1910 Ruth Model 36-X Concert Band Organ Plays "Hello, Dolly!" Medley Arr. Mikey Mills
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- Опубликовано: 11 сен 2024
- This one-of-a kind masterpiece manufactured by the Ruth firm of Waldkirch is one of the finest German fairground organs ever built! It was a custom order by Wilhelm A. Meissner who specifically requested an animated orchestra to outshine his competitor's, previously having released patents for putting animated figures on carousels.
The organ eventually ended up in the hands of William Nunley, responsible for Nunley's Happyland in Long Island. The organ played at the park until its closing in the late 70's when it was acquired by organ restorer Gavin McDonough who has painstakingly restored the organ to beautiful original condition.
The organ was converted to Wurlitzer 165 rolls in 1948 but still retained all of it's original pipework and wind operated action. With the addition of MIDI, the organ is once again is able to play it's complete 78 key scale!
This "Hello, Dolly!" Medley is a brand new arrangement by Mikey Mills for the Ruth 36 scale in the event of the 50th anniversary of the 1969 film. (The original Broadway production produced in 1964)
www.mechanicalmusic.org
I love Street Organs & this is one of the best, perfectly tuned & the percussion is not too overpowering.
This used to frighten me when I was a child. I couldn't take my eyes off it though whenever I was there.
Ditto! The characters' frozen faces scared me, and yet I was mesmerized by the machine and music. Hearing and seeing this brings me right back to Jolly Roger's and the carefree days of childhood.
What a piece of work! You can tell it's loved, perfectly tuned and the percussion in perfect sync, a fine machine.
Wow... if this was on a Coney Island style carousel, like the Looffs at Woodbine in Toronto and Crescent Park then this will really bring an out of body experience. I would be in tears just imagining a beautiful gilded carousel of mirrors and jewels and such elaborate Coney Island carvings just listening to this. You’d really make people think of their childhoods, and want to be on the carousel forever! God gave us such joy in life, and without you the world wouldn’t be as good. Congratulations Mikey you made me cry!!!
It would be nice if the Crescent Park organ could have a keyframe refitted (and maybe MIDI?) as well as the 165 roll frames retained (for nostalgic appeal, since the last 40+ years of riders remember the organ playing this music). That is really a magnificent organ and deserves to be heard playing its full potential. One of only two Ruth 38s on public display in the USA to my knowledge (the other one is in temporary storage in South Carolina pending a new location... although no plans at present, at last report).
Just beautiful! This takes me right back to when I was a boy. When I'd ride that carousel inside Nunley's (AKA Smiley's Happy land, AKA Jolly Roger's) in Bethpage, LI, my parents would have to drag me off! Other kids would be grabbing for the brass rings, but I'd be hanging off my charging wood pony, craning my neck for the next glimpse of the fantastic Ruth band organ! I swear, I'm sitting here rocking in my swivel chair trying to simulate that carousel motion as I listen. This very instrument sparked my life-long interest in mechanical music. After years of collecting music boxes, in the early 1980's I purchased a basket case 1910 Lauter-Humana player piano. I found books on restoration, bought supplies from Player Piano Co. in Wichita and 2,000 man hours later, we had a restored, working instrument! Your MIDI modification has done a wonderful job of bringing out all depth and color of this amazing instrument... just listening to it brings me to tears. Thank you for posting!
Jolly Roger's was magical, in large part because of this band organ. One of my most vivid and joyful memories of childhood. It was a shock and a joy when I found this video.
@@dannigro172 My feelings exactly!
This thing is never more poignant that it is now with Jerry Herman's passing. His music is immortal!
So happy to have her back on the full 78 key scale!
Absolutely beautiful and I love the animated figures. A very sweet sound.
Love this ! Great!!!
robindeorgelman Robin your so cool
What an improvement!
One of my cherished memories of nunley's happyland
top ruth organ! nice vid thx for share 😁🎶
This was the Ruth factory competing with Weber over the number of animated band members on the façade. I didn't know that this organ still existed. And it's sounding spectacular, Thank-you. Your arranging skills are to be admired. I only wish that I could have started arranging music 40 years earlier!
P.S. I've subscribed because of these Ruth organ recordings. 🙂
This is a fabulous, instrument, and the organ sounds so good.What a masterpiece.I played this over and over again. It makes so happy , and teariyeyed, because it brings back so many good memories, when I was young, and my parents were there , long time ago. My wife can’t get into this organ, but I listened to it over and over again.
Thankyou for the beautiful memories, and great sounds.😊
My childhood was spent going to Yorkshire Steam Rallies in a 1935 Morris Eight, being driven round the ring and waving at people, and sitting on straw bales eating egg sandwiches and drinking out of Tupperware. I still can't go anywhere near a Traction Engine or one of these organs without crying my eyes out. I swear in a previous life I was a traction engine driver or a steam funfair worker or something
Superb arrangement !! Well done !!
I've been in contact with Gavin Mcdonough lately, I hope to visit his collection soon! He told me you visited his collection too!
