This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through them, we may earn a small commission.
A 49-key street organ from the Netherlands is now playing one of America’s best-known marches, making it an unexpected patriotic instrument. The organ is called Blauwtje, and it sits in the workshop of British composer and collector James Dundon, also known as the Mechanical Music Man. His restored instrument performs a patriotic arrangement of John Philip Sousa‘s 1896 march “Stars and Stripes Forever.”
Dundon introduced the performance by noting that the American vote had concluded. In his words, the march was something everyone could agree on. The piece has outlived its century-old origin and gave its title to a 1952 musical biopic about Sousa.
How a machine plays music without electronics
Blauwtje is entirely mechanical and pneumatic, so this mechanical organ has no speakers and no recorded tracks. Every note is produced live as the instrument runs.
Blauwtje’s sound is made to be heard in open air, much like performance art in public. Nick Cave’s Soundsuits Transform Public Spaces into Dynamic Stages explores how sound and spectacle can take over city streets.
The music is read from “book music,” folding strips of perforated cardboard. Frenchman Anselmo Gavioli invented the system in 1892. Each fold carries rows of holes, and each hole stands for a musical note.
As the book moves across the tracker bar, mechanical keys feel the holes and open valves. Compressed air from bellows then flows through the pipes. Some pipes imitate flutes, violins and bass trombones. Bells, drums and cymbals add rhythm, so the sound keeps feet tapping.
Book music also let street organs play longer and more varied repertoires. That versatility is one reason the instruments became so popular on Dutch streets.
A life on the streets of Holland
Before it took up American marches, Blauwtje began its working life in the early 1920s as a 49-key Marenghi organ. It collected coins from passersby on Dutch streets, where busking with a draaiorgel, or street organ, has long been a tradition.
Within a few years, the instrument was rebuilt. In the 1930s, organ builder Carl Frei introduced Bourdon pipework, which gave street organs a warmer, richer tone. Blauwtje was altered to include it, and that change shaped the voice the organ has today.
The organ was rescued in the 1980s and rebuilt by Johan Verbeeck. Organ artist Feite Posthumus redecorated its carved front. After roughly another 30 years of performing in Holland, Dundon bought the organ in 2011 and brought it to the UK. Since then, it has received new pipework and a fresh redecoration.
Music and arrangements for the stars and stripes organ
Dundon’s collection includes a library of more than 10 hours of music, from traditional tunes to modern hits, including an arrangement of the sousa march. He has also commissioned arrangements of songs by Queen, ABBA and Lady Gaga. Skilled Dutch arrangers, including Hiddo Van Os, Tom Meijer, Mats Sijnesael, Jeroen Van Baden and Sjoerd Caspers, adapt each piece for the organ’s old-world sound.
Dundon has toured these instruments across Cornwall and beyond for more than 20 years. He has brought mechanical music to hundreds of events and festivals. He also founded Mechanical Music Radio, a station devoted to these machines.
Maintenance falls to skilled builders. Organ builder David Burville has worked on the organ’s mechanics, including its cymbal motor.
Like the organ’s hand-built mechanism, a London workshop is keeping old mechanical craft alive. Oliver Hymans Revives the Art of Marionette Craftsmanship shows how skilled builders bring intricate moving parts back to life.
Dundon’s videos have drawn a combined 200 million views on social media over the past 12 months. Blauwtje’s story shows that a century-old street instrument can still hold an audience. Its gift is simple: an organ that makes every note live, with no screen or speaker in sight.
Sources & Links
Source: laughingsquid.com
Frequently asked questions
How does a mechanical street organ like Blauwtje produce its music?
Blauwtje is entirely mechanical and pneumatic, with no speakers or recorded tracks, so every note is produced live. Music is read from perforated cardboard book music, and as the book moves across the tracker bar, keys open valves that let compressed air from bellows flow through the pipes.
What is book music in a street organ?
Book music consists of folding strips of perforated cardboard, where each fold carries rows of holes and each hole stands for a musical note. French inventor Anselmo Gavioli created the system in 1892.
Who is James Dundon and how did he get Blauwtje?
James Dundon, also known as the Mechanical Music Man, is a British composer and collector who owns the organ. He bought Blauwtje in 2011 after it had spent roughly 30 years performing in Holland, and then brought it to the UK.
Where did Blauwtje start its working life?
Blauwtje began in the early 1920s as a 49-key Marenghi organ, collecting coins from passersby on Dutch streets. It was later altered to include Bourdon pipework, introduced by organ builder Carl Frei in the 1930s.
