Christmas music box favorites by AF Audio Fidelity Publication date 1970

 STUDY IN STEREOPHONIC HIGH FIDELITY SOUND  

STEREODISC  

Chrietmas  
iiluoic Box  

AUDIO FIDELITY.  

©AUDIO FIDELITY INC. Printed in U.S.A.  

Auld Lang Syne • Die Lorelei  
The First Noel  

Rock of Ages • Jolly Coppersmith  
Merry Widow Waltz  

a study in STEREOPHONIC HIGH FIDELITY sound  

AUDIO FIDELITY STEREODISC AFSD 5982  

Christmas  
Music Box Favorites  

Deck the halls with boughs of holly, and let the music boxes play.  
Christmas is at hand, and this is a time of year which calls for playing  
music boxes. They bring relaxation and sentimental memories of a  
gracious, old fashioned era. They help turn men’s thoughts from a  
hurried, harried world to one which inspires the ideals of peace on  
earth to men of good will. That earthen jug on mama’s dresser which  
plays Adeste Fidelis .. . the cigarette box on the living room coffee  
table which rings out O’ Tannenbaum.. .the jewel box on sister’s  
vanity which fills the air with Jingle Bells . . . the cookie jar in the  
kitchen that breaks out into The First Noel ... as brother reaches in  
for a chocolate chip ... all sound the mood of Yuletide joy and inspire  
an atmosphere of charm.  

Music boxes are fascinating because of their special tone. At one  
time in history—before the invention of the modern piano, music  
boxes were common and popular all over the world. They varied from  
tiny spoke-studded discs built into boxes and china and watches to  
huge platters twice the size of the modern phonograph record  
mounted in elegant cabinets.  

Although the history of the modern music box goes back only as  
far as the latter part of the 18th century, there is evidence to show  
that the principle of the modern music box occurred in rudimentary  
form to instrument makers in the early Middle Ages who recognized  
the possibility of producing different sounds by activating metal of  
varying lengths and thicknesses. The obstacle they faced, however,  
was finding a mechanical way to make these pieces of metal vibrate.  

Switzerland was the birthplace of the music box and two cities for  
years have claimed the honor of discovering the music box—Geneva  
and Vallee de Joux—some time during the decade 1780-1790. How¬  
ever, as early as the fifteenth century the principle of a pin-studded  
cylinder was applied to carillons in northern France, Flanders, Hol¬  
land and Germany. The principle of these carillons and later ones  
involved the placement of pins on a cylinder which activated attach¬  
ments that made hammers strike bells. Tunes were changed by putting  
in new pins or by changing the cylinders. This system was used for  
some years, until someone came up with the idea of making the  
cylinder shift sideways thereby enabling it to play different tunes.  
Before the advent of the modern music box, only one carillon was  
known to have used a shifting cylinder. It was installed in St. Peter’s  
Cathedral in Geneva, and consisted of eight flat bells set on a rod.  
By moving the cylinder on its axis it was possible to play different  
tunes, and this was done for each day of the week.  

During the late seventeenth century, while carillons were used in  
towers, clocks with carillons grew in popularity. Clockmakers took  
this principle of the tower carillon clock and applied it to clocks for  
home use. Thus, early musical clocks, or castles, made their appear¬  
ance in France and England, and became quite common.  

By the middle of the 18th century there were many carillon clocks  
in use in private homes. Some had flutes, others had organ mechanisms  
and still others had bells. One famous clock with automatons, known  
as “Du Berger” and made by a Swiss clockmaker was so elaborate  
that it boasted a flute-playing shepherd, a barking dog, bleating sheep,  
cherubs who moved in time to music, and a singing bird.  

Also around the middle of the 18th century clockmakers started  
installing small musical movements in watches that worked on the  
same principles as the carillons and musical clocks. A cylinder with  
pins tripped a tiny hammer which struck bells. The sounds were  
produced by steel blades or teeth constructed much in the manner  


of comb teeth, except that each blade was mounted separately.  
Whichever city—Geneva or Vallee de Joux—was responsible for the  
introduction of the first true music boxes, manufacture of these boxes  
began to grow during the early 1800’s. By 1814 there were musical  
movements installed in letter seals, in rings and other pieces of  
jewelry, in boxes and china. A Frenchman named Francois Lecoultre  
thought up the idea of making musical teeth all on one comb, instead  
of as separate units installed side by side. And by 1820 Lecoultre was  
making these one-piece combs in quantity. Around the same time the  
large cylinder music box appeared, together with the music box that  
boasted interchangeable cylinders.  

In 1885 the Germans made an important change in the music box  
industry when they introduced the disc music box. A big advantage  
of these boxes was the fact that discs containing popular tunes could  
be produced quickly and circulated among homes and public places  
while the tunes were still being performed. To this day the music box  
has continued to employ the same principle by which the first cylinder  
music boxes operated in the late 18th century.  

One of the interesting things about music boxes is the fact that  
they take on an especially attractive sound when they are built into  
objects that produce an echo or unusual resonance. For example, a  
music box in a large wooden box will sound much more appealing  
than one installed in a shallow piece of china. By the same token, a  
music cylinder and comb built into a jug with a broad base will have  
a much more appealing sound than one that is installed in a shallow  
jewel box.  

