Harmoni-cor, Ca. 1859

[Jody Kruskal]

I’ve been browsing through the virtual galleries of the National Music Museum at The University of South Dakota where I found this very cool free reed instrument I had never seen before. Click below...

 

Harmoni-cor by Louis Julien Jaulin, Paris, ca. 1859

 

NMM 3893. Harmoni-cor by Louis Julien Jaulin, Paris, ca. 1859. Although this particular instrument was patented after 1848, it's been included in the exhibition as one more example of the wide-spread interest in free-reeds - so prevalent during the 19th century - that perhaps can be attributed to commercial interests anxious to produce instruments that could be played by individuals who might not otherwise have the time or the interest to learn how to play more traditional offerings. The musical instrument business was apparently a lucrative, though highly competitive industry in the 19th century, with countless patents approved and patent fights often found in the courtrooms, both in France and elsewhere. Arne B. Larson Collection, 1979.

[allan atlas]

JODY AND FOLKS: nice image. . . . . .there's a very fine catalogue of free-reed patents put together by Maria Dunkel. . . . .i know i have a copy somewhere. . . . .either in the house or in the office. . . . . .if anyone is interested, i'll track it down and provide a precise citation. . . . . . .otherwise i won't bother searching for it. . . . . .no one ever accused my little study of being well organized......................allan

[ragtimer]

I’ve been browsing through the virtual galleries of the National Music Museum at The University of South Dakota where I found this very cool free reed instrument I had never seen before. Click below...

 

Harmoni-cor by Louis Julien Jaulin, Paris, ca. 1859

 

NMM 3893. Harmoni-cor by Louis Julien Jaulin, Paris, ca. 1859.

THanks for the link, Jody! That is quite an impressive "melodica", with its woodwind resonator.

 

Like a lot of "commercial folk easy-to-play" gadgets, I suspect it would be easy to learn a simple tune on this gadget, but to master it and really play complex melodies would take as much hard work as a "real" musical instrument (like our squeezies).

 

And the rest of the Museum is really fascinating. Compares with the ones in Vienna and Munich.

The Munich Deutsche Museum has some pretty fine free reeds.

--Mike K.