Arban on an
Edison phonograph-cylinder - part II
A newspaper from
Finnland, Helsinki's
Hufvudstadsbladet, (no. 96, from
11.4.1890, p. 2), mention a recording
by Arban.
In a report the next day (April 12, 1890) we can read in more details
about the event.
Facsimile
from page 3 of Helsinki's
Hufvudstadsbladet, no. 97, 1890 :
(click on image for larger!)
Translation
of the text:
Edison’s new phonograph was
shown yesterday for the first time to a small [but] astonished part of
the Helsinki public. When everybody had found their places in F.B.K’s
spacious festive salon, where the strange machine had been placed on a
table on the platform, both Mr Gillin and Mr Cohl went forward. The
first [Gillin] opened the demonstration with a broken but quite
understandable Swedish lecture in no fewer than three sections. The
first section was mainly about Edison’s forefathers, old honest Dutch,
who in the beginning of time moved to America and gradually – did not
get rich, as one used to do, but on the contrary – remained poor. Then
one was told how Edison as a little boy founded a newspaper publishing
firm in a railway carriage, then later became a telegraph operator and
finally an electrotechnician and inventor. In the year 1873 or perhaps
’74 the phonograph idea turned up in Edison’s brain, and while he
worked on all his other great inventions, he continuously kept thinking
about it. He made it better and better, did design after design and
finally around the year 1888 got the apparatus in such a state that it
with certainty of success could be sent out to astonish the whole
world. After this, the lecture went on describing the phonograph.
When the lecture ended, the apparatus started working under Mr Cohl’s
guidance. First Mr Gillin spoke some words in Swedish into the
apparatus, coughed and gave a cheer into it, and then Mr Cohl said
something in French, sang a French lament and coughed. Then they
screwed a large funnel of cardboard or thin metal onto the phonograph,
meant for amplifying the sound and to make it audible for everyone, and
then the machine was started.
Clearly and crisply, even if a bit blaring, the machine repeated
everything that both gentlemen had spoken, sung, shouted and coughed,
and this with their own fully recognisable voices. After this a concert
was given. On this occasion one
could hear pieces played by the world’s leading artists on
cornet-à-pistons, clarinet soli, oboe solo, a duet for 2
cornets, a song sung by a sonorous baritone, a Swedish song (“Klara
stjerna”), that someone had an enjoyable time singing out of tune into
the phonograph, with daring passages in different keys etc. Everything
was given back with minute accuracy, clear, loud and correct. One of
the most wonderful and interesting phonograms was a march, played by a
military orchestra. One could clearly hear the whole orchestra, the
high cornets, bass horns, drums, triangle, everything. The march was
called “Marche de l’Exposition 1889” by Mr Gillin and was composed by
the recently departed French composer Olivier Métra. Barely had
the first tones sounded that everyone could easily recognize the
well-known old “Erikssonska marschen” (composed by a Finnish field
officer around the year 1837), by him called “Finska bataljonens
attackmarsch”, that we have heard being played ever since we were
children. The march was played by several Russian bands and was
probably recorded into the phonograph there.
The phonograph is suited for giving the deepest admiration to the man
whose intelligence succeeded in devising this apparatus, which records
with fidelity and at any time plays back the same recorded sound. We
urge everyone not to miss the opportunity for an interesting
acquaintance with one of the nineteenth century’s greatest inventions.
The second demonstration in the evening was attended by around 150
persons.
Original
text in Swedish:
Edisons nya fonograf
förewisades i går första gången för en liten
undrande del af Helsinfors publik. Sedan man intagit sina platser i
F.B.K’s rymliga festsalong, der den märkwärdiga maskinen stod
placerad på ett bord på estraden, uppstego på den
samma Mrs Gillin och Cohl. Den förre öppnade seancen med ett
på bruten men ganska begriplig swenska hållet föredrag
i icke mindre än tre afdelingar. Den första afdelingen
handlade hufwudsakligast om Edisons förfäder, gamla hederlige
holländare, som i tidernas begynnelse flyttade in till Amerika och
småningom – icke blefwo rika, som man der plägar, utan
twärtom – blefwo fattiga. Widare fick man höra talas om hur
Edison som liten gosse grundade ett tidningsförlag i en
jernwägswagn, efter någon tid blef telegrafist och så
slutligen elektrotekniker och uppfinnare. År 1873 eller kanske 74
rann fonografidén upp i Edisons hjerna och medan han gjorde sina
andra stora uppfinningar, funderade han uafbrutet på denna. Han
förbättrade och förbättrade, konstruerade och
konstruerade och fick slutligen kring år 1888 apparaten i
sådant skick att den med wisshet om framgång kunde
sändas ut för att förwåna en werld.
