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sethb Inner circle The Jersey Shore 2719 Posts |
Just stumbled upon a great source for clown and circus music.
In my opinion, good recordings of circus standards are few and far between. But an independent label has published a 27-volume set of circus music on CD recorded by the "South Shore Circus Band." This is a 25-piece band that plays with precision and verve, and is very well recorded. See http://euchronia.net/sotc/ Volume 25 is an all-clown album, a compilation of ragtime, trombone smears and galops from the previous recordings. As for the other CD's, you will have to pick and choose from among your favorites, whether you want the circus standards, the more obscure material (definitely very neat!) or newer stuff like "Kids" (from "Bye, Bye, Birdie") and Gershwin's "Strike Up the Band". There also appears to be some duplication of titles among the various albums. Most, but not all, of these CD's are also available from Amazon, see http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/sto......-8132760 If you go to the Amazon website, you can listen to sample cuts from the CD's, an added benefit. I have Volumes 2, 8, 16 and 17, and can recommend them highly. Incidentally, I have no connection with the band or the company, I just enjoy good circus music! SETH
"Watch the Professor!!" -- Al Flosso (1895-1976)
"The better you are, the closer they watch" -- Darwin Ortiz, STRONG MAGIC |
olivertwist Special user Nashua, NH 588 Posts |
My favorite Circus music is "Circus Clown Calliope". I don't know where you can find it. I think I found it on amazon.com searching for circus music. For me the calliope really captures the spirit of the circus and has a cleaner sound than the circus band.
Another good source of calliope music is http://www.mrrecordings.com "Clown and Midway Calliope Music" Vols 1 and 2. Another is "The Circus is Coming"... http://www.klavier-records.com OliverTwist |
sethb Inner circle The Jersey Shore 2719 Posts |
I agree, the calliope is also great circus atmosphere. A full circus band is good, but after a while it starts to grate on your ears; you just can't listen to that full-tilt playing for an extended period of time (unless, of course, you're AT a circus!) That's when I reach for the calliope music.
The only odd thing about the calliope recordings I've heard is that they don't sound very loud (not much echo, etc.) For something that supposedly could be heard for several city blocks, the recordings don't convey the image of lots of musical horsepower. I wonder why? SETH
"Watch the Professor!!" -- Al Flosso (1895-1976)
"The better you are, the closer they watch" -- Darwin Ortiz, STRONG MAGIC |
Todd Robbins V.I.P. New York 2922 Posts |
The recordings made with calliopes us air calliopes which are not nearly as loud as the old steam units. Those were the ones that could be heard for miles. Also, the calliope has only 43 notes so there is a limit as to the range and this can make for a smaller sound.
You might want to also try band organ music. There are the units found on carousels. This is a good source for some great recordings: http://www.bandorganmusic.com/ |
sethb Inner circle The Jersey Shore 2719 Posts |
Todd, thanks for the calliope info. I assume that the "air calliopes" you are referring to would be Tangley calliopes or something similar. I've read about these, but have never seen one in the flesh.
Thanks also for the band organ link, it looks great. SETH
"Watch the Professor!!" -- Al Flosso (1895-1976)
"The better you are, the closer they watch" -- Darwin Ortiz, STRONG MAGIC |
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