Category Archives: Music Instruments

For a Friend

'Bandoneon' (partition illustrée par Raymond Erny, 1927)
‘Bandoneon’, tango by André Sab. Published by Sam Fox (1927, Paris) and illustrated by Raymond Erny.

A one minute silence. Is there a worthy substitute for written blogs?
This short post is dedicated to our friend Bram Huijser who passed away last week at the age of 94. He was a follower of these pages and an enthusiastic collector of books. Bram, born and raised in Amsterdam, was gentle and broad-minded. He kept his wonderful library, especially of children’s literature, in his house in Musselkanaal in the province of Groningen, The Netherlands. Wherever you looked: books and books and books!

Bram Huyser (1922-2016)
Bram Huijser (1922-2016) and part of his collection of children’s books published by Kluitman (Alkmaar).

suusBram particularly liked —and fervently told us about— the illustrations of Fré Cohen, a Dutch female designer and member of the Workers’ Youth Association. She became one of the favourite designers of the socialist movement. Her life ended tragically in 1943 when she took a lethal pill escaping imprisonment by the Dutch SS who had tracked her down when in hiding.

Two Dutch book covers designed by Fré Cohen (1932).
Two Dutch book covers designed by Fré Cohen (publisher Em. Querido, Amsterdam, 1931 & 1932). [source Bram Huijser collection]
Bram revealed us he met his wife during the war while he secretly delivered the resistance newspaper of the Communist Party De Waarheid (literally The Truth). One of the subscribers was her brother, and that’s how he met Mies. They fell in love and got married after the Liberation.

We traded a few sheet music. One of them was a song about children collecting colourful cigar bands, which Bram promptly started to sing with a clear voice.

sigarenbandje
‘Heeft u een sigarenbandje?’ by Eddy Noorddijk & Kovacs Lajos (Louis Schmidt). Published by Cor B. Smit’s Muziekhandel, Amsterdam (sd).

I remember that Bram liked cats, the bandoneon and traditional music. I thought it a bit odd that he so admired the Flemish television crime drama series Witse. Apart from our love for well-done illustration work, we shared a long-time closeness to the music of The Dubliners and the melancholic folk songs of Wannes Van de Velde, a hippy bard who is world famous in Antwerp.

This one is for you Bram!

The Great Sousa

Sheet Music cover (The Washington Post, J. P. Sousa) ill. by J. Bahr
Washington Post‘ by John Philip Sousa. Digitally retouched (IM-stories). Published by Tessaro Verlag (Berlin, s.d.) and illustrated by Johann Bahr.

I am not a lover of national hymns, military music or marches. They might hearten the troops but they seldom encourage the creation of attractive covers. At least one exception is this winsome image for John Philip Sousa’s The Washington Post. It inspires gallant courteousness and good manners, not blaring heroism. And indeed Sousa’s fierce marching music suitably accompanied the stylish ballroom two-step. At one point the two-step was so much identified with Sousa’s melody that it was often called The Washington Post. Nevertheless we find distinct entries for the two dances in a tiny ‘dance class’ notebook of that time.

Carnet de cours de danse, +/- 1900.
Two separate entries for The Washington Post and the Two-Step dance (Nouvelle Danse Anglaise) in a dance class notebook, ca. 1900. (source Images Musicales archives).

The two-step dance had been introduced in about 1890: a quick-quick-slow slide instead of the half-jump Polka step or an ein-zwei martial stride. The civilised dance definitely called for a more sophisticated music. Don’t take my word for it — listen to the delicate rendition of The Washington Post by the United States Army Field Band.

The creator of the dancing couple on the cover above is Johann Bahr (1859–1910), a German painter and caricaturist for the satirical magazine Lustige Blätter. We found one of his drawings for that magazine (a mocking self-portrait?) and also a merry carnivalesque aquarelle.

traum-eines-caricaturen-zeichners, Johann Bahr
Traum eines Caricaturen-Zeichners‘ (Dream of a caricaturist), illustration by Johann Bahr for the Lustige Blätter. [ © Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg; source: Deutschen Digitalen Bibliothek ]
Lustiger Karneval. Aquarelle by Johann Bahr.
Lustiger Karneval‘. Aquarelle by Johann Bahr (source: eBay)

Bahr was not a prolific sheet music illustrator, still we count seven of his creations in our collection. One of them is again for a Sousa composition, the Kadetten-Marsch.

Sheet music cover (partition musicale) illustrated by Johann Bahr.
Kadetten-Marsch‘ (The High School Cadets March), by John Philip Sousa. Published by Alfred Michow (Charlottenburg, s.d.) and illustrated by Johann Bahr.

Now John Philip Sousa, he was famous! Born in Washington, D.C. in 1854 he would forever be esteemed as the American ‘March King’. His father was a Spanish trombonist with Portuguese roots, his mother was German. Sousa started as an apprentice musician at the Marine Corps. He would become a member and later the youngest conductor of the United States Marine Band. At the end of that career, in 1892 he founded his own Sousa Band. With it he conquered the US and the world, touring multiple times.
Sousa made his mark on music history. Being a perfectionist —and also having a perfect pitch— he attracted the finest musicians in his band. He educated audiences by playing classics to perfection, and proved that America had quality music.

Photograph of John Philip Sousa standing with Camille Saint-Saëns
John Philip Sousa standing with Camille Saint-Saëns, ca 1915. [ source: Library of Congress ]
Apart from his noble musical career Sousa helped the development of the sousaphone, strongly defended the rights of musical authors, and was in his spare time an expert trap shooter.