The music box heard in this recording is one of many instruments  
collected by Paul Eakins, a former mechanical engineer who is now  
proprietor of a recreation center named Gay Nineties Village, located  
in Sikeston, Missouri. While the sound of most music boxes, heard  
by the naked ear without amplification, is one marked by great  
delicacy and fragileness, the sound of the music box in this recording  
produces a full-bodied effect as a result of the use of special recording  
techniques. Application of guaranteed total frequency range tech¬  
niques plus special placement of microphones contribute to secure  
a tone which, because of its remarkable realism and exceptional purity,  
is designed to satisfy the standards of the most discerning record fan.  
Selections include yuletide favorites like Adeste Fidelis, Jingle Bells,  
Hark, The Herald Angels Sing, O Come, Little Children, The First  
Noel, O’ Sanctissima, O’ Tannenbaum and Silent Night; also Die  
Lorelei, Auld Lang Syne, the Merry Widow Waltz, a medley of the  
Lost Chord and Rock of Ages, The Jolly Coppersmith and Invitation  
to the Dance.  

GAY NINETIES VILLAGE, where the music box heard in this recording is  
located, is a mecca for fun in Missouri. The village, a popular tourist  
center in the midwest, boasts one of the world’s largest collections of  
music boxes, nickelodeons, calliopes, organs, tracker pianos and other  
mechanical and wind instruments. Owner of Gay Nineties Village, Paul  
Eakins, used to be a mechanical engineer and owner of a thriving plumb¬  
ing business until he was ordered by his doctor, for reasons of health to  
find an easier life. Making the most of his knowledge of pipes and their  
workings, Eakins began collecting nickelodeons and repairing them as a  
hobby. He eventually was so successful that he developed this into a  
full-time occupation and built Gay Nineties Village.  


This recording is made from authentic music boxes from the  
Paul Eakins Gay Nineties Village collection. The sounds of  
the ratchets, gears and the spring wound motor may be  
heard on occasion and is characteristic of the instruments.  

SIKESTON, MISSOURI  

Audio Fidelity Records produced and released the world’s first Stereophonic High Fidelity record  
(Stereodisc) in November, 1957 and also the world's first commercial Videotape  
on Audio 20/20 Label) in June, 1966.  

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TECHNICAL DATA ( RIAA)  

Total Frequency Range Stereophonic Recording  
This High Fidelity Stereophonic Recording was produced featuring  
the Frey Stereophonic Curtain of Sound* technique.  

When heard on a balanced playback system, the elements or musi¬  
cians on the recording will be reproduced in the exact locations,  
directionally, as at the original performance. This original, positive  
technique to produce a pure, true stereophonic effect so that the  
instrument or elements of the recording are perfectly relocated as  
to direction of sound is an Audio Fidelity development and is true  
stereophonic reproduction.  

This recording was made on an Ampex 350 with special electronic  
circuitry, using Telefunken, RCA, and Electrovoice microphones. The  
masters were cut with an automatic Scully Record Lathe mounting  
a Westrex 45-45 cutter with special feedback electronic circuitry  
driven by custom 200 watt amplifiers.  

Precision mastering was done so as to achieve maximum stylus  
velocity consistent with minimum distortion, resulting in the ulti¬  
mate in channel separation and realizing the greatest possible  
signal-to-noise ratio.  

While the total frequency range of 16 cps to 25,000 cps on this  
record may not be within the range of ordinary human hearing, never¬  
theless inspection of the grooves with a microscope will show the  
etchings of the upper dynamic frequencies. It is the opinion of the  
manufacturer that if these frequencies were omitted from this rec¬  
ord a certain warmth of tone that is felt and sensed rather than  
heard would be lost. For this reason and to achieve the ultimate in  
our “Studies in HIGH FIDELITY STEREOPHONIC sound” we have gone  
to these extreme electronic lengths.  

Although any 33V3 RPM stereophonic record playback equipment  
may be used in playing this recording, it is recommended that play¬  
back equipment of extreme wide range and fidelity be used so that  
the recording may be enjoyed to its utmost.  

Low Frequency Limit .16 CPS  

High Frequency Limit. 25,000 CPS  

Crossover.500 CPS •  

Side A  

1. JINGLE BELLS  

2. ADESTE FIDELIS  

3. FIRST NOEL  

4. SILENT NIGHT  

5. JOLLY COPPERSMITH  

6. 0 COME LITTLE CHILDREN  

7. AULD LANG SYNE  

Side B  

1. 0 TANNENBAUM  

2. 0 SANCTISSIMA  

3. HARK THE HERALD ANGELS SING  

4 . INVITATION TO THE DANCE  

5. DIE LORELEI  

6. MERRY WIDOW WALTZ (LEHAR)  

7. THE LOST CHORD—ROCK OF AGES  

All selections except #6B arranged by Eakins, Frey  
Ilth Ave. Theatricals, Inc.—ASCAP  

PRINTED IN U.S.A. COPYRIGHT 1962 BY AUDIO FIDELITY. INC.  

Produced Expressly by Audio Fidelity for RADIO SHACK  

CHRISTMAS  
MUSIC BOX  
FAVORITES