Category:Componium

See also Wikipedia article: en:Componium and fr:Componium.

References edit

:en:Componium as Orchestrion (Combinium)

• Componium. MIM Brussels.
  "The componium is an orchestrion built by Diederich Nicolaus Winkel in Amsterdam in 1821 and here at the mim ... The componium does that with nine organ-stops (3 flute, piccolo, violin, salicional, gamba, quintadena and trumpets), a tambourine and a triangle. ... The componium works with cylinders, i.e. a row of mechanical 'fingers' reads the presence of pins and hooks on a revolving, wooden cylinder. ... / The componium is no ordinary orchestrion. This one boasts a unique aleatory mechanism which enables it to produce a stream of endlessly diverse music, just so long as someone cranks the handle. To achieve this Winkel used two cylinders which take it in turns to play two measures of music. An ingenious system ... determines quite unpredictably whether or not the cylinders move, the traditional way to change tune. This creates a sort of musical collage which is almost never repeated. ... This machine does nothing more than randomly combine the available musical elements. 'Combinium' might perhaps have been a more suitable name than 'componium', but as a step in the direction of what would (much) later be called artificial intelligence, it played its part."
• Jim Bumgardner (Shadow Hills, CA). Variations of the Componium. jbum.com.
  "An analysis of the number of variations that can be produced by the Componium, Winkel’s 1821 mechanical musical instrument. The componium was capable of a great number of variations using an aleatoric composition algorithm implemented via clockwork. This paper challenges an oft-repeated calculation first provided by Mahillon in 1880.

:fr:Componium as Music box (Pling-plong)

• Par Gérard Dabonot. Componium, Boite à musique programmable, vous avez dit pling-plong ou musique à la carte ? [Componium, Programmable music box, you said pling-plong or music on demand?] (in French). leturlutain.fr.
  "Eh bien oui, « Pling-plong », j’ai découvert que c’est ainsi que les Allemands et les Suisses germanophones appellent les « componiums » (lancés en France par Anna Joliet ) ou mouvements à musique programmables à cartes que vous connaissez certainement. / Pourquoi ce nom peu flatteur, il est peut-être dû à la piètre qualité supposée de ces instruments fabriqués souvent en Chine, à leur musique pauvre sur les petits modèles ou à leurs lames peut être mal accordées. Ne cherchons pas trop et gardons notre « componium » qui sied davantage à la langue française en lui donnant un nom ancien."
  [In English: "Well, yes, "Pling-plong", I discovered that this is how the Germans and German-speaking Swiss call "componiums" (launched in France by Anna Joliet) or movements programmable music cards you certainly know . / Why this name unflattering, it is possibly due to poor perceived quality of these instruments frequently made in China, their poor music on smaller models or blades may be incorrectly awarded. Do not try too much and keep our "componium" that more befits the French language, giving it an old name."]