My compliments Mikey, well done
Beautifully arranged!
Just wonderful! This brings back so many happy childhood memories of being transfixed looking at these kind of organs build into the side of fairground trucks. I wonder how they ever managed to stay in tune considering how much they would travel. This one is simply stunning and the animated characters are the icing on the cake.
It was a real treat to hear the Ruth play on its complete scale since I used to listen to it at Happyland. A superb arrangement.
That’s a great Ruth 36-X
I just realised the beginning song is possibly "Put on your sunday clothes" the Wall-E title song.
CBF1 hi
hello
CBF1 thanks for replying
It is actually
Grew up with these guys… Smiley’s Happyland Bethpage NY… still magnificent!
Thanks for posting- many great memories of our family at Nunleys!
So the tunes in this medley if I'm not mistaken are:
0:00 Overture/Hello, Dolly
0:34 ???
2:03 It Takes A Woman
3:18 ???
4:38 Before The Parade Passes By
6:28 ???
7:49 Hello, Dolly
:34 is Put on Your Sunday Clothes. 3:18 is Dancing. 6:28 is It Only Takes a Moment. (If you've ever seen the movie Wall-E, part of that uses It Only Takes a Moment as a jumping-off place for the romantic plot.) The movie of Hello, Dolly is pretty fun and the score is great!
@@LB-gi5eq Yes I have seen WALL-E and thanks for the titles.
@@andrewlardieri4110 So have I. When I first saw this video I thought the beginning song sounded familiar and then I realized.
Wall-E is an excellent movie. So far I have not seen Hello Dolly but have listened to 2 OST's from it.
If the owner is keen on Wurlitzer 165 rolls then it would be ingenious if a replica Ruth keyframe was fitted for the original scale but the old Wurlitzer system kept and you could switch between the two with the means of some sort of device.
The organ has two MIDI adapters, one for the Wurlitzer scale and one for the Ruth Scale. Electronics from Klingerorgan.com
What idiot would want to play Wurlitzer arrangements on a Ruth?
@@arburo1 Agreed! Personally I find Wurlitzer arrangements awful, BAB roll arrangements are miles better.
@@MechanicalMusicTravels Same here. Most Wurlitzer rolls are just the same boring Fox-Trot tunes all over again.
However I do think that the Ruth 36X is a part of the Wurlitzer 165 family. It's pretty much a Wurlitzer 165 with different voicing once W165 tunes are played on it, I'd go for something from Andy Park or Rich Olsen. Their arrangements are fantastic.
@@CBF1 Agreed! BAB arrangements are also very good, they bring out a side of each Wurlitzer that not even the manufacturer had intended! They make the organ sound more European.
Orchestra!!
Excellent arrangement Mikey! Great job!
What a masterpiece! Give it to me right this instant or I'll steal all of your music rolls.
CBF1 I DONT THINK SO
I think you ought to get a job (or two or three) and save up your money and eventually you'll be able to buy your own band organ... or maybe build one.
@@andrewbarrett1537 indeed, i'm kindof working on that rn... building wooden clocks(except the mechanisms)
This is a JEWEL MUSICAL PIECE
This organ sounds a lot better Mikey
Wonderful! Mikey superb job!
Hey Mikey - you should arrange a Guys and Dolls medley!
Good idea! I was Nathan Detroit in that show years ago.
@@MechanicalMusics Amazing! I’ve Never Been in Love Before on a Ruth like this would drive me to tears
They sure did build things to last back then, today these cheaply made cars lucky if they last 10 years, they do that so you buy one every 5 years
Neun Man Orchester 36X.
Zeer mooie 36er Ruth.
Gorgeous thank you my brother make organs his name is Eugenio Cuayo he made one here in Miami USA
This song is from wall e, a Disney film sounds beautiful
This is amazing! And with MIDI wow.
Mm09
Mikey I have a question. What is the display on the right rear. It looks as if the lights are changing with notes played and also register changes. A display of some sort?
That is the MIDI system! The board lights up when each note plays.
Hi the best please where is this organ located love to go and enchanting my self love you xoxo thank you
Just stumbled upon this! WONDERFUL - but where is "Elegance"? And where is this organ now located?
What organ plays get ready
nice organ and selections - hey mikey I bet you really like arranging for the ruths - you must realize by now that the ruth sound is clearly superior to the wurlitzer...ha
Wurlitzer band organs, when the pipe voicing is attended to in restoration
(since small Wurlitzer organs were often shipped from the factory with only rough voicing and tuning done on the pipework... the larger and more expensive organs like the 157, 164, 165 etc got much more care in the pipe voicing before shipping), have good tonal plans... the arrangers are mainly hampered by the scales and especially by BOTH brass AND wood-trumpet organs playing the SAME roll scales with different results if the two musical sections are used for distinct melody and contra/counter-melody parts. See below.
I don't know where the 125 scale came from (if it was ever a European cylinder organ scale) but DeKleist were using it as early as 1893 for their model 18 cylinder organ, which was a trumpet organ and the ancestor of the 125.
