C. A. Seydel Söhne
Encyclopedia
Christian August Seydel was the founder of the C. A. Seydel Söhne harmonica
factory in Klingenthal
/Sachsen more than 150 years ago. Steeped in tradition, the firma C. A. Seydel Söhne is the oldest harmonica factory in the world still in existence. Seydel manufactures a wide range of harmonicas such as Blues
, Tremolo
, Octav, Chromatic and the Triola
.
. When mining
was discontinued in Saxony Vogtland, the brothers Johann Christian Seydel and Christian August Seydel began working as instrument makers. Both subsequently became approved harmonica makers. This was decreed by the court of Untersachsenberg on October 27th, 1847.
The certificate contains the first documented reference to the company, with Christian August Seydel being registered as the company founder. The factory was established in Klingenthal at the foot of the famous 'Aschberg
' (literally ‘Ash Mountain’) and was to become one of the biggest harmonica factories in the whole of Saxony. In 1882 C.A. Seydel died and his son Richard took over.
One year later his brother Moritz joined them and from that day the company was named 'C.A.Seydel Söhne'. (C.A. Seydel and Sons).
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
factory in Klingenthal
Klingenthal
Klingenthal is a town in the Vogtlandkreis district, in the Free State of Saxony, south-eastern Germany. It is situated directly on the border with the Czech Republic opposite the Czech town of Kraslice, 29 km southeast of Plauen, and 33 km northwest of Karlovy Vary.The Aschberg towers above the...
/Sachsen more than 150 years ago. Steeped in tradition, the firma C. A. Seydel Söhne is the oldest harmonica factory in the world still in existence. Seydel manufactures a wide range of harmonicas such as Blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, Tremolo
Tremolo
Tremolo, or tremolando, is a musical term that describes various trembling effects, falling roughly into two types. The first is a rapid reiteration...
, Octav, Chromatic and the Triola
Triola
The Triola is a children's musical instrument, a hand-tuned single tone wind harmonica. The Triola is manufactured by C. A. Seydel Söhne in Klingenthal, Germany....
.
History
In the 17th century the Seydel family were miners in Sachsenberg-Georgenthal/SaxonySaxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
. When mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
was discontinued in Saxony Vogtland, the brothers Johann Christian Seydel and Christian August Seydel began working as instrument makers. Both subsequently became approved harmonica makers. This was decreed by the court of Untersachsenberg on October 27th, 1847.
The certificate contains the first documented reference to the company, with Christian August Seydel being registered as the company founder. The factory was established in Klingenthal at the foot of the famous 'Aschberg
Aschberg
Aschberg is a mountain of Saxony, southeastern Germany....
' (literally ‘Ash Mountain’) and was to become one of the biggest harmonica factories in the whole of Saxony. In 1882 C.A. Seydel died and his son Richard took over.
One year later his brother Moritz joined them and from that day the company was named 'C.A.Seydel Söhne'. (C.A. Seydel and Sons).
Artists who play Seydel Harmonicas
- Charlie MusselwhiteCharlie MusselwhiteCharlie Musselwhite is an American electric blues harmonica player and bandleader, one of the non-black bluesmen who came to prominence in the early 1960s, along with Mike Bloomfield and Paul Butterfield. Though he has often been identified as a "white bluesman", he claims Native American heritage...
- Mark HummelMark HummelMark Hummel is an American blues harmonica player, vocalist, songwriter, and long-time bandleader of The Blues Survivors. Since 1991, Hummel has produced the Blues Harmonica Blowout tour, of which he is also a featured performer. The shows have featured blues harmonica players such as James...
- James CottonJames CottonJames Cotton is an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who has performed and recorded with many of the great blues artists of his time as well as with his own band.-Career:...
- Howard LevyHoward LevyHoward Levy is a Grammy Award–winning, American harmonicist, pianist, composer, and producer....
- Frédéric YonnetFrédéric YonnetFrédéric Yonnet is a French musician, producer and recording artist who is best known for his use of the harmonica as a lead in jazz, R&B, funk, gospel and hip-hop influenced music...
- Pat BergesonPat BergesonPat Bergeson is an American guitarist, harmonica player and occasional songwriter. Based in Nashville, he is best known for his live and session work with Chet Atkins, Lyle Lovett and Suzy Bogguss.-Biography:...
- Wolf Maahn
- Hermine Deurloo
- Renè Giessen
- Ben Bouman
- Alfred Hirsch
- Isabella Krapf
- Igor Flach
- Uwe Roller
- Albert Maksimov
- Arnt Ove Kvernenes
- L.D. Miller
- Jeremy "JB" Bustillos
- Watermelon Slim