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Germany,
around 1800? |
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# 13
Musical notations.
We
all know the modern greeting cards with digital music, like we send for
Christmas. If the folded card is opened, the music will be produced by a tiny
build-in chip.
Cards
with music already existed in the 18th century. They did not produce the music
by itself. It had to be done by a human being with a musical gift. The playing
cards you see here are reused for musical notations, to be played by a violin.
The card with musical notations in pencil was probably used in Germany, around 1800. It is a piece for one violin. Maybe it was just a theme that inspired the unknown composer at a moment, that he was not at home, so he used the unprinted back of a playing card for his little masterpiece. It lasts only 16 seconds. If you click on the card you hear the music, played on a sampler.
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Germany,
around 1800? |
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The second card has musical notations in ink done by an unknown composer. According to the fine writing it looks like it has been done by a metal pen, not by a feather. If so the composition must have been noted down after 1850, when the metal pen was invented. The French playing card dates before 1800. This violin piece is part of a work for more instruments, a small or maybe even large orchestra. We can tell that from the fact that this musical notation gives the violin two pauses, for other instruments. The total time of this piece is 2 minutes 6 seconds. Each instrumentalist might have had his own piece on a playing card back. They must have had good eyes! And proper lighting too. Click on the card to hear the music.
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Playing card maker unknown. France, around 1860 ? Collection Gejus van Diggele |
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Although very rare, there are more examples known of playing cards with musical notations on them. Playing cards with parts of a musical piece were even printed and published. When arranged in a random order, they would present a different composition each time, so each shuffle of the deck would provide a new piece of music.
I would like to thank the well known Dutch composer Ruud Bos for his kindness to play and record these unique musical pieces, that have been hidden for so many years.
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