The 150 scale was also used by DeKleist for the model 20 organ (not sure the year of introduction), but it has an older origin as it was used by Limonaire as a cylinder organ scale as early as the 1890s (1880s?) for a trumpet barrel organ.
At least one Limonaire trumpet organ of this note scale still exists and is located at the Claude Jessett Organ Trust museum in Hadlow Down in East Sussex, England. This extant Limonaire organ can be considered the grandfather of the Wurlitzer model 150 organ.
The 165 scale and organ were copied by Wurlitzer from one of the 65-keyless "Orchester-Orgel" Gebruder Bruder organs (known by the time of the 1924 Gebruder Bruder catalog as "Elite Orchestra Apollo) that were shipped to the USA.
These organs were Gebruder Bruder's answer to the stiff competition from Gavioli and were more orchestral than their normal mixture-type organs of the regular series of models (like the 108, 107, 106, 103, 104, 105 etc).
I have no idea how many of this organ model / scale were built by Gebruder Bruder but it must have been few, as only four are known to exist today
(two in the USA, one Germany, and one in Italy.
The two in Europe still play book music, on the original scale, I think,
and the one in Italy is apparently the very first one ever built and is thus the grandfather of the Wurlitzer 165.
(This is as per surviving Gebruder Bruder book-music shipping records,
which, in the absence of any extant factory serial number lists / organ shipping records, present-day Waldkirch organ historians have used to ESTIMATE the approximate number of Gebruder Bruder book organs built of each model as well as the date of the first example shipped).
When Wurlitzer copied this model in 1914 they appear to have copied the facade, pipework, chest, case and *maybe* pump from Gebruder Bruder. However, they used their own drum actions, player stack / suction system, duplex roll frames, and suction register control for the organ, and invented a new paper roll scale for it.
So if you don't like the Wurlitzer 150 scale, blame Limonaire;
if you don't like the Wurlitzer 165 scale, blame Gebruder Bruder;
if you don't like the Wurlitzer musical arrangements,
blame the various arrangers who worked for them including
Fred Benz,
Charles Nilson,
John William Tussing,
and Ralph W. Tussing
(as well as a couple of other unidentified arrangers).
But also don't blame them totally, since they were fine musicians but hampered by Wurlitzer's policy of using the SAME roll scales for both brass AND wood trumpet organs (no doubt a measure of economy promoted by someone like Howard Wurlitzer who liked to cut costs wherever possible).
Each of these arrangers had their own unique style,
although they did have to follow the Wurlitzer mode of arranging which was to play the melody on the TRUMPETS and MELODY section TOGETHER,
so that when the roll was played on a BRASS TRUMPET organ
(for example, a model 150 organ playing a 150 roll),
the louder brass trumpets would predominate and the melody would be heard,
but also when the SAME roll was played on a WOOD TRUMPET organ
(for example a model 146 organ playing a 150 roll),
the louder melody section would predominate over the softer wooden trumpets and the melody would STILL be heard clearly.
This insistence on the part of the Wurlitzer (and North Tonawanda Musical Instrument Works) management on making BOTH brass AND wood trumpet organs play the SAME roll scales for economy,
hampered the arranging style in a way it didn't hamper European organs
(since, from the factory, smaller brass-trumpet and wood-trumpet or no-trumpet organs usually played DIFFERENT SCALES for which DIFFERENT STYLE arrangements could be made to suit that organ;
the largest organs with brass trumpets like huge Marenghis and Gaviolis, already had so many other wooden pipes that the brass trumpets and trombones, while adding to the volume when playing, didn't necessarily overwhelm all those other pipes).
For proof of this theory I have put forth, check out the very earliest 165 roll arrangements from around 1914-1915.
They were, and are, of a quite different style and more orchestral than the so-far-existing military-style 125, 150, and 155 roll arrangements.
The two melodic musical divisions were used in different ways and play off of each other more in the way of traditional European fairground organs and less in the "American" style of "both-sections-playing-the-melody-at-once-plus ornaments".
However, when Wurlitzer brought out their first brass-trumpet, military-style band organs playing the 165 scale (the 162/163 in 1916; and the 164 in 1917), the style of the 165 arrangements changed to be more like the 125 and 150 arrangements where the melody had to be played in both divisions at once to prevent the melody from being lost when either the melody section or trumpet section overwhelmed the other section.
For further proof, check out the very earliest 125 and 150 scale arrangements made in the 1906-1910 period when ONLY brass-trumpet organs were available to play those scales. I think those early arrangements are also very 'uncluttered' since the trumpets carry the melody... the piccolos / melody play high ornamentation but don't 'doodle' all the time and certainly don't double the melody ALL the time. They're very nice.
However, when the first wooden-trumpet models were introduced playing those scales (the models 126 in 1911, and 147 in 1910), things changed quite a bit, in order to keep the music sounding acceptable on the more numerous models of organs.
@@andrewbarrett1537 thank you from a big theatre organ fan who also likes band organs.