Härpå öfwergick föredragaren till en beskrifning
af fonografen.
Sedan föredraget tagit slut, började apparaten arbeta under
hr Cohls ledning. Först talade hr Gillin några ord på
swenska i apparaten, hostade och ropade hurra i den och så talade
hr Cohl något på franska, sjöng en fransk
klagsång och hostade. Sedan skrufwade man på fonografen
en stor trakt af papp eller tunn metall, egnad att förstärka
ljudet och göra det förnimbart för alla, och så
sattes werket i gång.
Klart och tydligt, fastän kanske en smula skrällande
upprepade maskinen allt hwad de båda herrarne talat, sjungit,
ropat och hostad och detta med deras egna fullt igenkänliga
röster. Härefter gafs konsert. Man war i tillfälle att höra
stycken spelade af werldens förnämsta artister på
Cornet-a-pistons, klarinett-soli, oboe-solo, en duett för 2
kornetter, en sång sjungen af en klangfull baryton, en swensk
sång (“Klara stjerna”), som någon roat sig med att sjunga
falskt i fonografen, med de wådligaste öfwergångar
till olika tonarter o. f. w. Allt återgafs med den mest
minutiösa nogranhet, klart, högt och korrekt. Ett af de
underbaraste och interessantaste fonogrammen war en marsch, spelad af
en militärorkester. Man hörde tydligt hela orkestern, de
höga kornetterna, bashornen, trummorna, triangeln, allt. Marschen
kallades af hr Gillin för “Marche de l’Exposition 1889” och
uppgafs wara komponerad af den nyligen aflidne franska tonsättaren
Olivier Métra. Knappt hade dock de första tonerna
förklingat förrän enhwar med lätthet igenkände
den wälbekanta, gamla “Erikssonska marschen” (komponerad af en
finsk fältwäbel omkring år 1837) och af honom
benämd “Finska bataljonens attackmarsch”, som wi hört
gardemusiken spela sedan wi woro barn. Marschen spelades af flere
musikkårer i Ryssland och har troligen derstädes hamnat i
fonografen.
Fonografen är egnad att ingifwa den djupaste beundran för den
man, hwars snille lyckats uttänka denna apparat, som troget
bewarar och när som helst återger af densamma
uppfångade ljud. Wi uppmana enhwar att icke försumma
tillfället till en intressant bekantskap med en af det nittonde
århundradets största uppfinningar.
Den andra seancen på qwällen war besökt af omkring 150
personer.
Comments:
F.B.K’s spacious festive salon. F.B.K.
is short for "Frivilliga Brand Kåren" (Voluntary fire brigade).
In 1889
a new F.B.K. building was inaugurated in central Helsinki. This
building had a spacious
festive salon.
Olivier Métra - French Composer (born June 2, 1830, died October
22, 1889). A short
bio here.
"Klara stjerna" is a Swedish song composed by Wetterling text by
Wetterberg.
Who was Cohl and Gillin?
A search for "Cohl & Edison" gave this:
Cohl
(born Émile Eugène Jean Louis Courtet) first established
himself as a caricaturist, cartoonist and writer in the 1880s/90s.
After the collapse of his marriage, Cohl moved to London to work for
Pick Me Up, a humor magazine that specialized in French artists (he
left his long-standing second job as a philatelist at this time). He
returned to Paris in June 1896
Perhaps Émile Cohl met Mr
Gillin in London and they travelled with Edison’s Phonograph to Nordic
countries, coming to Finland in 1890?
Thanks to:
Eric Roefs, who first
discovered the newspaper articles!
Note:
Any information
about Arbans recording, the event in Helsinki in 1890,
etc, are very much appreciated.
Send email
to: O.J.
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