Estey Cottage Reed Organ: Theme - J. Zundel

Theme composed by John Zundel (1815-1882), who was an organist, composer, arranger, and pedagogue. Zundel's lasting contributions to music pedagogy were his instructional texts most notably "Zundel's Melodeon Instructor" published in the 1850's for melodeon and reed organ instruction.

This composition is from a copy of the Musical World which was a subscriber based musical newspaper that featured works by various composers as well as news, interviews, advertisements for instruments and articles. The paper was popular from the 1850s well into the late nineteenth century.

[musicmannc]

Sometimes the simple pieces can be sweet and effective.

[musicmannc]

Thank you Craig :) glad you like the tone of this organ. It is a work in progress, the tuning is driving me batty with these early thin reeds.

[Musique]

Lovely Chris and so nice to hear a piece played with the Vox Humana. I am sure that in years ago the people must have used this stop all the time. And you know what? To my ears it is the best sounding one of them all. Thanks for yet another fabulous example of Reed Organ artistic playing.
Craig

[musicmannc]

They are so early and fragile but its getting there a few hours a day. It is taking forever and the next day they seem to creep back until you file to that sweet spot, eventually....

[Musique]

I would have never known Chris. But thin reeds? Yikes! It is so easy to go too far one way or the other and can seem to take forever. Early Burdett was also very thin, and I seem to remember he got his start with Estey. Something like this.

[Musique]

Oh back? I hear the same thing about Smith reeds, but guess before all that long I will be finding out first hand on the one I am doing right now. Luckily, I have never had a reed organ whos reeds did this before though I have heard about it.