Photo courtesy of K. R. Mesloh
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Recently,
we had the good fortune of receiving correspondence
from members of the Mesloh family, descendants of
the great cornetist, Otto Mesloh. His virtuoso work
with the Metropolitan Band on "Wearing
of the Green" (ca. 1902) is featured on
our CD, The
Pink Lambert. Karl Mesloh, the musician's
great nephew, was so kind as to provide us with some
photos of his uncle, along with an article he penned
a decade ago for the New Bremen Historical Association's
Newsletter. Archeophone was thrilled to learn about
the life of a recording pioneer who was only a name
to us. The Mesloh family was happy finally to hear
a recording of their late relative!
Otto
Mesloh's recordings were few indeed, so far as we
can tell. On Allen Koenigsberg's partial list of
Lambert cylinders (compiled 1981), Mesloh is not
found at all—though, to be sure, there are several
unnamed cornet players on the recordings contained
on his list, any one of which could be Mesloh. Performers
of the early recording industry were often not identified
on the disc labels or cylinder rims, but this is
even more true for solo musicians than for singers.
Nonetheless,
we know of at least three other recordings by Otto
Mesloh, all on Edison cylinders:
- "Believe
Me if All Those Endearing Young Charms" (No.
7788, released May 1901)
- "Tyrolienne" (No.
7851, July 1901)
- "Fantasia
from Verdi's Bal Masque" (No. 7894,
August 1901)
If
you know of any other recordings by Mesloh, please let
us know so we can list them here!
Our
deepest thanks to the Meslohs in Ohio, Oklahoma,
and Florida for their help and interest. They're
all very proud of Otto!
Next:
A biographical sketch of Otto Mesloh 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
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