GTV Almrausch, The Damenchor Wald Echo And The Franklinville-Schwarzwald Männerchor At The Christmas Village In Philadelphia, PA On December 6, 2014

This blog entry features performances by GTV Almrausch, Damenchor Wald Echo and the Franklinville-Schwarzwald Männerchor.  GTV Almrausch is a German Schuhplattler dance group and Damenchor Wald Echo and the Franklinville-Schwarzwald Männerchor are German choral groups.  They appeared at the Christmas Village in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on December 6, 2014.

As you can see in the photographs and video footage, there was a hard rain coming down.  The camera lens faced interference from raindrops and fogging.  I was soaked.  I stood out there filming.  None of my umbrellas were nearby so I went to the Village without any of them.  I do not mind - it was well worth it since I was interested in seeing these acts bring the German culture to the German Christmas Village.

I parked ten blocks away.  Considering how busy Philadelphia is, I park at the first spot that I see.  As I walked down Arch Street, I decided to get a couple shots of the skyline.  You can see how nasty it was outside.







Here is GTV Almrausch.  The songs that they danced to were the Schuhplattler Tanz, the Hofbräuhaus and Bergvagabunden.


The url for the above video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xyDuxhB7o0







Here are Damenchor Wald Echo and the Franklinville-Schwarzwald Männerchor.  They performed a number of Christmas (aka Weihnachten) songs.


The url for the above video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCJ7n2Wu6FY







I took a walk, a wet walk, around the Village.  Here are some shots ...

Apollo Quartette With Tenting On The Old Camp Ground Berliner Record 1898

My Friends: The American Civil War Sesquicentennial continues in this very special video, and I am very excited to bring you this recording.  2014 marks the 150th Anniversary of the publishing of "Tenting On The Old Camp Ground".  The song was written by a man named Walter Kittredge.  Walter was drafted into the Union Army and was discharged shortly after due to his bout with rheumatic fever.  Tonight, I have for you an extremely old recording of the song.  It goes way back to the year 1898.  It is one of the earliest recorded examples of the song.  The recording session, performed by the Apollo Quartette, took place in April of 1898.  This record was pressed on the Berliner Gramophone label (catalog number 4264).  It does not play at 78 rpm - there was not a standard speed in those days.  It plays in the high 60s or low 70s.  I made the speed adjustment on the Victor Victrola Model 4 (VV-IV) that I am using for the presentation.  The Victrola dates to 1915.  Out of all of the machines that I have, the VV-IV is the closest to the date of the record.  I used a loud tone needle for this recording.  It sounds good when the camera is close to the speaker.  That is why the majority of the video is in that vicinity of the Victrola.


The url for the above video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVgQKhWVVZk

The Berliner Gramophone company was started by a German immigrant named Emile Berliner.  Emile was not a Military Veteran.  To the contrary - he fled Europe to avoid being drafted for the Franco-Prussian War in 1870.

In the video, I mentioned that the record was partially stamped and partially etched by hand.  I provided a few shots at different angles so you can see ...







The etchings are "Male Quartette 72-12 Tenting On The Old Camp Ground Apollo Quartette Washington, DC 4/98"

Additional information can be found at this url: http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/2000148917/4264-Tenting_on_the_old_campground

This link will give you more information on Emile Berliner and his Gramophone company: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/berlhtml/berlgramo.html

I hope you enjoyed this 116-year-old recording of "Tenting On The Old Camp Ground"!!!

Jolly Coppersmith By The Zonophone Orchestra Zon-o-phone Record 1900/1901

Tonight, I have for you a record off of the Zon-o-phone label (catalog number B9175) released by the Universal Talking Machine Company.  It is titled "Jolly Coppersmith" by the Zonophone Orchestra.  The record dates to 1900 or 1901.  It plays at 68 to 74 rpm as opposed to 78 rpm.  A standard speed did not exist in those days.  I made the speed adjustment on the Victor Victrola Model 4 (VV-IV) that I am using for the presentation.  The Victrola dates to 1915.  Out of all of the machines that I have, the VV-IV is the closest to the date of the record.  I used a loud tone needle for this recording.  It sounds really good.  I like the sound of the triangle clanging.  A 113-year-old or 114-year-old record right here ...


