Music for a Wine Garden

 

It's heard when dining at a cafe or restaurant,
pushing a supermarket cart or
strolling through a shopping mall,
standing in line at an amusement park,
or even while pumping gas at a service station. 

In 2024 it doesn't matter where you are,
there is always recorded music playing,
whether you want to listen to it or not.

But in olden times music was a unique attraction
reserved for only certain events or venues. 
Music wasn't meant to be mindlessly consumed
but savored and enjoyed.
Nonetheless entertainers worked hard 
to sell themselves and promote the location of their performances.
In the early 20th century this required a promotional postcard
with a picture of the band. 

Today I present one such ensemble 
that played the music of old Wien–Vienna.
Though we can't know their musical program
we can still hear the style they played 
based on their name and instrumentation.

It was called Schrammelmusik.

They were the
Orig. Wiener Wäschermad'l Gesangs Ensemble
~
Original Viennese Washermaid Vocal Ensemble
mit Weiner Schramelmusik
“D'Lichtenthaler”
director - Franz Neubauer

This group had seven members, four men dressed in summer-white three-piece suits and three women wearing matching folk-like dresses with big bows tying up their hair. The photo looks like it was taken in a photographer's studio but they may be on a small stage at a salon or restaurant. Their instruments are on a side table: a button accordion, a violin, and a contraguitar—a type of harp guitar with an extended neck and extra strings. In front is a sign announcing the group's name, “D'Lichtenthaler” which refers to Lichtental, a part of the Alsergrund district in northcentral Wien, and the leader, Franz Neubauer, who is presumably the affable gentleman seated center.

Despite the group's connection to Wien, this postcard was sent from Dortmund, Germany on 9 May 1908. The message was written in pencil and the words have faded to a ghostly phantom of words.

The Weiner Schrammelmusik refers to a genre of popular music that was specific to Wien. It's name is derived from two brothers,  Johann Schrammel (1850–1893) and Josef Schrammel (1852-1895) who were musicians native to Wien. At an early age the Schrammel brothers demonstrated a gift for playing the violin. In 1878 they formed a trio with contraguitarist Anton Strohmayer, son of a noted Wien composer, Alois Strohmayer. They wrote their own songs and dances which they performed at wine taverns and inns around Wien. 

In 1884 the Schrammel brothers and Strohmayer were joined by clarinetist Georg Dänzer and their quartet became so successful that they received invitations to play at the palaces and mansions of the Viennese elite. Though Johann and Josef wrote their own music their popularity led some people to call earlier Austrian folkmusic forms, such as the Wienerlied dialect song, Schrammelmusik as well. By 1890 the Schrammel quartet was recognized throughout Europe and in 1893 the group was invited to perform in Chicago at the World's Columbian Exposition. 

In a very brief career of seven years, the Schrammel brothers composed more than 200 songs and tunes. Johann Schrammel died in 1893, and  was followed two years later by Josef, each just 43 years old at their death.

Viennese culture is most closely associated with the dance music and operettas of the Strauss family, Johann Strauss Sr. (1804–1849) and brothers Johann Strauss Jr., (1825–1899), Josef Strauss (1827–1870), and Eduard Strauss (1835–1916). Together they established Wien as the capital of  the waltz, a dance craze that captured the imagination of all Europe.  But the Schrammel brothers were equally influential in popularizing a softer more genteel music that came to be identified with a different part of Viennese society. 

The Schrammel quartet used two violins accompanied by a contraguitar and either a shrill piccolo clarinet in G or a button accordion. Their lighthearted, good humored, and often sentimental tunes appealed to the Viennese and soon were imitated by countless other small ensembles in Austria and Germany.

YouTube won't allow me
to include the Neue Wiener Concert Schrammeln 
so you will have to click the link above to hear them 
performing at the Buschenschank Stift St.Peter,
one of the oldest Heurigen – wine taverns in Wien, Austria.
The performers are Peter Uhler, violin; Johannes Fleischmann, violin;
Helmut Stippich, schrammel accordion; and Peter Havlicek, contraguitar. 

This video is a concert by
the Neue Wiener Concert Schrammeln
playing the Schmutzer Tanz.
It's good but doesn't have the full wine tavern atmosphere.

* * *

In this second postcard of the Wiener Wäschermadl'n Ensemble the group has added another young woman. The men standing hold violins and a contraguitar and at the feet of Franz Neubauer is a button accordion which presumably was what he played. The word Wäschermadl'n or washer maid is odd and I've been unable to determine its German meaning in the context of Wien. Perhaps female workers at Viennese laundries were known for their fine singing while washing clothes.

This postcard was also sent from Germany, in this case from Dresden on 2 February 1914. 

For a more recent performance here is
the Ensemble Transatlantik Schrammel
performing Nussdorfer Walzer at a concert
at the Schrammel International Music Festival
in Litschau, Austria in 2010.

* * *

The last postcard of the Wiener Waschermad'l Ensemble “D'Lichtenthaler” is a proper photograph. The group has returned to seven members with only three women, who now wear polka dot dresses and bows. The leader, Franz Neubauer, looks older in this photo which leads me to believe the photos on the other postcards were taken in his younger years. It's an old show business trick.

