THE HOME OF STREET ORGAN MUSIC ON PAPER ROLLS

My Business started some 40 years ago when I had a house and workshop in Clerkenwell Green, London. I specialized then in the restoration of early pianos (nothing later than 1815). Antique dealers knew me well, and brought anything that was vaguely musical. It was this way that I was presented with a clockwork organ from a clock. The organ was by D'Avrainville and when restored it played arias from Rossini operas. I determined to make an instrument like it. And so, for some years I made barrel organs, much to the amusement of Mr.Chiappa, whose Factory was across the road. They had stopped making organs with pinned barrels at the end of the Nineteenth Century, nevertheless he was very generous with advice on many aspects of organ building.



It was when Roy Davis and I went to an Organ Festival in Berlin that we first came across Street Organs performing using paper rolls, and it was the ability to make an extensive performance of music that gave us the incentive to switch to this method of organ building. With the help of a clockmaker friend a machine was designed to punch multiple batches of music rolls, from my original arrangements.

I always arrange from the printed score, thus all our music reflects the composer's intentions and the music is translated with skill and imagination to suit the organs which will play it. There are over 2000 pieces in the Catalogue, ranging from Evergreens to Opera, Pop to Classical, Marches, Dances, Song, and so on. Something for everyone, and most of it is familiar, even when you don't recognize the titles. Download the Catalogue and browse. I can even arrange your special music, if it will go on the organ.