The url for the above video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nS-ZDDckmtI

Photographs ...






More information about the record can be found at this link: http://www.worldcat.org/title/jolly-coppersmith/oclc/44942838

Philadelphia Christmas Village Mit Dem Nürnberger Christkind Am 29. November 2014

The Christmas Village returned to Philadelphia for another season.  I went yesterday, November 29, 2014 (and was pleasantly surprised by FREE street parking - the meters would not accept money!).  The attention of the crowd was mostly reserved for the arrival of the Nürnberger Christkind (Nürnberg is Nuremberg in German).  The Christkind is hugely popular in Germany.

This video is primarily for the Christkind.  I recorded a lot more footage.  Unfortunately, youtube will only allow 15 minutes of footage so I decided to make a video mainly for the arrival of the Christkind to the Village and her reading of the prologue.


Here is the url for the above video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7GVV6iFcOQ

Here are some photographs.  First, you will see the Village, some vendors and the Father Judge Pep Band.








The Christkind has arrived!  Here she is with the Father Judge Pep Band and the Clearview Regional High School Choir.  The Band performed traditional instrumentals while the Choir performed "Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht" in German and English.






I met the Christkind!!  I spoke with her in German for a bit.  It was a truly incredible and extraordinary moment!  SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ERSTAUNLICH!!




She is walking through the Village whilst giving out candy and photographs ...






Here is the world famous Käthe Wohlfahrt Christmas superstore:


More sights ...




Here is a painting of the Christkind with the Alpen-Edelweiß (the mountain flower of Germany that remains one of the most recognized symbols of the nation) and the traditional Lebkuchen Necklace:




Here is a depiction of the American pickle tradition:


Farewell to the Philadelphia Christmas Village for now ...




The German-American Weekend will take place on December 6 and 7, 2014.  I hope to see you all there.  Information: http://www.philachristmas.com/211-0-Weekend-Events.html

Mother Of Pearl By George Wilton Ballard With Orchestra Edison Diamond Disc Record 1921

Tonight, I have for you a fine balled called "Mother Of Pearl" by the great tenor vocalist George Wilton Ballard with an accompanying Orchestra.  George lived from 1887 to 1950 and he recorded this song in 1921.  What you see in this video is a Diamond Disc 80 RPM Record played on an Edison Disc Phonograph Model C-150.  The Disc machine was made between 1915 and 1919 and originally retailed for $150.  I procured this machine last month.  It sounds fantastic.  The fabric on the platter is a reproduction ... I can't win 'em all.

I decided to play this song for my first C-150 demonstration since it all starts with the Mother.

I purchased the disc at the Philadelphia Record Exchange just off of South Street around 2008 or 2009.  I bought two discs merely as music artifacts.  If you told me that I would have a player for the records in 2014, I would have been shocked by that revelation.

The url for the above video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xbuzb0DvQx0

The disc could use a cleaning:


I did clean the C-150 a bit:

Haydn Quartet And Walter R. Rogers With Tenting On The Old Camp Ground Victor Record 1909

The American Civil War Sesquicentennial continues.  This is a very fitting blog entry because 2014 is the Sesquicentennial of the publishing of "Tenting On The Old Camp Ground".  Walter Kittredge wrote "Tenting On The Old Camp Ground" in 1863 and published it one year later.  Walter was drafted into the Union Army and was discharged shortly after due to having rheumatic fever.

Today, I have a version of the song.  It was pressed on the Victor label.  The song was recorded by the Haydn Quartet and Walter R. Rogers in 1909.  I have two records on display in the video - although they have different catalog numbers (16404 and 119), the recording is the same.  I recorded it twice - one close and one far.  I used a soft tone steel needle for both recordings.  The machine used to spin the record is a Brunswick Panatrope Exponential Type 106 Gramophone/Phonograph.  It was made in the late 1920s.  I also brought out an autographed copy of a book titled "Tenting On The Old Camp Ground" for display.  It is dated 1891.


The url for the above video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yl4NKpHYXr8





Additional information can be found at this link: http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/200002589/B-1446-Tenting_on_the_old_camp_ground

Thank you all for watching and observing the 150th Anniversary of the American Civil War.