Sousa at his favourite sport, trapshooting in 1916. { source: Pennsylvania State Sportsmen's Association ]
Sousa engaged in his favourite sport, trap shooting in 1916 [ source: Pennsylvania State Sportsmen’s Association ]
Sousa was not only a wildly popular director, a meticulous conductor, or an ingenious composer. He was also a shrewd entertainer, cleverly adapting his program to the sensitivity of the local audiences. European critics were surprised to hear him launch encores before the end of the concert, often in the middle of the enthusiastic applause that followed a piece. Sousa also introduced jazz sections, ragtime, cakewalks and coon songs in his gigs as early as 1900 at the Paris Exposition, giving some ideas to Claude Debussy.

John Philip Sousa, the Sousa, the "March King". [ ]
John Philip Sousa, the “March King”, ca 1915. [ source: Library of Congress ]
Sousa’s demeanour was always disciplined and his uniforms were meticulous (a valet accompanied him everywhere on tour). There were rumours that to direct he never wore his white gloves twice…

In 1876, as a young lad of 22, Sousa toured as the orchestra leader for the Living Pictures. For that show he also composed short descriptive pieces as accompaniment to scenes with barely-covered girls. The Living Pictures was a series of tableaux vivants that enlivened scenes of classical art and literature. Beautiful women in gauze scarves and flesh-coloured tights took artful poses in painted decors. In the shows announcement, the public was reassured: “The management begs to state that the entertainment will be strictly first-class in every respect, and nothing will be said or done that will offend the most fastidious.

'Cleopatra before Caesar' by Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1866.
Cleopatra before Caesar‘ by Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1866 [ source: wikipedia ]
‘Cleopatra before Caesar’, ‘The First Sin’, ‘Diana and her Nymphs Surprised’… Say no more!
The show was an entertaining enterprise of Matt Morgan. He was a British caricaturist, scene painter and theatre personality who defied the authorities and moral standards. It is said that his cartoons ‘… attacked the impropriety —actual or rumoured— of the Prince of Wales; and most shockingly, of Queen Victoria herself.‘

Photograph of Matt Morgan (1837-1890) [ source : Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library. ]. On the right an article
Photograph of Matt Morgan (1837-1890) [ source : Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library. ]. On the right an announcement in the Sacramento Daily Union, Volume 2, Number 107, 26 June 1876.
The risqué Living Pictures spectacle might have been classy in Washington, it definitely was less welcome in Pittsburgh: Sousa and other staff members were called to court on charges of obscenity.

To close our post, here is a surprising demo. If you believe the sousaphone to be a boring ceremonial instrument, then think again!


Readings on Matt Morgan:

  • ‘Sex, Art, and the Victorian Cartoonist: Matthew Somerville Morgan in Victorian Britain and America’, Richard Scully, IJOCA, 2011 (www.academia.eu)
  • Matt Morgan on Broadway, blog
  • Matt Morgan of FUN – Yesterday’s Papers (blog)

BA-DA-BOOM, a Women’s Thing

Sheet music cover illustrated by P. Telemann
Regina‘, a march by Ernst Urbach, published by Otto Wrede (Berlin, 1921) and illustrated by Paul Telemann.

Ba-da-boom.
Bing-bang-boom.
BING-bang-boom.
Tap-tap-tap,
Bang-BANG, BONG.

Sheet music cover by Peter Dde Greef (partion de musique illustrée)
Mambo Album‘, published by Metropolis (Antwerpen, 1956). Illustration by Peter De Greef.

Dzjing!
Tap-tap, Clang, CLANG.
Ticke-dee-tack,
Ticke-dee-tack, BANG.

A short excerpt from Eduarda Henklein Baterista’s Youtube video.Ba-da-boom, Bang,
Ba-da-boom, Djang,
Da-boom, Da-boom, BOOM.

Sheet Music Cover of drumming ladies illustrated by Bütow.
Trocadero Marsch‘, by Emil Laukien, published by Baltischer Musikverlag (Szczecin, s.d.). Illustrated by Bütow.

Tinkle-djingle, Djingle.
Djing-djing, Djang.
Djing, Djing  –  DJANG.

Sheet Music Cover, poster by Gesmar (partition musicale illustrée), 1927
Les Petits Tambours‘, chanson by Vincent Scotto, published by Foucret Fils (Paris, 1927). Illustrated by C. Gesmar.

Bom-bom-bom-bom,
Crack-tack-boom.
Crack, Dum-dum-dum,
BOOM BOOM BOOM.

A 30-second excerpt from Nur Amira Syahira’s 3-minute Drum Solo  on her video channel.Tat-tat-ta, Tat-tat-ta.
Djee-BOOM,
Djing-djing-djang, BANG.

A Deli Zeitlin illustrated sheet music (partiton musicale, alte noten)
Wir schlagen ein‘, potpourri by Billy Golwyn, publisher Musikverlag City (Leipzig, 1932), illustrated by Deli Zeitlin.

BING, Bang, Khebang.
Bing-bang, Khebang-BANG.
Ka-BOOM.

A woman banging a drum. (sheet music cover, partition de musique illustrée)
Zum 5 Uhr Tee; 5 O’clock Tea‘, music album published by Benjamin (Hamburg, s.d.). Illustration signed H f m (illegible monogram).

Bing-Bang-Boom,
BING-BANG-BOOM

Ka-DZJING!

A 3-minute excerpt from Warner Bros. & Vitaphone 1940 film ‘Frances Caroll & The Coquettes‘ with drummer Viola Smith (9 minutes).

 All sheet music illustrations from Images Musicales.