!

*No instrument, I think, has changed more in the last hundred years than the xylophone. At the beginning of that period the bars were actually made of wood (as the Greek name, 'wood-voice', implies) and were arranged transversely in four overlapping rows so that anyone playing a simple scale passage had to skip constantly from one row to another. All the xylophone solos which abounded on two-minute cylinders would have been played on instruments of this type.
[/quote]

Interestingly enough, this is the earliest depiction of the xylophone in Western art. Talk about typecasting... -Bill

I have a couple creepy sermons by rev,J.M Gates on Victor Scroll label.The titles are "Sad Home Of Death/"You've got To Lay Down And Die Some Day".That could be used for Halloween.edisonplayer

This thread inspired me to upload a couple of seasonal videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m93p8oiA7Kg&t=48s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPmvl-PNh3A&t=133s

So, i now have a copy of Danse Macabre on 78. Just arrived today, bought off of eBay, and is uploaded to my channel, and shared on here as well.

Picked up 20 Diamond Discs today and this was in the lot. Quite appropriate.

The Vampire-Dance Characteristic 1917 (F.H. Losey) SODERO'S BAND

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcuWu3P3nuw

How about That Syncopated Boogie Boo by the Premier Quartet on Edison Blue Amberol?One of my favorites!edisonplayer

Okay, so I got lucky in finding and buy a Halloween 78 record on eBay. The ghost of the Saxophone by Collins & Harlin. I guess if i do enough searching, i would find something!