Carl Frei
Encyclopedia
Carl Frei was a German
organ builder
, composer and music arranger who founded a company that manufactured fairground
and street organs
.
Born in Schiltach
in the Black Forest, Frei studied music from a young age, and at nine he was studying harmony
and counterpoint
at the Waldkirch
academy of music. From age 14 on, well-known musical instrument factories such as Bruder, Gavioli
, Mortier
and DeVreese were employing him in Waldkirch and Paris
.
After World War I
, Frei had to leave Belgium and he made his way to Breda
, Holland to repair what were popularly known as Dutch street organs, but were actually built in almost every mainland European country except Holland, which was where they were most populous. Pre World War I, street organs were hand cranked and easily portable, but fell out of tune and repair due to the undulations of the cobbled Dutch streets. Frei started maintaining organs, but noticed that many owners wanted something louder (thanks to the increased street noise made by early cars), and distinct (thanks to the wider availability of the record player).
Frei began to make his own organs from 1920, with a number of innovations. Firstly he devised a new organ register called the "bourdon céleste," which replaced the high-maintenance clarinet
s and vox humana
's with two rows of stopped pipes with very bright intonation, one row tuned slightly sharp to the other. He also developed the 20 note roll scale for street organs, more popularly known as the 20 note Raffin scale because the vast majority of 20 note organs have been built by Josef Raffin. Besides rebuilding older organs, Carl Frei started building new ones according to this concept. Into these he incorporated an amplified violin section by adding a violin-celeste stop, which was also tuned to this floating sound temperament. He also introduced the "unda maris" stop in the counter melody section while in the large (72 and 90 keys) organs they were incorporating stops with names like "bifoon I" (in melody) and "bifoon II" (in the countermelody). The biggest street version of these organs, with 90 keys, were true "castles of the street;" while the "Carl Frei Traveling Concert Organ" was considered to be the largest traveling fair organ in the world, with 112 keys.
Forced to leave Holland after the Second World War, Frei and his son Carl Frei Jnr returned to Waldkirch and continued their business, until his death in 1967.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
organ builder
Organ builder
-Australia:* William Anderson * Australian Pipe Organs Pty Ltd* Robert Cecil Clifton * William Davidson* J.E. Dodd & Sons Gunstar Organ Works* Fincham & Hobday* Geo. Fincham & Son* Alfred Fuller * Peter D.G. Jewkes Pty Ltd...
, composer and music arranger who founded a company that manufactured fairground
Fairground organ
A fairground organ is a pipe organ designed for use in a commercial public fairground setting to provide loud music to accompany fairground rides and attractions...
and street organs
Street organ
A street organ is a mechanical organ designed to play in the street. The operator of a street organ is called an organ grinder. The two main types are the smaller German street organ and the larger Dutch street organ....
.
Born in Schiltach
Schiltach
Schiltach is a town in the district of Rottweil, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated in the eastern Black Forest, on the river Kinzig, 20 km south of Freudenstadt.-Geography:...
in the Black Forest, Frei studied music from a young age, and at nine he was studying harmony
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
and counterpoint
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
at the Waldkirch
Waldkirch
Waldkirch is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is known as "the place of mechanical organs", where fairground organs are manufactured and played on the streets from well-known manufacturers, such as A. Ruth and Sohn, Bruder and Carl Frei .-Sights:* The Catholic Church St...
academy of music. From age 14 on, well-known musical instrument factories such as Bruder, Gavioli
Gavioli
Gavioli & Cie were a Franco–Italian organ builder company that manufactured fairground organs in both Italy and later France.Gavioli was founded in 1806 in Modena, Italy, by Giacomo Gavioli . Giacamo's hobby was the development of automatic playing musical instruments like bird organs and flute...
, Mortier
Mortier
Mortier is an organ manufacturer from Antwerp, Belgium that made orchestrions, fairground organs, and mostly dance organs from 1898 until 1950. The company was founded by Theophile Mortier .- History :...
and DeVreese were employing him in Waldkirch and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
After World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Frei had to leave Belgium and he made his way to Breda
Breda
Breda is a municipality and a city in the southern part of the Netherlands. The name Breda derived from brede Aa and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. As a fortified city, the city was of strategic military and political significance...
, Holland to repair what were popularly known as Dutch street organs, but were actually built in almost every mainland European country except Holland, which was where they were most populous. Pre World War I, street organs were hand cranked and easily portable, but fell out of tune and repair due to the undulations of the cobbled Dutch streets. Frei started maintaining organs, but noticed that many owners wanted something louder (thanks to the increased street noise made by early cars), and distinct (thanks to the wider availability of the record player).
Frei began to make his own organs from 1920, with a number of innovations. Firstly he devised a new organ register called the "bourdon céleste," which replaced the high-maintenance clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
s and vox humana
Vox humana
The Vox Humana is a short-resonator reed stop on the pipe organ, so named because of its supposed resemblance to the human voice. As a rule, the stop is used with a tremulant, which undulates the wind supply, causing a vibrato effect...
's with two rows of stopped pipes with very bright intonation, one row tuned slightly sharp to the other. He also developed the 20 note roll scale for street organs, more popularly known as the 20 note Raffin scale because the vast majority of 20 note organs have been built by Josef Raffin. Besides rebuilding older organs, Carl Frei started building new ones according to this concept. Into these he incorporated an amplified violin section by adding a violin-celeste stop, which was also tuned to this floating sound temperament. He also introduced the "unda maris" stop in the counter melody section while in the large (72 and 90 keys) organs they were incorporating stops with names like "bifoon I" (in melody) and "bifoon II" (in the countermelody). The biggest street version of these organs, with 90 keys, were true "castles of the street;" while the "Carl Frei Traveling Concert Organ" was considered to be the largest traveling fair organ in the world, with 112 keys.
Forced to leave Holland after the Second World War, Frei and his son Carl Frei Jnr returned to Waldkirch and continued their business, until his death in 1967.