Yesterday, Jan Kijlstra wrote :

> This week-end in Paris, France, a new museum of music is opening,
> showing about 4000 instruments.

The location (Cite de la musique de La Villette, in Paris) is new,
so is too the presentation of the instruments, but the collection is
an old one (beginning about the 19th century, linked for a long time with
the Brussels collection), that of the Conservatoire national de musique
(National music school, formerly Rue de Madrid in Paris, where the
exhibition space was charming, but really too scarce).

The new building is very modern and spacious, but some people do not
like it -- lots of rough concrete and wooden stairs, the circulation of
visitors is not evident.  The cost was high, due to some problems of
mis-conception which delayed the opening for one year and a half, thus
the reaction of President Chirac !

The instruments are actually very well displayed on four floors, and
appear in all their splendor.  It is one of the finest collections of
musical instruments in the world, mainly harpsichords, quatuor, and winds,
only a few popular or ethnic instruments.

Only half a dozen mechanical music instruments are displayed, because the
collection is rather poor in this field, which for many years, was
neglected by the curators.

You will find a grand piano Steck Duo-art (which needs some adjustments),
and in a window-case, 4 Serinettes from the end of the 18th century:
2 usual ones (one by Davrainville, Paris, and the other one by Ferry,
Paris, 1784), one very small (7 pipes), and another one inserted in a
book (very nice piece !).  You will find too a rather coarse automaton
(19th c. I think) where a lady teaches a bird how to sing; and at last a
good Davrainville Mechanical Organ.

A wonderful and rare monkey organ with a lot of automated figures is not
exhibited.

None of these instruments is demonstrated (excepted sometimes the Duo-Art)
but you may hear some music through the headphones which are given to you
at the entrance.

About 30 old phonographs are exhibited too.

And, in the 1st floor, a lot of electric and electronic instruments, from
the "Ondes Martenot" and the wonderful "Theremin" to the most recent
electronic keyboards.

A very good shop : lots of books and CDs about music, but only 1 postcard
on mechanical music, depicting the coarse automaton of the lady teaching a
bird how to sing ...

    Musee de la musique
    Cite de la musique
    221, Avenue Jean-Jaures
    75019 Paris
    (Métro Porte de Pantin)
    Tel. +33 01 44 84 44 84
    Minitel : 3615 citemusique

The museum has a small web site :  http://www.cite-musique.fr
And click on museum.

Philippe Rouille¶
(Paris, France)¶
rouille@cnam.fr¶
http://www.cnam.fr/museum/musica_mecanica/