Aeolian style D Orchestrelle--Under the Double Eagle

[er10b]

I noticed on this video you keep pulling and pushing the stops under the keyboard.

Do any of those stops control anything related to the organ (swell shutters,tempo,play/reroll) or are they just for controlling where the air goes?

[Yaledmot]

@er10b The Swell shutters are controlled via a knee paddle under the keyboard on the right side. The knee paddle on the left side is roughly equivalent to a Crescendo Pedal and adds stops. The two black knobs in the center control forward/rewind and tempo. The others are stop voices opened and closed in several sets of vacuum operated reeds. The larger Aeolian, true Orchestrelles, use pressure and have a nicer sound. They also tend to be much larger in size.

[er10b]

@Yaledmot Thanks for the heads up. I initially thought that the shutters were operated by the roll itself.

Also with the tempo knob, the more you pull it out the faster the music plays or is it the opposite?

[Yaledmot]

@er10b The further the Tempo knob is pulled out the faster the roll travels.

[er10b]

is this vacuum operated or is it pressure operated?

[Yaledmot]

@er10b Vacuum. It is not one of the better Vocalion style ORchestrelles. This is essentially a player reed organ.

[GutpileCharlie]

Hey, nice organ. I am a keyboard player and always enjoy things like this. I am a docent in a historic home that has a Weber 1908 player piano and I play it in public at least every Christmas.

[Hairbanger24]

All I know about this tune is that it cost me a ton of quarters for the sidewalk Merry-go-rounds.

[er10b]

@Hairbanger24 meaning that you had to tow a large sack of 25c pieces to the merry go round everytime you wanted to hear it?

[Hairbanger24]

@er10b Under The Double Eagle Was The Most Common Tune on sidewalk merry go rounds,what at the time cost twenty five cents for my children to ride every time we went shopping. I dont know who had the most enjoyment , Them or me!

[iwema93]

they use this song on an episode of monty python, for the sketch called "conrad poohs and his dancing teeth"

[Classictom1]

Nice organ, i have that tune for my Aeolian player piano, and on a cylinder for my Edison gramaphone ! Thats an old German march ! Thanks....

[Yaledmot]

Here is what the US Navy Band website has to say about Under the Double Eagle: "...many march tunes were composed to inspire or instill patriotic emotions among their nation's citizenry, march styles have, in many cases, acquired a distinctly national flavor. Examples here include Austrian military bandmaster Josef Franz Wagner's Under the Double Eagle (op. 159 - 1899), saluting the Austro-Hungarian Empire's coat of arms..."

[pianolasociety]

brilliant!!

The D is not truly an Orchestrelle which appeared c.1896, is pressure operated as is the Solo one introduced c.1906. Orchestrelles are Wright-system Vocalian reed organs internally. The "Aeolian Grand" (predecessor to the Orchestrelle) was suction operated American organ as was it's 46-note predecessor the "Aeolian". The D is technically an "Aeolian" with 58-note player badged as Orchestrelle when the "Grand" brand discontinued. The S Orchestrelle is likewise a renamed Grand.

[StuartMcCaskill]

@pianolasociety I have an Aeolian Grand from 1895 that I posted a few clips on YouTube. Thank you for sharing the history of the Model D, that is much appreciated. I really like the sound of this D. I did not know that the S was the evolution of the Aeolian Grand.

[Branchporter]

This sounds better than my old Waterloo reed organ.

But that's only because a roll of paper has more talent than I do!

[HarborGuy]

Amazing the knowledge for the time.......