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Our
Street Organ
John with his Prinsen book organ.
This organ was made by Arthur Prinsen of Belgium.
It plays what is called book
music which is music
punched on a special folded cardboard.
As a modern day organ grinder you may find him
strolling though festivals and
playing “The Happiest
Music on Earth”. The music being produced on one
of
the nicest sounding European organs available
today. The organ is only a few
years old however it
was made in the same tradition as they were made
a hundred
years ago. The music for this organ was
arranged by one of the foremost
arrangers of organ
music anywhere in the world, Arthur Prinsen, the
builder.
At the turn of the century organ grinders were found
in many communities of our
growing country. Often
of Italian, Dutch or German heritage. They cheerfully
plied their unique trade through the streets of cities
and towns as well as at
fairs and festivals.
Prior to radio and TV, few homes had the recently
invented phonograph and even
fewer had a parlor
piano. The organ grinder found his niche by offering
a few
minutes of bouncy tunes as he strolled the
local neighborhoods. One could often
find children
following him like a pied piper, dancing to his
toe-tapping
melodies.
Recapturing the color and romance of that golden
age, John plays melodies that
evoke warm memories
in many people. His bouncy selection of happy tunes
will be
hard to miss. Watch and listen as John offers
an engaging succession of
old-time popular music
played on his authentic European street organ.
Polkas,
marches, childrens favorites, waltzes,
tangos, and much, much more.
If this sounds like the kind of special entertainment
you might like for your
festival or special event,
please contact John at johnl@vandornsclockshop.com
for “The Happiest Music on Earth”.
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