Cylinder of the Month


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From 1896, a rare early recording of the Belle of New York March by the Empire State Concert Band.

Belle of New York March

 
Company Metropolitan Phonograph Company of New York (?)
Cylinder # Unknown
Category Band
Title Belle of New York March
Performed by Empire State Concert Band
Circa 1896-1897
Announcement "Belle of New York March, by the Empire State Concert Band."
 

Enjoy this early recording of this popular march.   Written in 1894, it is probably the best-remembered composition by cornetist and conductor Tom Clark (see the July 1898 issue of Phonoscope), becoming a regular feature in catalogs of most major record companies for decades.

This cylinder carries the characteristic somewhat brash sound of a record duplicated pantographically from a master cylinder.

Notice how the band seems to have been signaled at around 2:25 (and maybe again at 2:38) to up the tempo in order to finish the piece before the end of the cylinder – they barely made it!

To hear Belle of New York March  —

 
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