This card was sent from Hamburg, Germany on 22 December 1912. 

And finally here are two vintage film clips that are perfect examples of how Schrammeln music was once an integral part of Viennese Gemütlichkeit – good cheer. The first comes from a 1944 German feature film, "Die Schrammeln". Produced in wartime by director Géza von Bolváry, the movie is set in Wien and and tells a fictional romantic story about Johann and Josef Schrammel and their quartet which has nothing to do with their true history.

The two Schrammel brothers have a disagreement over the quality of Johann's, the older brother's, compositions which he thinks are inferior and not worthy so he refuses to perform anymore. 

Josef, the younger brother, steals Johann's music and with the other members of the group begins playing it for the people of Wien who love the songs and demand more.

 

In this scene the brothers are reconciled after being invited to a music hall show featuring the love interest in the story, the actress Milli Strubel, die “Fiakermilli”. At the beginning she is dressed as a man having driven a Viennese carriage–a Fiaker onto the stage. She exits and returns in a beautiful gown to sing the song  "Wer no in Wien net war."  ~ "Who hasn't been to Vienna yet."

                        Wer no in Wien net war

                        und Linznet kennt,
                        wer net in Graz drin schon spazier’n is g’rennt,
                        wer Salzburg net hat g’sehn, das Paradies,
                        hat kein Begriff davon, was Öst’reich is.

                        Anyone who has not been to Vienna
                        and knows Linz,
                        who has not walked or run around Graz,
                        who has not seen Salzburg, paradise,
                        has no idea what Austria is.

The second song comes from "Wir bitten zum Tanz"  – "We ask you to dance" a 1941 German comedy directed by Hubert Marischka. The Austrian actor Hans Moser (1880–1964), who portrayed Anton Strohmayer, the contraguitar player in "Die Schrammeln", is here acting as the proprietor of a renowned Viennese dance school. At a tavern he meets with an old friend, played by Paul Hörbiger (1894–1981), who is also a dance school rival, and the two men sing a sentimental song accompanied by a Schrammel quartet. The song is "Ich trag im Herzen drin a Stückerl altes Wien" – "I carry a piece of old Vienna in my heart".

Paul Hörbiger played the part of Johann Schrammel, the older violinist in the first film clip. His younger brother Josef was played by Hans Holt (1909–2001) who appeared in this film, too, dancing with Elfie Mayerhofer in the last part of the clip.

The music can speak for itself,
but I think it beautifully demonstrates
how Franz Neubauer's
“D'Lichtenthaler” Schrammel Quartet
and Washermadl'n singers sounded.

I know I would have enjoyed listening to them
as I sipped a glass of wine in old Wien. 

This is my contribution to Sepia Saturday

where free cocktails are served all weekend.

The Girls of the Alcazar d'été

Fame is not reserved
just for royalty, politicians, and other luminaries.
Sometime even a pretty petite dancer
can become a celebrity
recognized for her acclaimed contributions
to the world of entertainment.

 

Meet Miss Williams,
 a star of the Alcazar d'été revue
in Paris, France.

 

Standing gracefully in the photography studio of Walery, Paris, Miss Williams gives a proud salute as she models her frilly costume which reveals just a hint of seductive skin. The photo print has a rich depth of sepia tones that give it an illusion of a color photo and a premium quality that surpasses most entertainers' souvenir postcards from this era.  

As was the custom in France, the stamp and postmark are affixed to the picture side of the card and it was posted from Vitry-le-Croisé, a commune in the Aube department about 125 miles southeast of Paris, on 5 Jan 1905 to Mademoiselle Liger of the same town.

 

 

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

Miss Williams posed with her dancing partners in another photo by Walery. In this postcard she is the shorter girl on the right neatly forming a ballet line with Miss Clara Davine, Miss Birks, and Miss Robinson. All wear the same dress style that has been colorized in shades of pink and blue with accent in gold.

 

The photographer was Stanisław Julian Ignacy Ostroróg, also known as Lucien Waléry, (1863–1929), who was a Polish photographer who was first active in London at his father's photography studio and then in Paris between 1890 and 1929. His studio was renowned for photographing many entertainers of Paris, especially beautiful women like the American dancer, Josephine Baker, published as a series in 1926.

 

 

 

* * *

Poster for Alcazar d'été, 1896
Source: Wikimedia

The Alcazar d'Été was a Parisian café-concert, also known as a café-chantant, described as a variation on an outdoor cafe/wine garden and a French music hall. The Alcazar d'été opened in 1869 at 8 Avenue Gabriel near the Place de la Concorde in Paris, and closed in 1914.  In addition to food and drinks it offered high-class musical performances which included many celebrated French singers, instrumentalists, and dancers of the Belle Époque. This so-called "beautiful time" of the Third French Republic lasted from the end of the Franco-Prussian War to the beginning of World War One and marked a peaceful era in French culture when all the arts and sciences florished.

