The Edison phonograph monthly (Dec 1914-Dec 1915)

EDISON PHONOGRAPH MONTHLY, NOVEMBER, 1915 TONE-TEST RECITAL AT OIL CITY, PA. Tuesday, September 21 (Attendance 1,000) Artist: Christine Miller. Recital at the Opera House 8.15 p. m. Under auspices of C. H. Smith^Sons' Company. Smith Sons' Company write as follows: "We take pleasure in advising you that with the valuable assistance of your Miss Christine Miller, your Mr. Fuller and the rest of the party, the Tone-Test Recital given in our city was a complete success in every way, and we are receiving very satisfactory comments on the manner in which it was conducted. Quite a number of our valuable customers have stated that they would have been willing to pay 32.50 per sitting for the pleasure of hearing Miss Christine Miller alone. "We wish to thank you especially for sending this party here and in the future if there is anything in this line in the different cities would thank you to put our name on the list." The Oil City Derrick on September 22 contained the following account of the Recital: HIGHLY PLEASING Christine Miller, the Contralto, Sings in Conjunction with the Edison Phonograph at the Opera House "Oil City music lovers were treated to a unique entertainment at the Opera House last night, staged by C. H. Smith Sons' Company. It was a rare musical treat to hear Christine Miller, the celebrated contralto, and more — it was the most remarkable demonstration of the ability of a machine to re-create sound that a delighted audience ever heard. "The admittance to this recital was by complimentary card and the audience was one of the most appreciative and enthusiastic the Opera House has ever contained. Long before the doors were thrown open at 7.30 hundreds were waiting to be admitted, and before the entertainment started the house was taxed to its fullest capacity. "Mr. Fuller, representing the Edison Company, introduced the recital with a brief explanation of the evolution of sound re-creation, as worked out by Mr. Thomas A. Edison since his first invention along this line, thirty or forty years ago. His remarks were followed by a startling demonstration of the possibilities of the Edison Diamond Disc phonograph of to-day. "Miss Miller sang 'O Rest in the Lord,' from Elijah, and 'Abide With Me,' in unison with her own voice, perfectly reproduced on the Edison machine. Two violin solos were played next in quick succession, that the difference in tone of the two different instruments could easily be distinguished. The 'Armorer's Song' from Robin Hood was followed by a reproduction of 'The Two Larks,' piano solo by AndrS Benoist, in which the tones of that most difficult of all instruments to reproduce were given with absolute fidelity. "Miss Miller next won tremendous applause by singing two beautiful Scotch ballads — 'Ye Banks and Braes — Bonnie Doon' and 'My Ain Countrie' — in twopart duets with her own voice reproduced on the Edison. " 'Die Lorelei,' a flute solo, was followed by a reproduction of 'O Paradiso,' as sung by Guiseppe Anselmi, the celebrated tenor of La Scala, Milan. " 'The Suwanee River,' sung by Miss Miller to a spellbound audience in a darkened house, was followed by the 'March from Tannhauser,' the final selection of the evening. "An interesting feature of the recital was the fact that the phonograph was an Edison, owned by a resident of Oil City, and loaned from his home for the occasion. "All in all, it was an evening to which every one in the huge audience will look back with pleasure for a long time. Great credit is due C. H. Smith Sons' Company for the great expense and trouble they have undergone, in order to provide this treat for Oil City music lovers." TONE-TEST RECITAL AT PHILADELPHIA Friday, September 17 (Attendance 400) Artists: Christine Miller, Contralto; Arthur Walsh, Violinist; Harold Bell Lyman, Flutist. Recital held in the afternoon at Horticultural Hall under the auspices of N. Snellenburg & Son, Girard Phonograph Co., Blake & Burkart, N. Stetson & Co., Starr & Moss and L. Goodman. The weather was oppressively warm, hence the attendance was not as large as it otherwise would have been. Blake & Burkart write: "A great deal of good has been accomplished by the Christine Miller recital and we feel quite confident that more results will be obtained ln the future. We cannot urge dealers in other cities too strongly to take up this kind of work. We feel sure that if they will give these recitals of our artists performing in unison with the instrument, that they will make an impression upon their prospects that no other form of advertising could possibly make. There is no question in our minds that this is the finest kind of advertising that could be done, and it certainly places the Edison Diamond Disc in a class among the finest musical instruments in the world. We trust that we will have an opportunity in the future of giving more of these recitals in Philadelphia." N. Stetson & Co. write: "The effect of the Christine Miller recital was excellent. A large number were most favorably impressed with the recital and we look for good results in actual sales." The Philadelphia Ledger on September 18th thus spoke of the Recital: WONDERS OF LATEST EDISON MACHINE SHOWN Artists Sing and Play Duets with Themselves at Private Demonstration "Musical artists sang and played duets with themselves at a private demonstration of the reproducing qualities of the latest Edison sound-reproducing instrument held yesterday afternoon in Horticultural Hall. Edison artists performed while records of the selections were played on the Diamond Disc sound-reproducing instrument. At times the artists stopped, and it was difficult, and in some instances impossible, to tell that the singer was not still singing. Except for the volume of sound, the reproduction was as perfect as the original interpretation. "Miss Christine Miller, contralto, pleased the audience with a number of selections sung as a duet with herself on the instrument. Arthur L. Walsh rendered a "If there was a difference between the record and Christine Miller's voice, the ear was not keen enough to detect it." — Johnstown, (Pa.) Democrat.