This next Walery postcard is a 3/4 portrait of Miss Robinson, the tallest dancer of the quartet. I call her a dancer only because they wear dancing slippers. It's quite likely that they also sang and played parts in theatrical skits. Here Miss Robinson is wearing a very low cut dress or silk wrap around her bare shoulders as she gazes wistfully into the camera. A penciled note on the border gives a date of 8 March 1903 which is confirmed by the potmark on the back. It was sent to Mademoiselle Alice Berta of Corbeil-Essonnes, a suburb of Paris. 

* * *

 

Long time readers may remember a similar quartet of pretty dancers from the Alcazar d'été that I featured in my November 2018 story: Charming the Snook. Like that group, these young ladies all have English names. Whether they are actually English, or Scottish, Canadian or even American nationals I can not say as there is little history recorded on the internet about this kind of French entertainment.

 

 

 

This next Walery postcard has the four women posed in a cluster with Miss Robinson seated and the others standing close. Their costumes are detailed in color and look identical to the previous fashion. This card was sent 15 November 1902 from Beveren in Belgium, which is on the west bank of the River Schelde, opposite the port of Antwerp.

 

 

 

 

 * * *

 

 

 

Poster for Alcazar d'été, circa 1900
Source: ArtVee

 

One of the many celebrities associated with the Alcazar d'été was La Belle Otero who appeared on this poster for the café-concert in about 1900. She was a Spanish actress, dancer and courtesan whose full name was Agustina del Carmen Otero Iglesias (1868–1965). Her costume resembles the dresses worn by the English dancers and gives another perspective of what their revue might have looked like.

 

 

 

 

 

This last postcard of Mss. Robinson, Birks, Davine, and Williams has them bent over as if they are about to come onto the stage for one last bow. The postmark is February 8?, 1903. It's not surprising that these attractive postcards were used from 1902 to 1905, but because the girls are pictured in the same outfits, I believe all the photos were taken together in 1901 or 1902.

 

 

 

The Alcazar d'été presented a musical variety show or revue that offered Parisians and tourists a night of lighthearted French entertainment. It was not classical or operatic music but it was still more sophiosticated than the street ballads and folk music heard at cabarets. Like British music halls and American vaudeville theater, the French café-concert represents a branch of early popular music that connects directly to modern entertainment forms. It's not difficult to image these same dancers/singers performing on a contemporary stage of today.

 

This set of postcards is part of a larger collection that I have started acquiring on the entertainment at the Alcazar d'été, so stay tuned for more.  

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately I couldn't find any historic films of  Parisian nightclub dancers 
that date from 1900 but here is a British Pathé newsreel entitled:
Famous Parisian Clubs And Cabarets No. 2 (1933)

 

 

 

This second short film is also from the late 1930s
but it does evoke a style of dance
that may have resembled the dancers at the Alcazar d'été.
Some of these girls are very limber indeed.
It's entitled simply:
Paris Dances (1939)

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is my contribution to Sepia Saturday
where even granny can put her best foot foward.

Charming the Snook

Cocking a Snook.
Five pretty fingers times four.
Is it a tease? Is it a taunt?
Even with four smiles
we can't be sure.
Is it flirtatious sport or something worse?

Voila ce que vous me faites.
Cela vous Sera rendu
mais pas par moi.

Adieu
je Souffre

Adieu

~

That's what you do to me.
It will be returned
to you but not by me.

 Farewell
I am suffering
Farewell

_ _ _

From left to right:
Miss Mac Sprit    Miss Haslam   Miss Cairns   Miss Wood

photo by Walery  - Paris

Wriggling the fingers with thumb to the nose is a gesture not seen much anymore, certainly not on my side of the Atlantic. For extra emphasis two hands may be used. It's called Cocking a Snook and is not intended as a nice thing. Traditionally it's associated with English customs as a signal of derision, usually made by annoying children. The internet has little to report on the origin of the phrase or the sign language. Perhaps the smiles of the four young women making this rude salute should temper our interpretation as being more on the coquettish side of expressions. Certainly the sender of this postcard has his or her own meaning for cocking a snook.

Their postcard was sent from Geneva, Switzerland
on 12 October 1902
To Mademoiselle Louise Berlhalch(?).
But the card did not originate in Geneva but in Paris.
Hidden in the upper right cornet of the postcard is a small logo:

Alcazar d'Été

The Alcazar d'Été was a café-concert, a French version of the music hall and similar to a cabaret. It was located on the Champs-Élysées in Paris behind the Élysée Palace. It was a popular Parisian venue for many 19th century and early 20th century entertainers, mainly vocalists. It closed in 1914.

Miss Haslam at the Alcazar d'Été
Source: Wikimedia.org

Presumably these four ladies were British singers and dancers on its stage in 1902  Miss Haslam posed for a solo portrait which I suspect was taken on the same occasion by the Walery studio. Here she chooses a more discrete pose, though still showing off an ankle. Did she and her companions sing in French or English? What exactly did they mean by cocking a snook?

Joseph Stalin - Cocking a Snook
Source: Wikipedia

This is my contribution to Sepia Saturday

where everyone has a thing to fling.